''The Morning Show'' (also known as ''Morning Wars'' in Australia and Indonesia) is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

streaming television series starring

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

, and

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in ''The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Ca ...

, that premiered on

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

on November 1, 2019. The series is inspired by

Brian Stelter Brian Patrick Stelter (born September 3, 1985) is an American journalist best known as the former chief media correspondent for CNN and host of the CNN program '' Reliable Sources'', roles he held from 2013 to 2022. Stelter is also a former medi ...

's 2013 book '' Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV''. The show examines the characters and culture behind a network broadcast morning news program. After allegations of sexual misconduct, the male coanchor of the program is forced off the show. Aspects of the #MeToo movement are examined from multiple perspectives, as more and more information comes out regarding said misconduct. The second season premiered on September 17, 2021. The series was renewed for a third season in January 2022.

Premise

Alex Levy anchors ''The Morning Show'', a popular

breakfast news ''Breakfast News'' was a breakfast news programme which first aired on BBC1 on 2 October 1989. The programme was previously known as '' Breakfast Time''. It was planned to launch on 18 September 1989 but was held back by two weeks due to tech ...

program broadcast from

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on the UBA network, which has excellent viewership ratings and is perceived to have changed the face of American television. In the first season, after her on-air partner of 15 years, Mitch Kessler, is fired amidst a

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...

scandal, Alex fights to retain her job as top news anchor while sparking a rivalry with Bradley Jackson, a haphazard

field reporter In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

whose series of impulsive decisions brings her into a new world of television journalism. In the second season, the network CEO attempts to convince Alex to return as the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

gradually engulfs the United States, and the show itself, whilst Bradley deals with an identity crisis.

Cast and characters

Main

as Alexandra "Alex" Levy, co-host of UBA's ''The Morning Show'' *

as Bradley Jackson, ''TMS'' co-host *

Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, inc ...

as Cory Ellison, CEO of UBA *

Mark Duplass Mark David Duplass (born December 7, 1976) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and musician. With his brother Jay Duplass, he started the film production company Duplass Brothers Productions in 1996. Duplass has written and directed films, ...

as Charlie "Chip" Black, executive producer of ''TMS'' *

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw (; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress who is known for her performances on stage and screen. In 2017 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama ...

as Hannah Shoenfeld, talent booker for ''TMS'' (season 1) *

Néstor Carbonell Néstor Gastón Carbonell (; born December 1, 1967) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He came to prominence for his role as Luis Rivera in the NBC sitcom ''Suddenly Susan''. He is known for his roles as Richard Alpert in the ABC ...

as Yanko Flores, the meteorologist of ''TMS'' *

Karen Pittman } Karen Pittman is an American actress. Born in Mississippi and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Pittman received a Bachelor of Arts in Voice and Opera at Northwestern University and a Masters of Fine Arts from NYU's Graduate Acting Program. Pittma ...

as Mia Jordan, a producer at ''TMS'' *

Bel Powley Isobel Dorothy Powley (born 7 March 1992) is an English actress. Powley was born and raised in London, where she was educated at Holland Park School. She began acting as a teenager on television, starring on the CBBC action television series ''M ...

as Claire Conway, a production assistant at ''TMS'' (season 1; guest season 2) *

Desean Terry Desean Kevin Terry is an American actor, acting coach and theatre director. He is best known for his recurring role in the television series '' The Morning Show'' (2019–present). Filmography Film Television Video games Producer Refere ...

as Daniel Henderson, co-host of the weekend edition of ''TMS'' *

Jack Davenport Jack Arthur Davenport (born 1 March 1973) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' This Life'' and ''Coupling'', and as James Norrington in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series. He has also appeared ...

as Jason Craig, Alex's ex-husband (season 1) *

as Mitch Kessler, the recently fired co-host of ''The Morning Show'' (seasons 1–2) * Greta Lee as Stella Bak, President of News in UBA (season 2) *

Ruairi O'Connor Ruairí O’Connor is an Irish actor. He is known for his role as Henry Tudor, the future Henry VIII, in Starz series ''The Spanish Princess''. He has also starred in '' Handsome Devil'' and '' The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It''. Early ...

as Ty Fitzgerald, social media expert at UBA (season 2) *

Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009) ...

as Laura Peterson, a news anchor at UBA (season 2) *

Jon Hamm Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Televisi ...

as Paul Marks (season 3) *

Nicole Beharie Nicole Beharie is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles in films such as the drama '' American Violet'' (2008), the psychological drama '' Shame'' (2011), the biographical sports drama '' 42'' (2013), and the independent ...

as Christine Hunter, a new anchor who joins UBA (season 3)

Recurring

* Victoria Tate as Rena Robinson, Chip's assistant *

Shari Belafonte Shari Lynn Belafonte (born September 22, 1954) is an American actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte, she began her career as a fashion model before making her big screen debut appearing in the 1982 drama film ' ...

as Julia *

Joe Marinelli Joe Marinelli is an American actor. Born of Italian parents, he was raised in Meriden, Connecticut, and moved to Southern California in 1961. His father George was a WWII veteran whose goal was to show his family the wonders of the United States ...

as Donny Spagnoli * Eli Bildner as Joel Rapkin * Tom Irwin as Fred Micklen, UBA's president *

Janina Gavankar Janina Zione Gavankar (; born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She is trained as a pianist, vocalist, orchestral percussionist and majored in theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her roles include Shiva on ''The ...

as Alison Namazi, co-host of the weekend edition of ''TMS'' *

Hannah Leder Hannah Leder (born September 28, 1986) is an American film actress. Born in Los Angeles, California, she is the daughter of director Mimi Leder and actor Gary Werntz. As a child actress she appeared in the films ''The Peacemaker (1997 film), The ...

as Isabella * Amber Friendly as Layla Bell * Michelle Meredith as Lindsey Sherman * Joe Pacheco as Bart Daley *

Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Born ...

as Maggie Brener, a reporter and journalist *

Augustus Prew Augustus Prew (born 17 September 1987) is an English film and television actor. He is known for his roles in '' About a Boy'' (2002), ''The Secret of Moonacre'' (2008), '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010), '' The Borgias'' (2011), '' Kick-Ass 2'' (20 ...

as Sean *

Andrea Bendewald Andrea R. Bendewald (born March 4, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Maddy Piper on '' Suddenly Susan''. Early life and education Born in New York City, Bendewald is the daughter of Judith and Mervin Bendewald, a cl ...

as Valérie * Katherine Ko as Dhillon Reece-Smit (season 1) *

Ian Gomez Ian Braque Gomez (born December 27, 1964) is an American actor known for his comedic TV work, which include series-regular roles as Javier on '' Felicity'' and Andy on ''Cougar Town''. Early life He was born in New York City, New York, to an ar ...

as Greg (season 1) *

Joe Tippett Joe Tippett (born March 1, 1982) is an American actor. He is known for playing Sam Strickland in the NBC drama series ''Rise'' and John Ross in the HBO crime drama miniseries '' Mare of Easttown.'' Early life Joe Tippett was born on March 1 ...

as Hal Jackson * Oona Roche as Lizzy Craig, Alex and Jason's daughter *

Markus Flanagan Markus Flanagan (born August 20, 1964) is an American actor. Career In 1990, he starred in the short-lived ABC police drama '' Sunset Beat'' alongside George Clooney, Michael Deluise and Erik King. He was a series regular on NBC's ''Nurses'' ...

as Gerard * David Magidoff as Nicky Brooks (season 1) * Embeth Davidtz as Paige Kessler *

Kate Vernon Katherine Elizabeth Vernon (born April 21, 1961) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera '' Falcon Crest'' (from 1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in ...

as Geneva Micklen (season 1) *

Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...

as Audra, a rival morning news anchor *

Roman Mitichyan Roman Mitichyan (born September 4, 1978) is an Armenian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and stuntman. He briefly appeared on Spike TV's reality show '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra'', as a part of Team Serra, ...

as Sam Rudo (season 1) *

Mark Harelik Marcus Frank Harelik (born June 5, 1951) is an American television, film, and stage actor, and playwright. Early life Harelik was born in Hamilton, Texas. In 1909, Harelik's Russian Jewish grandfather, Haskell Harelik—upon whom Harelik's ...

as Richard * Martin Short as Dick Lundry * Adina Porter as Sarah Gravele (season 1) * Brett Butler as Sandy Jackson (season 1) *

Philip Anthony-Rodriguez Philip Anthony-Rodriguez is an American actor known for his roles on '' Jake 2.0'' as Kyle Duarte, the voice of disc jockey Maurice Chavez in the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', and as Jetstream Sam in the 2013 video game '' M ...

as Gabriel (season 1) *

Valeria Golino Valeria Golino (born 22 October 1965) is an Italian actress and film director. She is best known to English-language audiences for her roles in '' Rain Man'', ''Big Top Pee-wee'' and the two '' Hot Shots!'' films, particularly the olive-in-the-be ...

as Paola Lambruschini (season 2) * Theo Iyer as Kyle (season 2) *

Tara Karsian Tara Karsian (born August 5, 1965) is an American actress and writer. She is the daughter of actress Pat Carroll. Life and career Karsian is the daughter of actress Pat Carroll and Lee Karsian, and the sister of casting director Kerry Karsian. Sh ...

as Gayle Berman (season 2) *

Holland Taylor Holland Virginia Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an American actress. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on ABC's ''The Practice'' (1998–2003). F ...

as Cybil Richards (season 2) *

Hasan Minhaj Hasan Minhaj ( ; born September 23, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host of Indian descent. His Netflix show ''Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj'' won two Peabody Awards and two Webby Aw ...

as Eric Nomani, Bradley's new co-host (season 2) *

Patrick Bristow Patrick Bristow (born September 26, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and director. He is best known for playing Peter Barnes on ''Ellen'' (1994-1998), and Patrick on ''The Suite Life of Zack and Cody'' (2005-2008), and for the film ''Pain ...

as Gordon (season 2) *

Katie Aselton Kathryn Aselton (born October 1, 1978) is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in ''The Freebie (film), The Freebie'', which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival i ...

as Madeleine, Chip's love-interest (season 2) * Jack Conley as Earl (season 2) * Erika Ringor as Mandy Schaeffer (season 2) *

Tig Notaro Mathilde O'Callaghan "Tig" Notaro (born March 24, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, radio contributor, and actress. She is known for her deadpan comedy. Her acclaimed album ''Live'' was nominated in 2014 for the Grammy Award for Be ...

as Amanda Robinson (season 3)

Guest

Season 1

Fred Melamed Fred Melamed (born May 13, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for portraying Sy Ableman in the Coen Brothers' ''A Serious Man'' (2009). He is also known for his collaborations with Woody Allen appearing in seven of ...

as Neal Altman *

Ahna O'Reilly Ahna O'Reilly is an American actress. She is best known for her role in the film ''The Help'' (2011). Career O'Reilly began her acting career in 2003 in the film, ''Bill the Intern''. She has appeared in several other movies like ''Dinocroc'', ' ...

as Ashley Brown *

Natalia Warner Natalia Warner is a British actress. Career Warner made her film debut in Richard Ayoade's dystopian thriller ''The Double (2013 film), The Double'', which received a positive review from ''Empire''. She stars as the female lead in Shoreline En ...

as Cecily * Andrew Leeds as Alan *

John Marshall Jones John Marshall Jones is an American actor, best known for portraying Floyd Henderson on The WB sitcom ''Smart Guy''. He is currently the spokesperson for Pizza Hut. Career Since 2021, Jones has had a recurring role as U.S. Air Force General Nel ...

as Noah *

Zuri Hall Zuri Hall (born June 2, 1988) is an American entertainment reporter, television personality, actress and producer. Hall serves as a correspondent for ''Access Hollywood'' on NBC. She is also the sideline reporter for NBC's primetime summer comp ...

as herself *

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

as herself * Kelly Sullivan as Vicki Manderly *

David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film c ...

as Mr. Jackson *

Julian Morris Julian David Morris (born 13 January 1983) is an English actor. After appearing in the British television series '' The Knock'' (1996) and ''Fish'' (2000) during his teenage years, he had his first starring role in the American slasher film '' C ...

as Andrew *

Cheyenne Jackson Cheyenne David Jackson (born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. His credits include leading roles in Broadway musicals and other stage roles, as well as film and television roles, concert singing, and music recordings. After beginni ...

as himself *

Robert Cicchini Robert Cicchini is an American film and television actor and director. Among Cicchini's film appearances are his roles as Lou Pennino, Vincent Corleone's bodyguard, in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), Bill Guidone in ''Light Sleeper'' (1992 ...

as Robert *

Mike O'Malley Michael Edward O'Malley (born October 31, 1966) is an American actor, writer and producer. Born in Boston and raised in New Hampshire, O'Malley hosted the early 1990s children's game show '' Nickelodeon Guts'' before moving to Los Angeles later ...

as Tim Eavers *

Romy Rosemont Romy Rosemont (born October 28, 1964) is an American actress, who has appeared in multiple television series, including ''Shark'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', '' Prison Break'', and '' Private Practice''. She got her b ...

as Sheila Lutkin *

Brian Bowen Smith Brian Bowen Smith is an American commercial and fine-art photographer known for his celebrity portraits. He was mentored by Herb Ritts who helped him discover his own personal photographic style. Life and career Early life Bowen Smith was b ...

as photographer *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

as Reid * Ethan Cohn as Jared *

Dana Davis Dana Davis (born October 4, 1978) is an American actress, voice actress, and novelist known for playing Monica Dawson on the NBC series '' Heroes'' (2007), Chastity Church on the ABC Family television series ''10 Things I Hate About You'' (2009� ...

as Christine *

Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ( , ; rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, p=mɐˈrʲijə ʂɐˈrapəvə, a=Maria_sharapova.ogg; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. She competed on the WTA Tour from 2 ...

as herself *

Hayes MacArthur Hayes MacArthur (born April 16, 1977) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He starred in the TBS comedy series ''Angie Tribeca''. Early life MacArthur was born in Chicago to Bruce and Shelley MacArthur. His stepfather is businessman ...

as Marlon Tate

Season 2

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...

as Doug Klassen * Zak Lee Guarnaccia as Professore Viola *

Dave Foley David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and ...

as Peter Bullard *

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), '' Hope Floats'' ( ...

as Sylvia Portman * Molly McNearney as Aria Bloom *

James Urbaniak James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: '' Henry Fool'' (1997), '' Fay Grim'' (2006) and '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in ...

as Backstage Manager * David Bowe as Clyde Canter *

Patrick Fabian Patrick Fabian (born December 7, 1964) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is known for his role as attorney Howard Hamlin in ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). His film roles include '' End Game'' (2006), ''The Last Exorcism' ...

as Jeff *

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

as Themselves *

David Paymer David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as '' Mr. Saturday Night'', ''Quiz Show'', ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', '' City Slickers'', ''Crazy People'', '' ...

as Hannah's Father *

as Carl Richardson *

Meredith Scott Lynn Meredith Scott Lynn (born March 8, 1970) is an American actress, producer, and director, best known as Anne in ‘’Days of Our Lives’’ (2012-2017). Early life Lynn's mother is a former teacher. Lynn attended the High School of Perform ...

as Linda

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2021)

Production

Development

On November 8, 2017, it was announced that Apple had given the production a series order consisting of two seasons of ten episodes apiece. The series was set to be

executive produced Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

by Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jay Carson, and Michael Ellenberg. Carson was expected to act as a writer and showrunner for the series as well. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Media Res,

Echo Films Echo Films is an American production company founded in April 2008 by American actress Jennifer Aniston and production partner Kristin Hahn. Echo Films has a production deal with Universal Pictures. The company produces projects for both film an ...

, and Hello Sunshine. On April 4, 2018, it was announced that Carson had departed the production over creative differences. He was replaced as executive producer and showrunner by

Kerry Ehrin Kerry Anne Ehrin (born October 8, 1960) is an American screenwriter, showrunner, and producer. In 1990, she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for her work as a producer on the American Broadcasting Company, ...

. On July 11, 2018, it was reported that

Mimi Leder Miriam Leder (; born January 26, 1952) is an American film and television director and producer noted for her action films and use of special effects.Hurd, Mary G. Women Directors and Their Films. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007. She was the first f ...

would serve as a director and executive producer for the series. On October 23, 2018, it was reported that

Kristin Hahn Kristin Hahn (born 1969) is an American film and television producer, writer and director. Hahn is the founder and president of production company, Hahnscape Entertainment, and the co-founder of production company Echo Films, alongside Jennifer ...

and Lauren Levy Neustadter would serve as additional executive producers for the series. On June 22, 2020, Aniston revealed in a ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' interview with

Lisa Kudrow Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), which has since been named one of the greatest television cha ...

that the show's development began prior to the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

, but was ultimately reworked to include and partially focus on it. The show cost $15 million per episode, with Aniston and Witherspoon each earning $2 million per episode, not including producing fees and ownership points. On January 10, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a third season.

Casting

Alongside the initial series announcement, it was confirmed that Aniston and Witherspoon had been cast in the series' lead roles. In October 2018, it was announced that

and

had been cast in series regular roles. On November 7, 2018, it was reported that

, and

had joined the main cast of the series. On October 9, 2020, Greta Lee and

officially joined the second season as regular characters. On November 13, 2020,

was also announced as a new cast member. On December 3, 2020,

announced she joined the second season of the series. In August 2022, it was announced that

and

had joined the main cast for the third season, with

joining in a recurring role.

Filming

Principal photography for the first season commenced on October 31, 2018, at the

James Oviatt Building The James Oviatt Building, commonly referred to as The Oviatt Building, is an Art Deco highrise in Downtown Los Angeles located on Olive Street, half a block south of 6th St. and Pershing Square. In 1983, the Oviatt Building was listed in the Na ...

in Los Angeles. Filming continued in Los Angeles until filming started in New York City on May 9, 2019. Production on the first season also concluded that May, after seven months of filming. Production on the second season began on February 24, 2020. On March 12, 2020, Apple TV+ halted production on the series due to the

. The second season resumed filming on October 19, 2020. Between February and March 2021, Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Duplass, and Hannah Leder were spotted in Los Angeles filming the second season. On May 18, 2021, filming for season two concluded. Production on the third season began on August 16, 2022.

Release

After the Apple Special Event of March 25, 2019, Witherspoon announced on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that the series would premiere in the fall of 2019. It premiered on

on November 1, 2019. In January 2021, Apple announced that the second season would premiere in 2021. The second season premiered on September 17, 2021. During the Apple Special Event, a teaser trailer was released with footage from the series as well as footage from other original series set to premiere on Apple TV+. Furthermore, Aniston, Witherspoon, and Carell were at the event to promote the series. On August 12, 2019, Apple released a first look trailer for the series. It was also revealed that the series would be titled ''Morning Wars'' in Australia, in order to distinguish the series from the Australian morning talk show of the same name.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

it received an overall score of 64%, and an overall score of 61 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. For first season of ''The Morning Show'', the review aggregation website

reported a 61% approval rating, based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Flashy, but somewhat frivolous, ''The Morning Show'' often feels more like a vanity project than the hard-hitting drama it aspires to be—but there is pleasure to be had in watching Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon give it their all."

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 61 out of 100 based on reviews from 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The second season of the series received a 67% from Rotten Tomatoes based on 51 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''The Morning Shows second season has a slew of stupendous performances - but too many characters attempting to address too many hot-button issues makes it hard to know what any of them are actually trying to say." At

, the website gave the second season a 60 out of 100, based on 25 reviews.

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' gave a positive review and wrote: "''The Morning Show'' doesn't have the cinematic gravitas of the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

The Loudest Voice ''The Loudest Voice'' is a 2019 American drama television miniseries depicting Roger Ailes as he creates and guides the rise of Fox News. It is based on the 2014 book '' The Loudest Voice in the Room'', by Gabriel Sherman, and premiered June 30, ...

'' or the

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime ...

poetry of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's '' The Newsroom''. It's more along the lines of the solid but underachieving '' Sports Night'' TV series from the late 1990s."

Audience viewership

According to TV analytics provider TVision, ''The Morning Show'' has been viewed by panel members 5.03 times as much as the average Apple TV+ original series or shows TVision has measured since Apple TV+ launched in November 2019. The series became the second most watched Apple TV+ series after ''

Ted Lasso ''Ted Lasso'' is an American sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NB ...

''.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* – official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morning Show (American TV series), The 2019 American television series debuts 2010s American workplace drama television series 2020s American workplace drama television series 2010s American satirical television series 2020s American satirical television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series English-language television shows Television series about journalism Television series about television Television shows about the COVID-19 pandemic Apple TV+ original programming Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television shows based on non-fiction books