The Morning Show

Just watched the emotionally-charged second season finale that brought the pandemic center stage in an unapologetic manner. I loved that Chip lied about having covid so that Alex would let him in her apartment to convince her to do the live stream, which Aniston NAILED by the way, as she did her dramatization of the physical symptoms of covid, which I'm ashamed to say I had never seen prior this show. No other scripted TV show has ever addressed it and I rarely watch the news and the people I know who contracted it got through it without me actually being in the same room with them. That opening scene with Bradley was odd because I thought that guy sleeping in the doorway was her brother. Billy Crudup should have gotten another Emmy for that scene where he told Bradley he loves her...damn that was some incredible acting. Loved when Paola brought her documentary about Mitch to Cory. Cory wants to get his hands on that documentary so bad he can taste it, but I was shocked that Paola kept her word to Mitch...at least so far. Hope there's a third season coming.

I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to happen, but here comes the third season opener! The opening credits revealed some real shake-ups in the cast. That commercial scared me, I thought Alex was dead. How cool is it that Alex is going into space? Very glad to see that Bradley and Laura are still together. Loved that psychiatrist stopping slex in her tracks questioning her personal life. Clearly, Cory's feelings about Bradley haven't changed since the season 2 finale, it was written all over his face when he ran into her in the hall. Love Jon Hamm joining the show as the tech billionaire who wants to buy UBA. "I did not discover Alex levy, but I did bring her back from the dead." Alex need to watch her back with Cory and Paul. Great to see Holland Taylor again. I love Stella, she's going to be running UBA someday. "It's lie death by a thousand cuts." Bradley is clearly still terrified of going public with Laura. Would Bradley really prostitute herself for artistic control of her career? LOVED Bradley's speech...I knew the second she walked up to the podium she wasn't going to go with her prepared speech. This is the first I'm hearing about so-called "fake" abortion clinics. That's horrible. Was Paul deliberately trying to terrorize Alex with that drive? "All those other billionaires really f*cked it up for me." I hope Paul isn't doing all of this just to get in Alex's pants. No, he's using Alex to get UBA, he doesn't give a daman about Alex. I swear sometimes butter could melt in Cory's mouth. "So we need someone who can deliver the news in space." I love where Alex and Bradley are right now as to where they were in the pilot. Don't understand why it was so important to Paul that Alex make this flight? He's clearly not happy with Bradley. I didn't realize Cory was going too. The defying gravity scene was awesome. Scary ending to a solid season opener.

OK, season three ep 2. well, at least they didn't leave us hanging for half the episode, but I hope we get an explanation because it apparently Bradley didn't realize that the feed was temporarily lost. Wow, they just skipped over it. Bradley got Paul's number pretty quick. Wow, Cybil just turned around and threw Alex under the bus. did not see that coming. "Yeah, but how am I going to fill that hole where my soul should be?" Are they that lost without the prompter? What the hell was that blackout all about? Knew the elevator was a terrible idea. This is something out of a Marvel comic book movie. Really don't understand the point of trapping Trip and the Olympian the elevator together. This truly terrifying. This is definitely the end of Bradley and Laura. So Paul is not behind this? Who was that guy Mia was talking to? That Stella/Yanko exchange was gold. Paul wasn't behind it, he doesn't need 50 million dollars. Billy Crudup nailed that scene with the board. OK, they're not paying the ransom...what happens now? Cybil really said some stuff to Cory that he needed to hear. ice to see that Chip is finally getting some, maybe it will soften his obsession with Alex. "Oh my God, this is going to be great for my trust issues." Jennifer Aniston was so funny in that scene with Chip and Isabella. Loved the camerawork during Bradley's hack announcement. I am curious to see what this hack will expose about Cory. Why is Mia sleeping at the station? Stella and Paul Marks? WTF?

Season 3 ep 3. Are we not going to learn why Mia is sleeping at the office until she's caught in the act? How does Paul know what the UBA board is feeling? "Not everyone can find love in their boss' apartment." Loved June Diane Raphael as the rival anchor...loved her on Grace and Frankie. Why does Cory talk to Chris like she's stupid? That scene between Holland Taylor and Jennifer Aniston as excellent. "Maybe UBA is a plantation, except with dental insurance." You sue once, you are forever the woman who sues." "So Corey, you either clean up your own mess, or you get the f*ck out of the way." Love drunk Stella. Can't wait to learn about Stella's history with Paul Marks. Loved that suit Stella was wearing in that scene with Cory. Holland crushed that scene with Aniston. Love Chris' husband, Marcus... pretty much a perfect husband from what I can see. Loved Cybil's immediate reaction to stepping onto the set. That interview scene was brilliant...beautifully executed by Holland Taylor and Nicole Beharie. What was the point of Cory's call to Mia? Nice to see actions have consequences. Especially for Cory, though he's not the only one. Bravo.

So far, not finding this season to be as enjoyable as Season 1 or 2. We are three episodes in, though.

And here comes the 4th now! That long opening tracking shot of Cory seemed kind of pointless. "it's the beautiful thing about bullsh*t. It can't be outsourced." Why are we just now hearing that UBA needs $300,000,000? I really hate the way Cory talks in circles so much and never says exactly what he means. Why is Laura a suspect in the hack? I'm glad she and Bradley haven't broken up yet. Mia speaks Russian....how cool is that? Loved Stella working those boys at lunch...she is definitely going to be running UBA one day. Look at Cory's party...no wonder the station is debt. I know the cost of this party isn't coming out of Cory's pocket. "You're not going to leave me alone in this palace of sadness." Paul may see through Alex, but the chemistry between Jon Hamm and Jennifer Aniston is off the chain. "What do you grow? Bitcoin?" LOVE that suit Reese was wearing at the party. Who are these morons to question Stella for not drinking? Why is her not drinking "working" them? I don't believe those pigs did that to that waitress. At least Stella is feeling accountable for it. The new board chairman is just as greasy as Cybil was. Bradley and Laura in Cory's bedroom reminded me that his declaration of love to Bradley last season hasn't been addressed since. I don't believe what that vendor said to Alex. She scored big points with Paul by the way she handled it though. Mia's going to be destroyed if something happened to Andre. Billy Crudup was excellent in this episode. Nice work, Alex, even if Cory is somehow going to take credit for it.

I think for me one of the impressions this series leaves me with is that, in my opinion, Reese Witherspoon is a much better, more likable, more charismatic, and more natural actor than Jennifer Aniston, which kind of surprised me, as I wasn't a regular watcher of "Friends". After having watched "The Morning Show", I wouldn't have expected that Aniston would have achieved the level of career success that she has based on her acting skills and range. What does everyone else think? Agree with me, or see this differently, and why?

I think The Morning Show is the strongest work of Aniston's career. I like Witherspoon too, but IMO she will never top her performance as Tracy Flick in Election, which should have earned her an Oscar nomination. I also LOVE Billy Crudup in this show...consistently explosive and unpredictable.

Pumped for ep 5 of Season Three. Curious as to why this episode flashes back to the pandemic, but I guess it will become clear later. "I want you hit the street with a gas can and see what lights up." Crudup crushed that moment where Bradley was trying to write off their night of passion. It was so nice to see Mia smiling and laughing, we don't get a lot of that. It's so weird seeing characters in masks again. I really would like to see Bradley stay away from her brother. Love that Laura wouldn't commit to supporting Bradley's feelings about Hal directly. Love that Bradley and Laura sort of came out on air, but why are we just seeing this now? Can't place the actress playing Selma the real estate agent it's driving me crazy,,,help? Mia went back to Debbie Downer pretty quickly. Loved EVERYTHING that Stella wore in this episode. Loved when she described Mitch's documentary as "tone deaf." Loved Selma's earrings in that beach scene. I so do not want Bradley to be manipulated by Hal...the way he called her with the news about Mom but then insisted that Bradley not come smacked of manipulation. Margulies did a terrific impression of Minnelli during the "Mein Herr" number in Cabaret, recognized it immediately. Corey's reaction to learning about Bradley's mom made me want to punch him in the face. Wow, Laura didn't even try to hide the fact that she hated Bradley's mom. The fight scene between Bradley and Laura was spectacular. Andre might be the best boyfriend in the orbit of The Morning Show but Mia doesn't see it at all. Mia has no one to blame but herself. Nice to see Natalie Morales added to the canvas as...Stella's girlfriend? Not sure. The reenactment of the January 6th events was frightening, but Hal is conveniently present? Hal's going to be a father? Bradley's going to end up raising that child. Deleting that video will come back and bite Bradley in the ass at some point. LOVED the door on Cory's house, that was amazing. Didn't think the consequences of Bradley would come back to her so quickly. Cory is seriously conflicted about what Bradley did and I don't blame him. Accustomed spectacular work from Billy Crudup. Excellent episode though I'm still unsure why it was a flashback to covid. The things revealed that we didn't know about didn't seem that important.

In my opinion, this last episode was a huge mistake. The show already featured COVID in the last season, so there was no reason to have another COVID focused storyline. Additionally, it was an incredibly bad decision to involve January 6th in the storyline for this season, and having Hal be connected to it felt really ridiculous and unrealistic. Unfortunately, from my perspective, this appears to be something that will be an ongoing storyline this season. I don't have any interest in watching the show go in this direction. I think it was an interesting idea to pit Bradley Jackson's journalistic ethics in conflict with other motivations. I can see why they may have done this, but this was not a smart way to do it. Also, the way this episode was sequenced was horrible. If they were going to do this, it should have been done much earlier in the season. I actually thought when I was watching this episode initially that I may have clicked on the wrong episode to watch and that I might have been watching something from last season that I did not remember. It was very disjointed and confusing.

Season Three, Episode 6. I'm glad Alex is not taking Paul at face value because he is too slick to be true. A child is the last thing Bradley needs on her plate right now. I really wish Bradley could extricate her brother from her life. I don't like the way Paul can push Stella's buttons so easily. I'll say it again...the chemistry between Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm is off the chain. Love that green suit Stella was wearing in that scene with Mia. I love everything Stella wears. Bradley turned in her dad? Paul's house in the Hamptons was gorgeous. That interview scene was brilliant...beautifully written, directed, and acted and I'm guessing that the Stanford student was Stella. Bold move of Laura to confront Hal behind Bradley's back. Julianna Margulies was wonderful in that scene. Why was Chip trying so hard to g et Alex away from Paul after the interview? Saw Paul and Alex coming but didn't think it would be this soon. Chip will never get Alex completely out of his system adn any woman with him is going to have to accept that. I guess it's time for Stella to forgive and move on.

Season Three, ep 7. That opening sex scene was so poorly lit I couldn't tell who it was. Loved that first speech of Cory's, it was really well written. I guess that was Paul and Alex in the opening scene. "Well, I could never have a favorite stripper," I don't believe for a minute that Dana was Paul's dog. He's just trying to look like a saint to Alex. Frances Conroy as Cory's mother? Loving that. Didn't realize until the third scene that Alex and Paul were at her place...I like that. I loved when Cory's mom gave Bradley the Mondale/Ferraro button. Cory's mom looked heartbroken that they couldn't stay for dinner. Frances Conroy is such a class act and superb actress. I'm so impressed the way Stella didn't just jump at Paul's offers and took it to her handlers first. Smartest character on the show. Wait a minute, I thought the deal was already in place. What Cory did to Bradley was all kinds of wrong. Nice to see that Martha brings out the human in Cory. Somebody really needs to knock hat chip off Mia's shoulder. Her whole Debbie Downer thing is getting tiresome. Alex is right, she and Paul can't go public. Love Stella's evening Audrey Hepburn look with the long gloves. That scene with Stella and Kate was excellent. Why wouldn't Cory want help from his mother with the deal if she can really help? Not sure why Cory felt he had to have Bradley with him though. Meeting Martha does help to understand Cory. Are they really trying to overturn Roe vs Wade was that story made up for this show? Curious to see what Jay's next move will be.

Ep 8 of Season Three. I loved Alex trying to read her staff the riot act, but what did she expect? Loved Stella's purple suit. I think something's going to happen between Stella and Paul's assistant, played by Tig Notaro. "I cannot be the story that distracts from the actual news." Not sure that Stella going to Bradley for help was a good idea. "You've been smiling a lot...it unnerves me." Leave it to Cory to find a way twist Alex and Paul into ratings. Did Bradley think talking to Kate was going to be that simple? when did Mindy Kaling join the show? Was this her first appearance? I'm glad to learn Andre is OK but it happened in kind of an odd way, especially for Mia. "You are a middle aged adrenaline junkie who would rather bounce between wars than commit to a zip code." I have to agree with Cory (and I hate that) that pulling the interview at this point would be a huge mistake. Loved that pink dress with the fake pockets that Aniston was wearing. Alex refuses to accept the fact that sleeping with Paul was a mistake. She was out of line firing Chip, though we know they will kiss and make up at some point. Wonder what Laura is going to do with what she knows now? Nice to see Mia smile, it's been awhile. I'm glad Paul and Alex aren't keeping their distance for now as one might expect. As much as I like Alex and Paul, I don't want to see her give up her career for him. Love that cover of "Dancing in the Dark" that played over the final scene.

Season 3, Ep 9 on deck. They seem to want us to empathize with Alex's angst but she brought all of this onto herself. And everything Paul said to her in that opening scene was correct. Glad to see the cloud that Cory was floating on deflated so quickly. Is there a blind hostile takeover going on for UBA? I like that Paul is gunning for Cory. How great to see Elizabeth Perkins as Laura's agent? Laura talking to her agent and not offering any specifics was worse than mentioning it to her at all. I love Chris' husband...such a smart guy. I should have seen the return of Marcia Gay Harden's Peggy coming. I knew Paul was going to come between Alex and Bradley, but that scene with Aniston and Witherspoon was superb. That was very clever what Laura tried to do with Bradley's brother, but I'm glad he didn't get caught. does she want to destroy Bradley's career? Loved when Stella told Cory that Paul has "infected" him. And since when has Stella decided to bail if the deal goes through, I thought she wanted Cory's job? Julianna Margulies crushed that scene with Reese. The return of Holland Taylor's Sybil was another pleasant surprise. "Whatever Paul Marks is paying for the price of your soul, I'll double it." Loved that shot of the elevator opening on Cory's bloody hand. I didn't realize how serious Alex was about leaving UBA until her conversation with Cory. How did Paul find out about Hal? AN on the air resignation? Who does she think she is, Howard Beale? Cory lost his job? Is it my birthday? Great show!

Season 3, Ep 10. Why is Paul telling Alex about Bradley? I'm wondering what Corey's plan is if he can stop Paul? The tension between Alex and Pau is unbearable right now. Chip's on air meltdown was AWESOME!!! Love June Diane Raphael as the Eagle news anchor. Paul and Cory, what happens now? Cannot believe Alex just turned on Paul. That scene with Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup was amazing. It's a shame about Paul and Alex...Hamm and Aniston had some real chemistry going. Hope there's going to be a season 4 but I'm not holding my breath.

It was already renewed for season 4 months ago, so good news for you!

Yay! I can't wait.