22 MACWORLD MARCH 2020
MACUSER THE MORNING SHOWdeserved power in the most public forum
possible: their on-air turf. It’s as gripping
and emotional a climax as I’ve ever seen,
and leaves the show open to numerous
paths for the second season.
POWERFUL POWER STRUGGLE
While the final episode and closing
moments were among the best television
I’ve ever seen, it’s the characters crafted
by Aniston and Witherspoon over the prior
nine episodes that make it so compelling.
Until they get on air each day, you never
really know which version of Levy and
Jackson you’re going to get, as they each
need to compartmentalize their various
personas to stay relevant and real. As the
season ends, their professional facade
breaks too, leaving the viewer to stare
agape at what’s revealed.
Even without a Me Too
narrative of their own, they
are victims, but also
enablers to the culture
that they ultimately rise up
against. Alex denies her
role in the cover-up until
she can no longer bear it,
and Bradley is too
consumed by her quest
for righteousness to see
the human toll in her wake
until it’s too real to ignore.
And when it all comes
crumbling down, the exposed layers
beneath are raw, fierce, and genuine.
It’s not just Aniston and Witherspoon
who make The Morning Show so
compelling. Steve Carell plays the
arrogant, impulsive, and slightly despicable
Mitch Kessler with perfection, Billy Crudup
is transcendent as the equally deceitful
and trustworthy Cory Ellison, and Mark
Duplass shines as Charlie Black, who
might be the only truly selfless and
blissfully ignorant character on the show.
So, while I’ll admit there are one too
many Apple device cameos (surely
someone at UBA must use a Galaxy
phone), The Morning Show deserves
every future nomination and award it’s
going to get. But more importantly, it
deserves your time. ■The Morning Show is a safe space for Alex Levy (right) and Bradley
Jackson (left), but it slowly crumbles away as the season goes on.