Does The Morning Show Season 3 Live Up To Its Early Success?
The Morning Show is back with even more drama and new additions to the already star-studded cast including Jon Hamm, Nicole Beharie, and returning fan favorite Julianna Margulies.
The new season kicks off two years after the season two finale, landing in 2022 where the UBA team is reeling from the success of their streaming service launch and balancing the financial turmoil the pandemic had on the entertainment industry. Early in the season, UBA is the victim of a cyber attack, compromising the private information of all the company’s employees. This exposes the head of the UBA Board Cybil Reynolds (Holland Taylor), who previously made racist comments about The Morning Show’s new anchor Christina Hunter (Nicole Beharie). This scandal jeopardizes the deal that Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) made with tech giant Paul Marks (John Hamm). As tensions grow and secrets are revealed, what does the future hold for UBA?
Much like the first two seasons, this series does not shy away from sensitive and uncomfortable topics. The first season dove into the sexual misconduct allegations against veteran news anchor Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) and the action or lack thereof that co-anchor Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) took to prevent such events. The season explored the corrupt inner workings of both the show and the network as a whole. This story, though fiction, was heavily inspired by real life events that came to light due to the Me Too Movement.
The second season focused on the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and how it impacted not only the world, but the entertainment industry specifically. The season explored Bradley Jackson’s (Reese Witherspoon) personal relationships to her Southern conservative family while she faces her sexuality and relationship with fellow UBA anchor Laura Peterson (Julianna Margulies). Rooted in a reality we now know all too well, the series perfectly captured the mixed feelings and anxieties felt during the emergence of the pandemic. While balancing a world event, the characters explored much deeper personal growth from retirement, being publicly outed, learning from mistakes that you cannot fix, and still feeling love for those who have done bad things.
Something this show does well, that is extremely hard to do right, is root its plot in real life events without being redundant or exploitive. Though the network, show, and characters are fiction, true events are sprinkled through the series and referenced frequently. The writers are extremely aware of the information every day people have now in relation to the entertainment industry and the corrupt way in which things are run. The show doesn’t shy away from that, but rather zooms in on issues that viewers are all too familiar with.
One large event included in this season that did in fact happen in real life is the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol. This attack was a worldwide news event that changed the way many people both in America and globally viewed the United States political climate. In the series, it is used as an example as to how and why certain people did what they did during and after that event, both personally and in the lens of journalism.
The majority of the series is linear, but with a two year time jump between seasons two and three, there are frequent flashbacks that give context to the current events unfolding at UBA. The writers and showrunners knew that viewers were fed up with reliving the events of the pandemic through the television and wanted to move on, making the two year time jump one of the smartest things the series did.
The biggest scandal of the season revolves around the power of big tech and the emergence of billionaires through that industry. It questions the trust and intentions that people of such power and wealth may have given that led to their skyrocketing success. It also delves into how people like this come to power and who they may have to step on in order to get there. Should a single person be able to hold so much money and influence?
The third season of The Morning Show leaves viewers on a bit of a cliffhanger, but fans are not to worry given that the series has already been renewed for a fourth season. The character development, fictionalized events, and enthralling drama leaves no question as to how the series has already earned eleven Emmy nominations and the title of second most streamed series on the platform. The new season perfectly expands on the story developed in the first two seasons, with the networking facing fresh and relevant problems. The two year gap between seasons was definitely worth the wait and lives up to the series’ early success. If you haven’t started yet, The Morning Show is one to watch.
The Morning Show is streaming on Apple TV+.
