The Morning Show Season 2 What You Need to Know

by Cristina | Last Updated: September 24, 2021

Last year, when The Morning Show first premiered on Apple TV, I got down on my knees and thanked the TV gods up above for sending us this gem. It was a risky show for sure. Yes it has Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup headlining, but the subject matter was and still is very controversial.

I love the way they took on the #metoo movement in a way that almost forced you to see it from a different perspective. I found the dialogue in season 1 to be purposeful and powerful. There were moments where I felt uncomfortable, but it was subtle and necessary. Also on a lighter note, I just love shows that give you a peak at what it is like behind the scenes.

When I first sat down to watch the first episode of Season 2, I was so excited but honestly it just led to a bunch of questions. I felt kind of lost. It had been a while since the first season, and the recap they give really didn’t do enough to jog my memory. I also think the timeline they try to lay out in the first few scenes is hard to follow.

I did a few google searches and got some answers. First let’s go back in time for a second and remember what was going on last season.

Here is where each of them left off: {Season 1 Spoilers Ahead}

Alex Levy: (Jennifer Aniston) Alex spends most of season 1 in complete reaction mode to the bomb that has gone off. The bomb of course being, the New York Times Article that has just exposed her cohost of 20 years, Mitch Kessler, to be a monster creep almost reaching Harvey Weinstein proportions. Alex wants to keep her job. Alex is maybe a little bit in love with Mitch. Alex has no idea who to trust and is desperate to believe that her role in this was minimal because she didn’t know the extent of it. She is insulted by Bradley who is very clearly implying that Alex could have done more. She wants to keep her job and get rid of Bradley so badly she aligns herself with Fred and betrays Chip. She is spiralling. Upon hearing that Hannah has overdosed, Alex has no choice but to take off her blinders and is beginning to accept that her silence may have played a bigger role than she can justify. When we end Season 1, Alex begins to pace the set while they are live, and leads Bradley into the conversation that blows up UBA and takes down Fred.

Bradley Jackson: (Reese Witherspoon) In episode 2 she is plucked form obscurity. Bradley could not seem to advance at any of the local stations she had been working at due to her rather honest and straightforward approach to life. While learning the ropes at The Morning Show it becomes obvious that she does not have any loyalty or respect for the show or anyone at the network. She wants to like Alex, and in a way she does like her, but she knows that Alex and the other people who have been working at this show had some idea of what was going on with Mitch. This bothers her. She doesn’t have any empathy for them. It shows. She is aligned with Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) who is keen on taking over the network and trying to prove that Fred (the current head of the network), was complicit in the behavior. Bradley doesn’t seem to know or really understand that Cory has his own motives. Bradley is too focused on bringing everyone else down. She is so blinded by this desire, that she is willing to let Mitch manipulate her into interviewing him on air. Bradley initially can’t see that Mitch’s interview may reveal who was complicit, but it will also hurt the victims. She begins to see this as she interviews Hannah. It hits her like a sucker punch right to the guy. Bradley is having second thoughts. When she finds out Hannah is dead, she has immediate guilt and regret. We leave Bradley joining Alex on The Morning Show as they both blow up the network.

Hannah Shoenfeld: Hannah was the young junior booker, that Mitch made a move on in Vegas when the team was there to cover the horrific Las Vegas shooting. Hannah was distraught from the events of the day, and in a moment she thought Mitch was taking an interest in her as a mentor, he proceeded to make a move on her. She went with it, as it is not easy to tell an uber celebrity that happens to be your boss “no”. When she went to complain to Fred, the head of the network, he offered a promotion in exchange for her silence. Throughout season 1 we see Hannah is not well. She is taking pills and drinking and becoming more and more isolated. When Mitch accuses her of using him to advance her career (MIND BLOWING) she begins to break down quickly. When she agrees to do the interview with Bradley- it seems to be the last straw for both women.

Cory Ellison: Cory grew up with a progressive mom and an absent father and has a deep profound love and respect for women that really gets you to like him right off the bat. He roams the halls of UBA with a menacing smile that lets you know he is most certainly up to something. Throughout the season you begin to understand that he sees UBA for what it is, a dinosaur standing at the precipice of becoming obsolete by streaming. There is a clash there over whether the company agrees, or will continue to operate as it always has. It’s very muddled because you know his motives for getting rid of Fred are selfish, but he does also seem to care about the harm Mitch has caused to the women. We are left with Cory seizing control over the control room, to allow Alex and Bradley to launch the torpedo at Fred and the network. Will he end up taking Fred’s seat? Let’s pause to take a moment and remember Billy Crudup at his best:

Mitch Kessler: (Steve Carrell) We learn throughout Season 1 in clips and moments what life was like for Mitch before the New York Times article. Mitch was sitting on top of the world. He was the super rich, good looking, charming host of The Morning Show. He was interviewing Presidents, celebrities and wearing tailored suits. He could do or say anything he wanted to anyone on the staff, and no one was going to correct him. Mitch spent the better part of this season trying to figure out how he could redeem himself in the eye of the public. He didn’t seem to care to redeem himself in the eyes of his victims or his loved ones. This is what led him to reach out to and kind of harass Hannah to come forward and corroborate his story that Fred was complicit in the behavior. We do know it is true, since Fred did give her a promotion in order for her to keep her silence. They told us several times during season 1 that Mitch and The Morning Show are what was making the network all of their money. He felt untouchable. Until he wasn’t. Someone leaked a story to the New York Times… we leave Mitch as he has just found out his big planned interview to out Fred is now cancelled due to Hannah’s death. He also has just found out who outed him.

Charlie “Chip” Black: Charlie is the Executive Producer at The Morning Show, and we learn throughout the season that like most people he knew that Mitch was up to something, but he did not know the extent or really try to find out. Charlie is the person UBA decided to pin it on. He loses his job in the last episode, and he is trying to find some way to get back at Fred. This is what led him to help Bradley, Mitch and Cory get Mitch onto The Morning Show so that Fred could get what was coming to him. We also learn that while he seemed to be neutral between Alex and Mitch, Chip did have a favorite. He came up the ropes with Alex, and because of his love for Alex and their history we find out in the last episode that he is the leak to the New York Times. He tells Mitch himself when he shows up to Mitch’s building to tell him about Hannah, and punches him right in the face (AMEN Chip!) He also explains it for himself to Alex on her voicemail, that he did it all for her.

Where We Are Now: (may contain spoilers but may also be helpful)

When Season 2 opens up, we are immediately taken back to the moment where Alex and Bradley decide to be honest with the audience and blow Fred up. Once the network is able to kill the feed, Alex’s people immediately rush her out and start to do damage control. Alex and Bradley had promised to stick together, but Alex is ushered away and Bradley is left standing alone.

The opening credits begin, and suddenly we are being taken through the empty streets of New York with “Return to Me” by Dean Martin playing in the backdrop. You may or may not realize it (I had to google it) but they are showing you it’s March 2020. The only time in modern history the streets of New York were this empty was in March 2020. So then when they take you back to “Three Months Earlier” it’s New Year’s Eve and you know now we are in December 2019.

But they never really tell you how much time has lapsed since the Alex and Bradley bomb. But it seems they want us to believe that the Alex and Bradley revelation was early 2019. I’m guessing give or take 6 months before where we are now.

I’m hoping the “Return to Me” shot is not an indication that the show is going to be diving into COVID. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like we are in a good place to be reliving March 2020.

I leave you now. Episode 2 is out today so obviously you know my Friday night plans.