Entertaining TV journalism – Style

“Kommersant Style” talks about how the main characters of the series “The Morning Show” have changed and why its creators’ view of the behind-the-scenes of modern news television is interesting.

It all started a few years ago, when the venerable acting trio of Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon appeared in the first season of “The Morning Show,” a series about the work of a news channel and the life (including personal) of TV presenters and producers. They starred as hosts of a popular morning talk show and immediately brought the series on the Apple TV+ streaming platform to the level of quality drama. The script for the series was written based on the book “Top Of The Morning” by journalist and TV presenter Brian Stelter about the real wars of morning shows, which the creators tried to bring to life on the screen.

The third season continues the story about Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) and Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), who continue to work on the UBA channel, have excellent viewer ratings and are considered by all America’s sweethearts, the darlings and top figures of American news television. The cast has changed: Steve Carell was “killed off” in the previous season, and new themes and characters have emerged to take his place and the issues of sexualized behavior in the workplace. The new season will include Emmy Award winner Jon Hamm (Mad Men’s Don Draper) as well as Nicole Beharie and British actor Stephen Fry in a small role.

The show initially positioned itself as a platform for rich analysis of complex current world events, namely the #metoo movement and the alleged cover-up of sexual harassment on The Today Show, equality in the workplace, the topic of Donald Trump and corruption in media conglomerates. A pandemic, quarantine, problems of racial discrimination, relationships in same-sex couples, abortion, world conflicts – it seems that there is not a single topic in The Morning Show that does not appear on the current news agenda. Real headlines and footage of real events are used here to achieve dramatic effect and are perceived as part of a visual series rich in meaning. In the third season, the hosts suddenly go into space (literally), Jon Hamm plays a charismatic technical genius (an obvious inspiration for Elon Musk) who plans to buy UBA, has an affair with Aniston (sex scenes included) – and all this in ideal expensive interiors, in carefully thoughtful costumes and makeup.

Dresses for special occasions, suits for news broadcasts, cashmere sweaters for everyday life – all were chosen or created by costume designers Sophie de Rakoff, Debra McGuire and Beth Lancaster. “This season’s outfits are different from the previous ones. The characters rise through the ranks and make ambitious decisions, so their confidence and ambition is reflected in their clothing,” de Rakoff said. Brands receiving more screen time this season included Alexander McQueen, Khaite and Jil Sander. The Lafayette 148 brand made several custom suits for Reese Witherspoon’s character, Bradley Jackson, and Valentino, thanks to Jennifer Aniston’s good personal relationship with the brand’s creative director Pier Paolo Piccioli, provided dresses and accessories for one of the key scenes of the season. In general, the main discussion of the series is built around Jennifer Aniston – she is called a person who managed to save her career after a series of roles in mediocre comedies.

In general, critics agree that The Morning Show is a banal pleasure in watching well-groomed A-listers and the amount of money the whole show costs, but they call it one of the strangest and most confusing on television. Long gone are the days when television news was the medium through which people learned about world events. But The Morning Show seems to live in the past and considers itself a monocultural media outlet. This is similar to conversations about glossy magazines and online publications, in which the former is desperately trying to look like the only noteworthy means of connecting with the audience.

In the third season of “The Show,” “everyone has problems and everyone has their own secret,” as Jennifer Aniston said in an interview. Apple renewed the series for a fourth season – life on television goes on, no matter what.

Irina Kiriyenko