The Morning Show, and how it relates to the #MeToo Movement
If you are looking for a show with a strong female cast, with lots of comeuppance for males who abuse their positions of power in the workplace, look no further than Apple TV’s release of “The Morning Show”.
At first glance, this may seem like a comedy, as it has the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Mindy Kaling, Mark Duplass, and other talented “comedian” types. But trust me when I say this is not a glossy sitcom by any means.
In the era of #MeToo, Mitch Kessler, played by Steve Carell, is fired from his 15 year position as the host in a popular morning show a la The Today Show for inappropriate sexual behavior. There is talk that his female co-star, Alex Levy, has surpassed her “shelf life” and needs to be put out to pasture. Thanks to Mitch’s behavior and abrupt departure, Alex is able to turn the tables in her favor. She pulls a fast one at the awards ceremony, and nominates Bradley Jackson, played by Reese Witherspoon, to take over Mitch’s vacated position. Bradley “two-fucks” Jackson has been known to fly off the rails (as shown in the viral video between her and a man who knocked over her camera operator), has bounced from station to station, and has a self-sabotaging streak caused by her need for the truth to always be told, no matter what the cost.
Although there is both friction and camaraderie between the two hosts, the story goes way deeper than this. One of the strongest episodes is episode 108, where the story goes back to 2018. Mitch Kessler and Alex Levy are sent to Vegas to cover the mass shooting at Mandalay Bay. A young assistant booker, Hannah Shoenfeld, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is thrilled when she replaces the head booker Jared, who is kind of a jerk, and proves herself more than worthy of the task, arranging for interviews with survivors and witnesses. Mitch seemingly befriends Hannah trying to help her cope with the sadness and horror of the devastation. He innocently invites her to his hotel room to have a movie night, which eventually takes a turn for a predatory sexual encounter. Hannah is both frozen and frightened, and yet seemingly complicit, as can happen when one is victimized, unable to leave or stop the attack, filled with conflicting emotions all at once: her parental figure who she idolized, is now taking advantage of her. Eventually, she goes to report the incident to the head of the network, who silences her, and promotes her to head booker.
One of the lighter and funnier pairs to watch is the budding romance slash secret rendezvous between Yanko Flores, played by Nestor Carbonyl (Bates Motel), the older weatherman with long winded stories, and the younger intern, Claire Conway (Bel Powley), who initiated the romantic interlude with Yanko, who was cautious of having such a relationship with a younger employee of the company in light of indiscretions.
Alex Levy is trying to fight a business that believes women have a shelf life. She fought hard to get where she is, at the expense of her marriage and relationship with her daughter. She mourns the “loss” of Mitch, with whom she actually once had an encounter, but it is only when the incident and further consequences of his attack on Hannah come to light, that she is willing to team up with the truth seeker Bradley and go after and dismantle the boys club at UBA. Bradley manages to take interviews into directions that make the network bite their nails, as she is not concerned with UBA’s reputation, only that the story is told. Her relationship with her family is complicated, having reported her father’s drunk driving incident that killed a child. She is also a great example of what a single woman from a messed up childhood can achieve despite her circumstances.
The relationships are well-scripted, well-developed, with ever-changing alliances, as depicted by the bouncing dots in the opening credits. I also found the music choices to be amazing: there is a woman crooning a lounge version of Radiohead’s “Creep” (very poignant to the story of the sexual predators), and Billy Crudup and Jennifer Anniston do a duet of “Not While I’m Around” from Sweeney Todd.
This series is a must watch. There are even more stories of strong females and their interactions with their male counterparts. The story brings to light how the #MeToo will need to persevere, as our work is not yet done, as well as the struggles for women still to achieve a seat at the table both in the media and in business.
Kama Linden is a musician with 3, to be 4 albums, as well as a SAG-AFTRA performer.
She also has a fitness book called “Healthy Things You Can Do In Front Of The TV” on Amazon and Kindle.
