The Morning Show-Apple TV

[Anonymous]

One thing is for certain: Stella is on a mission to wear the most expensive, ugliest clothes available on the planet. And she is succeeding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the worst things about this show is the unending opening credits and music. Yes, I know you can skip it, but it still plays the last 10-15 seconds. Horrible and tedious. I wonder who came up with it.

+1. Can’t stand the lingering intro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the show did a good job of capturing the absurdity of life in that first Covid year. Like Laura playing charades on the patio of her huge Montana ranch as Bradley's mom dies of Covid, and Bradley caught in the middle. Mia getting so angry at her boyfriend for going out to some bars that she leaves the apartment, even though he obviously wasn't alone at those bars and his behavior wasn't such a huge outlier statistically -- Mia's was. The plexiglass dividers in the empty UBS offices to protect the 10 executives in the office from each other, and then Cory getting his vaccine super early from some corporate concierge doctor. And so on. Just absolute absurdity.

But yes -- no kids, no elderly relatives living in their homes, no spouse working in the ER, no jobs that require standing behind a checkout counter. None of the actual thorny issues that most of us had to navigate during that time, except when those issues intrude on Bradley's storyline a bit via her normy family. And then that is resolved by pulling strings, too.

Really mixed feelings about it. Some of it felt familiar but a lot of it just felt like a joke.

That's a great point that no one on this show has kids. Mitch did - but is he really the only one?!

Alex has a daughter (and Chip LOL!).

Bradley has a son, right? What happened to him post Covid and after her mother died (who was watching him during Covid) and she told her brother to stay away?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm extra confused about Stella's character at this point.

Earlier in the season, I felt like they were heavily hinting that Paul Marks had done something really horrible and of a personal nature to her when they worked together, and that's why they kept showing her looking grim and disturbed but saying nothing about the deal.

And then in the episode about the upfront, it seemed like her drinks with the ad guys was meant to be particularly upsetting to her because she'd been thinking about whatever happened with Paul, so she was extra bothered by the sexism and power dynamics at that meeting, and the fact that Cory kind of forced her into it.

But now it comes out that the issue was that she feels he stole (or at least vastly underpaid for) her idea and then used it to do something she finds offensive (racial profiling). Which, don't get me wrong, I think is a valid reason to dislike someone and not want to work with them again. But they are saying she was so upset she was suicidal. And again the way they filmed her earlier in the season made it seem like the issue was more personal than that (like he'd assaulted her, or forced her personally to do something really unethical). Not a dispute over IP.

And then Paul does one interview where he expresses remorse, and then tells Stella she's going to get Cory's job, and suddenly she's smiling to herself like it's all working out. What? They made it seem like she was really emotionally upset by her history with him.

It just doesn't add up.

Agree. That’s exactly where the previous Stella/Paul incident seemed to be heading, although I’m sort of relieved it didn’t turn out to be that. They already did the whole sexual harassment/me too storyline with Mitch. Also, they needed a new storyline for Alex and an affair with Paul, the new owner of UBA, opens up a lot of options for new storylines.

I also think Stella’s job offer is revealing a different side to her. She seems to be just as cut throat and ambitious as the rest of them.

[Anonymous]

Alex has a daughter (and Chip LOL!).

Bradley has a son, right? What happened to him post Covid and after her mother died (who was watching him during Covid) and she told her brother to stay away?

Bradley doesn’t have a son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the show did a good job of capturing the absurdity of life in that first Covid year. Like Laura playing charades on the patio of her huge Montana ranch as Bradley's mom dies of Covid, and Bradley caught in the middle. Mia getting so angry at her boyfriend for going out to some bars that she leaves the apartment, even though he obviously wasn't alone at those bars and his behavior wasn't such a huge outlier statistically -- Mia's was. The plexiglass dividers in the empty UBS offices to protect the 10 executives in the office from each other, and then Cory getting his vaccine super early from some corporate concierge doctor. And so on. Just absolute absurdity.

But yes -- no kids, no elderly relatives living in their homes, no spouse working in the ER, no jobs that require standing behind a checkout counter. None of the actual thorny issues that most of us had to navigate during that time, except when those issues intrude on Bradley's storyline a bit via her normy family. And then that is resolved by pulling strings, too.

Really mixed feelings about it. Some of it felt familiar but a lot of it just felt like a joke.

That's a great point that no one on this show has kids. Mitch did - but is he really the only one?!

Alex has a daughter (and Chip LOL!).

Bradley has a son, right? What happened to him post Covid and after her mother died (who was watching him during Covid) and she told her brother to stay away?

What? Bradley does not have kids. In like the third episode, she reveals she had an abortion when she was 15.

She has a brother who has addiction issues and is bipolar. He was with her mom during Covid. He took care of her mom, her mom didn't care for anyone during that time.

I am very disturbed by the fact that you could watch this show and think Bradley has a son, and invent all this stuff about him? Are you taking Ambien before watching and falling asleep in the middle of episodes?

[Anonymous]

I don't mean to be gross - but that scene with Alex and Paul was much hotter than I was expecting. I feel like we're such a nation of prudes that we don't actually see how s** on screen anymore - and this was legitimately sexy!

[Anonymous]

I'm rewatching season one of this show and the whole plot with Mitch and Hannah, the way it unfolds -- I think this show doesn't get credit for how nuanced they were with that. The show can be hammy and weird at times, and the focus is often on the more soapy plot lines and some of the performances are kind of silly, plus the stunt casting of big names for even small roles is a focus.

But the show actually told a really awful story in an interesting way, and I appreciate how well they were able to show that storyline from the perspective of Mitch and others (who didn't really get what had happened) without detracting from Hannah's story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm rewatching season one of this show and the whole plot with Mitch and Hannah, the way it unfolds -- I think this show doesn't get credit for how nuanced they were with that. The show can be hammy and weird at times, and the focus is often on the more soapy plot lines and some of the performances are kind of silly, plus the stunt casting of big names for even small roles is a focus.

But the show actually told a really awful story in an interesting way, and I appreciate how well they were able to show that storyline from the perspective of Mitch and others (who didn't really get what had happened) without detracting from Hannah's story.

I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well Jennifer Aniston, color me surprised. Good ep!

I thought Jon Hamm was lame stunt casting at first, but he and JA have really good chemistry.

DP. They would be an incredible real-life couple!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't mean to be gross - but that scene with Alex and Paul was much hotter than I was expecting. I feel like we're such a nation of prudes that we don't actually see how s** on screen anymore - and this was legitimately sexy!

I find Jennifer Aniston charming and pretty - but not at all sexy. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her in a sex scene before, so this totally threw me for a loop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm rewatching season one of this show and the whole plot with Mitch and Hannah, the way it unfolds -- I think this show doesn't get credit for how nuanced they were with that. The show can be hammy and weird at times, and the focus is often on the more soapy plot lines and some of the performances are kind of silly, plus the stunt casting of big names for even small roles is a focus.

But the show actually told a really awful story in an interesting way, and I appreciate how well they were able to show that storyline from the perspective of Mitch and others (who didn't really get what had happened) without detracting from Hannah's story.

I honestly still don't understand what was so "awful" about Mitch. Yes, he had a consensual affair with Mia. Yes, he slept with Hannah. He did not sexually assault anyone. Yet he was pilloried for... what, exactly? And before anyone flames me and accuses me of being a man, I am a woman. I simply do not understand this story line AT ALL.

[Anonymous]

I agree with others that the build-up to Stella's story really led one to believe something horrible had happened between Stella and Paul. I actually liked the interview between Alex and Paul, when she tries to "nail" him and he genuinely expresses remorse and sadness. Made me like him even more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mean to be gross - but that scene with Alex and Paul was much hotter than I was expecting. I feel like we're such a nation of prudes that we don't actually see how s** on screen anymore - and this was legitimately sexy!

I find Jennifer Aniston charming and pretty - but not at all sexy. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her in a sex scene before, so this totally threw me for a loop.

I am the PP - and same! I've always thought of her as cute, not sexy, and this was a real surprise!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm rewatching season one of this show and the whole plot with Mitch and Hannah, the way it unfolds -- I think this show doesn't get credit for how nuanced they were with that. The show can be hammy and weird at times, and the focus is often on the more soapy plot lines and some of the performances are kind of silly, plus the stunt casting of big names for even small roles is a focus.

But the show actually told a really awful story in an interesting way, and I appreciate how well they were able to show that storyline from the perspective of Mitch and others (who didn't really get what had happened) without detracting from Hannah's story.

I honestly still don't understand what was so "awful" about Mitch. Yes, he had a consensual affair with Mia. Yes, he slept with Hannah. He did not sexually assault anyone. Yet he was pilloried for... what, exactly? And before anyone flames me and accuses me of being a man, I am a woman. I simply do not understand this story line AT ALL.

PP who just rewatched S1 here.

He r*ped Hannah. They did a good job of showing why he didn't think he did, and how he sort of conveniently "forgot" about the power dynamics involved in all of his relationships in order to convince himself that someone in Hannah's position could just turn him down or leave. But also, from Hannah's perspective, it wasn't even just that he was immensely powerful in her workplace and could get her fired. It was also the sheer power of celebrity, of having someone who feels incredibly familiar in a fatherly way (because that's the image Mitch and TMS sold every day) asking something of you and not wanting to say no or let him down. The power imbalance is immense. But Hannah did not flirt with him, told him that's not why she was there, and he chose not to listen. She didn't consent and she didn't feel she could leave. It was r*pe.

Even with Mia, they show how loose his idea of boundaries were, and how even Mia, who did consent and had a lot more agency in that relationship, was very much not in control. They show him in the birthday flashback episode, where it's revealed he and Mia have just broken up (her decision) being unbelievably handsy with her in the hallway at TMS, in full view of other people, and her kind of laughing and pushing him off. And that's what he's doing in front of colleagues. There's the story of him assaulting that assistant (she's the one who does an interview with Bradley about it) -- his initial actions toward her are 100% nonconsensual. It's sexual assault. Yes, she later has a "relationship" with him, but it's very clear that she feels conflicted about it and that it wasn't something she wanted to do, more something she felt she couldn't say no to.

I think the show did a really good job of depicting what it means for someone like Matt Lauer, or Bill Clinton, or HarveyWeinstein, to get away with what they got away with. When you have someone who is that powerful, plus charismatic, plus truly believes that women love them and want them all the time, and put them in a cutthroat business where young women are deeply invested in not being seen as the complainer, the prude, etc. It's just really dangerous. It really is a culture thing because the culture is what enables the behavior. All those people averting their eyes as Mitch feels up an assistant who looks uncomfortable but also isn't saying anything, who laugh at his jokes about how hot Alex would look in a short dress, who watch him pull a producer into his dressing room and know what's going on in there, and just look away, laugh, pretend it isn't happening. That behavior makes it so much harder for someone to say no even if it's screaming from inside them, because they know that if there is punishment for it, people will look away. If they tell anyone, people will look away. The entire system is set up to empower these men (and sometimes women) to get what they want when they want it.

But the system doesn't absolve them of responsibility, either. Mitch is really adamant that he never r*ped anyone, that he just had affairs. But in the episodes where you see his behavior at TMS, his old personality -- he was just pushing boundaries, left and right, seeing what he could get away with. And every time he got away with it, it just emboldened him to push harder. You can see the degree to which power has consumed him and he wants to see how far he can push it. That's what he did with Hannah, and likely with other women (I mean, fiction, but it's implied) -- he was looking to see how far he could push them and each time he didn't get resistance, it made him push that much harder the next time.