The Morning Show: In the Dark Night of the Soul It's Always 3:30 in the Morning

November 12, 2019 7:52 AM - Season 1, Episode 1

America's favorite morning news show is thrown into crisis when it becomes the news.
posted by ellieBOA (3 comments total)

I just couldn't with this. I pretty much noped out at Carell's temper tantrum. How am I supposed to feel sorry for him or anyone around him? We are not yet at a cultural moment that deserves a reexamination of #MeToo and the nuances of men who fuck women who work for them, sorry.

And then Witherspoon is playing a pure Sorkin conservative -- an actually principled person who wishes all of the other people in the right-wing ecosystem would be just a little better so they could pursue their goals of Freedom From Government Overreach, despite the fact that every. single. one. of those people has been exposed as a grifter and/or a racist.

I was sort of looking at the TV without actually absorbing it by the final act of this episode. Was this worth continuing? At all?
posted by Etrigan at 10:06 AM on November 12, 2019

I don't think the show is exhibiting any sympathy at all for Carrell's position, or for the people who worked with him, men or women. Especially by the time the fourth (most recent) episode comes along, it's clear they are going to be examining the structural and cultural factors that not just allows, but encourages this kind of behavior.

I also wouldn't describe Reese Witherspoon's character as conservative, not even in the "principled right-wing" style that, as you note, seems to largely be a fictional construct these days.

I'm enjoying the season, personally, and look forward seeing where they take it.
posted by Superplin at 10:12 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

I'm with Superplin. The first episode is rough in many ways. I described The Morning Show on twitter "as a show engineered to troll ~the discourse~" which was probably not intentional from the creators but I at least understand where you're coming from, Etrigan, even if I don't agree. And yeah, it gets better.

The show does feel like it wants to be a Sorkin show but of course, it isn't and that's fine.

I'm a sucker for this kind of behind-the-scenes shows: I loved Studio 60, I loved the Newsroom and I will definitely keep watching this.

After 4 episodes I'm still not sure if it's a really good show, but I like the characters and most importantly, it's really entertaining.
posted by KTamas at 10:55 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]