[S2E2] It's Like The Flu
What seems to be a couple of weeks later, Alex arrives at TMS accompanied by her team, including her agent Doug, played by Will Arnett. (He's not playing his character from 30 Rock, but if you imagine he is, it's a lot of fun.) Up on the executive floor where her new office will be, Alex is literally given a squeeing standing ovation by some of the young staffers like she's all the members of BTS, which ... I mean, okay. Settle down, youngs.
[S2E2] It's Like the Flu
Cory suggests that he and Stella and Alex have dinner at his place to discuss the future. The guest list starts to grow, since Stella points out that they should invite Mia, and Mia thinks they should invite Bradley. Bradley will only go if they invite all the on-air talent, like Daniel and Alison (remember Daniel and Alison?), because "they have to be inclusive."
I honestly cannot tell how the show means for it to be received that Bradley throws her weight around to make sure that the rest of the group isn't marginalized. It would make a lot more sense were it not the case that much of the cast of the non-fictional Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show is marginalized! To whatever degree this act makes Bradley, the fictional character, look good, it makes The Morning Show, and perhaps even its marquee stars, look bad. Have said marquee stars similarly thrown their weight around to make sure that actors like Nestor Carbonell and Desean Terry and Karen Pittman (who play Yanko, Daniel and Mia) aren't marginalized? Because this is a show that's emphatically guilty of centering a small knot of white characters played by stars over everyone else, so is this an acknowledgment? Is it oblivious? No idea.
Bradley also calls Chip to ask for advice about Alex (which seems like a very weird move, given how Alex and Chip fell out last season), and Chip warns that Alex is out for herself, as he learned last season when she helped get him fired. (Again: Weird move.)
The episode climaxes in a fight between Alex and Bradley in the hall, in which Bradley confronts Alex about quitting the show (apparently, Alex quit only a few days after their big moment) and leaving Bradley on her own. She says that if Alex is going to come back, they have to be more like equals. They proceed to argue about which of them sounds more privileged and ridiculous, and I am here to tell you, it is pretty much a tie. Bradley also throws in a jab at Alex about how she abandoned Chip, which leads to the episode's final scene, in which Alex goes to Chip's house and asks him to return as her producer. And even though she treated him like garbage, Chip goes right back to her, because of course he does. Chip, you are a doormat.
What's more, Valeria Golino follows Mitch to reassure him that no amount of apologizing or trying to do good will make any difference to these unfair people (reminder: he hasn't tried either of those things). "I guess there's no place that's a safe space from safe spaces," she says, sounding like various op-eds you may have read. Steve Carell plays the whole thing with his hands stuffed in his pockets, emphasizing Mitch's efforts to just shrink into the earth. Poor, poor Mitch.
This "on the one hand, on the other hand" storytelling might be a canny strategy to maximize the number of viewers who feel like you care about their cultural anxieties. But of course, as between Hannah, who suffered the consequences of harassment and the covering up of same, and Mitch, who suffered the consequences of being revealed as a serial harasser, one of them is dead and one of them gets yelled at and lives in a castle. I'm not sure it's possible to keep one foot in each of those cultural moments and go for the attitude of "look, the thing is, this has all been painful for everyone," but it sure seems like they're going to try.
The Morning Show 2 Episode 2 also discusses the initial phase of coronavirus cases in January 2020. The first case gets reported in the US, but people think it is just like the flu. With all the other sensational news going around, the network decides to give only one-minute coverage to the novel coronavirus news.
While they quarantined, Mitch and Paola finished filming everything she needed for the documentary she was making. She thanked Mitch for his help and asked him why he invited her to stay at his Villa instead of quarantining separately. He told her he liked her company, but then clarified that they wouldn't be sleeping together. Though she is beautiful, he's too damaged. When Paola told him that she knew that, Mitch asked her why she stayed. Paola explained that damaged attracted her. Later, Paola asked Mitch to let her interview him. He said no because of what happened the last time he was supposed to be interviewed, but agreed when she promised it would just be for her to practice.
For the interview, Paola asked Mitch what he did wrong. He spoke about not thinking he was the kind of person who could hurt someone like he had. But he failed to see the signs that Hannah didn't want him. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that he went to Hannah and asked for her help. And she told him her side of everything and he didn't understand and said horrible things to her. And to him, that was his worst crime because he couldn't write that off as ignorance. He knew it was wrong and did it anyway.[4]
Paola and Mitch were waiting out the last few days of their quarantine when Alex showed up at the house. After witnessing a fight between Alex and Mitch that led to Alex leaving in anger, Paola encouraged Mitch not to leave things like that. After Alex left a second time, Paola showed Mitch that she had deleted his interview as he'd requested. Then she left, saying she'd finish the quarantine at her own home. She also told him she received a message from the professor's daughter informing her that he died that morning. Paola explains to Mitch that she is going to send flowers in both their names.
Before we get started, a quick announcement. Every Thursday night is ladies night down at the Snakehole Lounge over on Bernum Avenue. Ladies get two drinks for the price of one. Well, that can't be right. That's way too good of a deal. Nope. That is what it says. Wow, that sounds like a fun time.
April: Then I want a janitor. They can do what you do, right?Ann: Yep, nurses and janitors are totally interchangeable.April: Except no one dresses up like a janitor when they want to be slutty.
When Downton Abbey first aired, Julian Fellowes (creator and producer) was annoyed at the media for pointing out anachronisms like TV aerials and the use of the word 'boyfriend'. (The word 'boyfriend appeared in print in 1889, long before the period setting of Downton). Fellowes said "they think to show how smart they are by picking holes in the program to promote their own poshness and to show that their knowledge is greater than your knowledge". In a later article coinciding with the start of the second season, Fellowes apologised and commented "I behaved rather badly by getting the hump."
Although The Morning Show season 1 cast included some big names, critics didn't take so kindly to the show. The production value of the series was praised, but the timely messaging of the series came off as muddled to some. Still, the show landed several nominations at 2020's Primetime Emmy Awards, including ones for Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, and Mark Duplass. Mimi Leder was also nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. With reviews for The Morning Show season 2 praising the cast's performances, including some of the newcomers, it's safe to say that the series could show up at the 2022 Emmy Awards. Here's every new and returning cast member in The Morning Show season 2.
At the end of The Morning Show season 1, Alex and Bradley expose all of the behind-the-scenes misconduct at UBA on air before the feed is unceremoniously cut off while Witherspoon's character is talking. Alex is one of the lead characters of the series, and The Morning Show season 2 showed her in self-imposed exile at the start of the new episodes. Aniston is best known for her role as Rachel in the long-running sitcom Friends. Since the conclusion of that series in 2004, the actress has dabbled in everything from blockbuster comedies like Horrible Bosses to more dramatic roles like Cake. The Morning Show is Aniston's big return to television - since Friends, she has had guest appearances on various sitcoms. Still, the AppleTV+ series is the first time the actress has taken on a lead role in a television series since 2004.
Reese Witherspoon is back as local correspondent turned national sensation, Bradley Jackson. The Morning Show season 1 saw Bradley join Alex as co-host of The Morning Show, and the pair's relationship consistently shifted between enemies and friends. With Alex quitting as co-host at the beginning of season 2, Bradley is hosting The Morning Show with someone new by her side, but Alex's inevitable return shakes things up once again as Bradley finds her footing. Witherspoon's iconic career dates back to 1991, but her star-making turns in 1999's Election and 2001's Legally Blonde have led to more modern roles in hit prestige dramas like Big Little Lies, and Little Fires Everywhere, and Oscar-worthy movies like Walk the Line and Wild.
Steve Carell spent much of the first season in the background as everyone else at UBA tried to clean up his mess. Now, Mitch is back as the disgraced former co-host after the events of The Morning Show season 1 finale saw him and Chip (Mark Duplass) get into a physical altercation, as Bradley and Alex expose UBA on-air. He is shockingly killed off in season 2. Similar to Aniston and Witherspoon, Carell is one of the marquee names of The Morning Show, thanks to his role as Michael Scott in The Office and critically acclaimed comedies like The 40-Year Old Virgin and The Big Short.
Actor Mark Duplass' Chip Black was the executive producer of The Morning Show in season 1, but when his involvement in the coverup of Mitch's sexual misconduct is exposed, his standing at UBA is called into question. He is last seen watching on the streets of New York as Alex and Bradley give their on-air exposé, tears running down his face. Duplass began his career directing indie features like Baghead and Jeff, Who Lives At Home. He has gone on to star in films like Creep and Creep 2, as well as taking on roles in the sitcom The Mindy Project, and the Charlize Theron film Tully. 041b061a72