The Morning Show has never shied away from hot button political and socioeconomic topics. In fact, the drama embraces it, depicting real-life challenges and events in every season, all from the perspective of a massive TV network and the various people who work there. From the #MeToo Movement and sexual misconduct in the workplace to the pandemic, January 6 Capitol attack, racial inequality, diversity, and ethics, no stone has been left unturned. And season 4 continues that trend with an exciting, tense furtherance of the story.
Note: This review is based on the first five episodes of season 4.
Season 3 Recap
Picking up two years after the pandemic, UBA is feeling the pinch as funds and advertising is drying up in the wake of new media. They need to make a big move, but Cory (Billy Crudup) has all his eggs in his UBA+ streaming arm basket, banking on it being their savior (it isn’t). But he has also secretly been talking with billionaire Paul Marks (Jon Hamm) about a potential buyout. Knowing what this could mean for the network, the staff, and editorial integrity, others are not so happy about this news when they find out.
When the network is hacked, however, all Hell breaks loose. Compromising and personal information is released, leading to allegations of racism, the reveal of secret relationships, and a souring deal with Paul. Hanging by a thread, the team is at a loss about what to do but watch their revenue and reputation plummet in a downward spiral.
In an important side story, Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) is seen in a flashback covering the events inside the Capitol on January 6 when she spots her brother Hal (Joe Tippett) struggling with police officers. Later learning that Hal regrets his involvement and has now gotten his life on track with a girlfriend and a baby on the way, she deletes any of her footage that includes him. When the FBI asks for her footage to use in their investigations, she reveals her mistake to Cory who reluctantly helps her cover it up.
While Cory is desperate for the deal to go through with Paul, Alex (Jennifer Aniston) isn’t so convinced it’s the right move. That’s especially when she learns of questionable things about him and how he runs his business. That doesn’t stop her, however, from falling for him. When this scandalous conflict of interest relationship is leaked, however, it leads to a series of awful events, including Alex firing Chip (Mark Duplass). Alex also learns that Paul has plans to sell off UBA assets following the acquisition. He swears he wants to rebuild it into a new company, with Alex involved in the plan. Knowing that others she works with would lose their jobs, however, Alex is torn.
When she realizes that Paul was snooping on Bradley and blackmailed her, that’s the last straw. On voting day, Alex proposes a deal that would see NBN, the network where Laura (Julianna Margulies) works, merge with UBA. She blackmails Paul, advising that she’ll reveal compromising details about his business if he doesn’t back down. He leaves with his tail between his legs and the ladies move forward with the merger, sinking into their new roles of power. Meanwhile, Cory is blacklisted after Paul plants a false story that he was grooming Bradley. As for Bradley, she testifies to clear Cory’s name and decides to turn herself and Hal into the FBI.
The Morning Show Season 4 Review
The Morning Show season 4 picks up another two years later. Some of the blows have been softened, relationships salvaged given the passage of time. Everyone has moved on in their own ways.
The story continues its social commentary trend, this time handling more modern-day threats to media, including artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes, DEI, international relations, and matters of national security. The season is framed around the Paris Olympics with the network, now known as UBN, having secured exclusive rights to airing content in the U.S. It’s an even deeper dive into the inner workings of a news show than the series has ever showed before, with scenes that might remind you of series like HBO’s The Newsroom. The pressure to deliver is on.
Interestingly, while The Morning Show has always possessed a feminist slant, highlighting women embracing, taking, and owning their power, season 4 has a slightly more balanced view. Some female characters possess equally power-hungry, self-indulgent, even oddly misogynistic views as some of the male characters. These individuals and moments are juxtaposed by other powerful women, or powerful moments, whereby strong female characters earn or at least demand the respect they deserve in the workplace.
The season beautifully explores how legacy media is facing a crisis. The network has been forced to diversify, and this has resulted in relying heavily on a far-right podcast hosted by the offensive and obnoxious Brodie (Boyd Holbrook). He’s widely popular with his loyal listeners and his show brings in advertising, effectively helping support the “real” news. Everyone at the network loathes his show and everything for which it stands. But the audience reach and his influence is undeniably a necessary evil. They not only need his advertising dollars, they also need his engaged audience. It’s a reality to which any big media outlet can relate.
While Aniston, Witherspoon, Greta Lee, and Néstor Carbonell do a wonderful job as always, the scene stealers this season are Crudup, Karen Pittman as Mia Jordan, and Marion Cotillard and William Jackson Harper in the new roles of Celine Dumont and Ben, respectively. They all come together to show that what happens behind the scenes is as crucial to what viewers watch as the on-screen personalities. All these characters totally sell it, from the office politics to the tit-for-tat deals, butting heads on direction, and immense pressures of the job. One scene will leave you feeling exhausted by the end of the breaking news moment.
On a deeper level, you’ll see the characters face ethical decisions relating to free speech and the media, and the media’s reliance on corporate support. Can a story be killed or bought? What happens when a news story goes directly against a key advertiser? While journalists have a duty to the people, what if exposing the truth results in the network withering on the vine, thus preventing you from sharing the truth ever again anyway? Is it better to fall then to cover-up? These topics have never been as relevant as they are now, and the show handles them beautifully, exploring both sides.
From the manipulation to the blackmail, the dirty tactics, forced apologies, wheeling and dealing, leverage, and selective moral compasses, The Morning Show shines a spotlight on the current state of the media landscape. “The truth is under attack,” one character declares in a scene. The integrity of the media is being threatened. Media can’t bite the hand that feeds it, yet the hand that feeds it is often the same hand that takes away the nourishment, leaving the outlet, and the viewers, to starve or indulge in the junk food that is “fake news.”
Should You Watch The Morning Show Season 4?
The Morning Show is just as strong as ever in the fourth season, surprising since the series initially seemed like it would be a one-season story centered around the controversy with Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell). But season after season, the writing gets better, the storylines increasingly mirroring the times.
Interestingly, The Morning Show has fallen out of favour with fans based on the dismal Rotten Tomatoes score. This might be because the storylines are weaving into different territory that some may find too self-absorbed, even left leaning. Season 4 is a return to form, a plot that doesn’t put women on a pedestal and men in the dirt. Rather, it suggests both can be equally deserving of praise as much as be deplorably opportunistic and selfish.
Thus, The Morning Show is shifting from a “rah, rah, rah” feminist story to a raw and unadulterated look under the skirt of legacy media. It’s still a show that focuses on progressive topics, unafraid to take a stance with some, show both sides with others.
The reality of the current situation that the first part of this season tries to drive home is that it isn’t easy making money with traditional news. Yet this is precisely the type of news that prides itself on carefully vetted stories, investigating leads, and reporting the truth. Not conspiracies, not opinions masked as reality, not what fits a narrative or pleases partners. Just the complete and utter truth. At what cost? Sometimes, it’s the very ability to do the job in the first place.
The system is severely broken, and The Morning Show makes you see it, pay attention, and maybe gain a better appreciation for the people who try to bring you the facts, not the fictions.