Don’t be misled by the chatter: Morning Wars is a winner

There’s a pervasive view that the second season of Morning Wars is a lemon. Among the show’s critics, there’s vigorous agreement that, following an opening season which saw it justifiably winning acclaim and awards, it lost the plot and its mojo. The view is that it veered off-course, away from its concern with the machinations of the media and #MeToo issues, and became an emblem of the tendency to drag a hit series on too long and tarnish its legacy.

Few series have divided critics as sharply as this one and I’m in the minority as one of its defenders. Where others see a loss of focus, I see a continuation of its audacity and commitment to tackling contentious issues with an intelligence and recognition of their complexity. The subjects it raises are frequently rendered elsewhere in black and white, Morning Wars is prepared to acknowledge the existence of murky shades of grey.

Jennifer Aniston as Alex Levy in Morning Wars.Credit: Apple TV+

Yes, there are some missteps in season two, but, for the most part, it continues to do what the show did so well in its celebrated debut season: offering an insightful perspective on the brutal business of media; portraying a hothouse of ego and ambition in the glossy, high-stakes world of a New York TV station; presenting an array of intriguingly flawed characters; and examining a range of complicated workplace relationships. Which amounts to an impressively ambitious agenda.

Among other attributes, including terrific casting, the premiere season is notable for its nuance as it tackles the issues of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, the blighted yet fertile ground that gave birth to the #MeToo movement. Morning show host Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) is a star at the fictional UBA network, alongside his long-time co-anchor, Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston). They’re the foundation of a team that presents a cheery, we’re-all-one-big-happy-family façade. Behind the scenes, though, there’s rugged rivalry, treachery and a continual jockeying for position that would do the Roys of Succession proud.

Then come allegations about Mitch’s predatory practices, which, in one shocking case, have tragic consequences. Mitch is an arrogant master-of-the-universe type accustomed to getting his own way and acting on his desires with impunity.

Shielded by an enterprise that regards him as a valuable asset, he’s so powerful and entrenched that colleagues have developed a convenient, or expedient, look-the-other-way response to his behaviour. This includes Alex, who jokes about his conquests.

While this is not a new story, one of the things that’s distinctive here is the way in which it locates Mitch’s behaviour within a spectrum of relationships: there’s Mia Jordan (Karen Pittman), a senior producer who’s having an affair with him. She’s no keen neophyte, but a knowing and willing participant. There’s weatherman Yanko Flores (Nestor Carbonell) who’s involved in a loving affair with a younger female production assistant (Bel Powley), which he sacrifices due to its potentially damaging optics. And there’s talent booker Hannah Shoenfeld (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), whom Mitch pressures into sex, subsequently pleading with her to lie about it.

Mitch is exposed, disgraced and sacked and UBA rolls on. Scrappy, ambitious news reporter Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) gradually gains a more prominent role, as does slick, quick-thinking news-division president, Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup). The first season also offers the superbly judged encounter between Mitch and the loathsome and unrepentant Dick Lundy (played with convincing creepiness by Martin Short). A fellow media luminary and denounced #MeToo predator, he buddies up to Mitch, seeing him as a fellow victim of harsh times. The contrast between them is striking and deliberately so. The season ends with sometime-rivals Alex and Bradley uniting on air to call out UBA for its toxic culture.

The second season deals with the aftermath and, in part, poses a provocative question: can a man who’s been forced to confront his monstrous behaviour, who now feels remorse and wants to reform, ever be forgiven? Is redemption possible? It’s a confronting yet pertinent question.

Set during the 2020 pandemic, it finds Mitch in exile, alone with his dog. Yes, he’s in a gorgeous Italian villa by Lake Como, but he’s an isolated figure until Paola (Valeria Golino) crashes into his world, springing to his defence in a piazza when he’s accosted by a woman manufacturing outrage at his presence and aiming to make an impact on social media. Paola is a documentarian and a slightly cliched, feisty, free-thinking, full-blooded Mediterranean spitfire who partners with him in his central story arc of the season, drawing him from his shell and employing his expertise.

Bradley has become a polished network star who’s dyed her hair blonde and will sing, dance and smile for the cameras when required. She is busy angling to improve her position and occupied by a mildly engaging storyline involving her unstable brother. Having exited UBA, Alex has initially decamped to a remote retreat in the Maine woods where she’s writing a memoir. She’s wooed back to work by Cory with promises of more power and a prime-time show.

Reece Witherspoon in a scene from Morning Wars.Credit: Apple TV+

Aniston and Crudup remain standouts. Crudup’s quicksilver Cory, who’s schemed his way to the network’s top job, is an intriguing mix: smooth, sly, slippery as a snake and quietly enamoured with Bradley, he lends a spark to any scene he’s in.

Aniston’s portrayal of a battle-hardened yet brittle survivor of the unforgiving glare of the spotlight is a world away from her American sweetheart rom-com roles. Alex is hard to like but easy to understand. She carries guilt about her complicity in Mitch’s behaviour, as well as fear that the truth about their relationship will be revealed.

Her dilemma culminates in a surprise visit to his villa, an episode canned by the season’s critics who regard it as misjudged and overplayed. Yet it demonstrates the tangled depth of their personal and professional partnership. She’s there to demand that he lie to protect her reputation; he reluctantly agrees. Then they spend the night drinking, talking and dancing to records, including an Italian version of Stand By Me. After a final, heartfelt hug, she heads home, the show subsequently drawing a firm line under Mitch’s story arc so that there can be no speculation about his future.

The second season of Morning Wars might not possess the dynamic novelty of the first, but that’s in part because we’re already familiar with its characters, concerns and terrain. But it presents a compelling account of the priorities and practices in the boardrooms, executive offices, dressing rooms and studio floors of a media empire as it probes issues to do with sex and power.

The drama is poised to start a third season, where it focuses on questions of trust and truth as the power-plays at UBA continue. And I’ll happily stay tuned.

Morning Wars (season three) is on Apple TV+ from September 13.

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