But the writers wimped out in the middle of series two by killing off Mitch. With that, the show’s dramatic engine puttered out. And so for series three, we’re left with a monotonous workplace drama with no decent storylines. Abortion rights in Texas, a cyber attack on the network, a race scandal involving one of the presenters and a venerable board member – none of them hold the attention. Reese Witherspoon, always a third wheel as Mitch’s replacement, is still here on the margins.
Director Mimi Leder has described this series as “much juicier and sexier than it’s ever been”, which is both untrue and a sign of desperation. The script tries to get things off to an exciting start by sending Witherspoon into space and gives Alex a potential love interest in the form of Jon Hamm as a dashing tech billionaire. But Succession set the tech billionaire bar high with Alexander Skarsgård, and Hamm is disappointingly dull by comparison.
The Morning Show has never been top-tier drama, despite being heaped with Emmy nominations – it needed to either to be funnier or more vicious. But it was always watchable. Now the programme has lost its mojo – Aniston seems barely present, either physically or mentally, and Witherspoon has nothing to offer. With sinking heart, I must inform you that Stephen Fry turns up in it, playing a board member who speaks in Fry’s usual plummy tones but shares a very unlikely back story about his dad being a bin man.
