David Farnor | On 11, Sep 2019

“My life is over with no good reason.” That’s the sound of drama erupting on-screen and off, as Apple TV+ launches its flagship new drama The Morning Show.

The cutthroat drama stars and executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston and explores the world of morning news and the ego, ambition and the misguided search for power behind the people who help America wake up in the morning.

The series follows the free fall of an early morning newscast in the wake of a scandal, and its struggle to survive in an era when news arrives in the palm of your hand.

Steve Carell plays Mitch Kessler, an anchor struggling to stay relevant in a changing media landscape, with Aniston playing Alex Levy as his co-presenter. They are joined by Billy Crudup as Cory Ellison, the forward-thinking president of the network’s news divisio, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Hannah Shoenfeld, the charming head booker of talent, and Mark Duplass as Chip Black, the EP of the morning show. And, stealing the show is Reese Witherspoon as Bradley Jackson, a journalist who speaks up for the good old honest value of the truth.

The trailer promises the kind of topical debates that viewers expect from buzz-worthy prestige TV. You’ll be able to see it for yourself on 1st November, when Apple TV+ launches worldwide. The subscription streaming service will cost £4.99 a month, with a seven-day free trial – and one year’s free subscription for anyone who buys a new Apple device. Apple TV+ will be available through the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, as well as select smart TVs, streaming boxes and streaming sticks.

Here’s the trailer:

 

Watch: First trailer for Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show

13th August 2018

“I feel that people are screaming for an honest conversation,” declares a voice in the new trailer for The Morning Show, Apple TV+’s new series.

The programme, which stars Academy Award-winner Reese Witherspoon, Emmy Award-winner Jennifer Aniston and Golden Globe-winner Steve Carell, promises a “high-stakes drama that pulls back the curtain on early morning TV”.

The programme was snapped up by Apple in 2017, beating out competition from Netflix and Showtime as it looks to go toe-to-toe with both in the area of prestige TV. Already committed to two seasons, that confidence is backed up by its impressive cast, which includes not only Carell as Mitch Kessler, an anchor struggling to stay relevant in a changing media landscape opposite Aniston and Witherspoon’s unknown characters, but a guest line-up that features Billy Crudup, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mark Duplass as Cory Ellison, the forward-thinking president of the network’s news division, Hannah Shoenfeld, the charming head booker of talent, and Chip Black, the EP of the morning show.

The show is written by Kerry Ehrin and based on an original idea by Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg. Brian Stelter is consulting on the series, with his book Top of the Morning providing background material. The series doesn’t have a premiere date but marks the first of Apple TV+’s original series to get a trailer, suggesting that it will be the flagship launch title for when the subscription platform goes live this autumn.

Here’s the video:

 

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Billy Crudup join Apple’s morning show drama

24th October 2018

Apple’s morning show drama is stepping up the star power with two big names joining an already big cast.

The untitled programme takes an inside look at the people working on an American TV show that wakes the nation up in the morning, with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon starring and co-exec-producing the series. They’ve already been joined by Steve Carell as Mitch Kessler, an anchor struggling to stay relevant in a changing media landscape.

Now, that star-studded line-up is getting starrier, with Billy Crudup (Gypsy, Almost Famous) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror, A Wrinkle in Time) both signing on. Crudup will play Cory Ellison, the forward-thinking president of the network’s news division, while Mbatha-Raw will play Hannah Shoenfeld, the whip-smart and charming head booker of talent. They will be joined by Nestor Carbonell (Bates Motel, Lost) and Mark Duplass (The Mindy Project, The League), who will have series regular roles as Yanko Flores, a weatherman with an artist’s soul, and Chip Black, the EP of the morning show.

The show is written by Kerry Ehrin and based on an original idea by Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg. Brian Stelter is consulting on the series, with his book Top of the Morning providing background material.

Filming on the Apple series will begin this week in Los Angeles.

 

Steve Carell joins Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston in Apple’s morning show drama

24th October 2018

Steve Carell has joined Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston in Apple’s new drama about a morning TV show.

Carell, who impressed for years in the US remake of The Office, will return to the small screen for the untitled programme, which takes an inside look at the people working on an American TV show that wakes the nation up in the morning. Carell will play Mitch Kessler, an anchor struggling to stay relevant in a changing media landscape.

The show is written by Kerry Ehrin and based on an original idea by Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg. Brian Stelter is consulting on the series, with his book Top of the Morning providing background material. Aniston and Witherspoon will star and co-exec-produce the series, alongside director Mimi Leder and Ehrin, who serves as showrunner. Kristin Hahn will exec-produce through Echo Films, Witherspoon and Lauren Levy Neustadter through Hello Sunshine.

As well as returning to TV, Carell’s casting marks a return to familiar territory, following his role as Brick Tamland in Anchorman. Carell is no stranger to streaming either, having recently starred in Amazon Studios drama Beautiful Boy.

Filming on the Apple series will begin next week in Los Angeles.

 

Apple orders new TV series starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston

12th November 2017

Apple has ordered a new TV series starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, as the tech giant’s push into original video content shows it means business.

Apple is late to the online streaming game, with its existing productions only involving reality series Planet of the Apps, which has not been well received, and a show expanded from James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke. Now, though, the company is preparing to take a significant bite out of the competition, with a $1 billion budget for new projects, to be spent by a dream team of execs that include Sony TV veterans Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, plus Channel 4’s Jay Hunt, who has given the world everything from Humans and Gogglebox to Sherlock and the newly poached The Great British Bake Off.

While Apple’s $1 billion budget pales in comparison to Netflix’s planned $8 billion investment this year alone, its trio is spending it wisely: its second original project is as star-studded as it gets, with both Witherspoon and Aniston exec-producing and starring.

The drama will centre around a morning TV show, a la Good Morning America, and is produced by Aniston’s Echo Films and Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. HBO’s former head of drama, Michael Ellenberg, is also an EP. There are no scripts yet, or a title, but Jay Carson, a supervising producer on House of Cards, will be on showrunner duties, while CNN’s Brian Stelter (who penned a morning TV book called Top of the Morning) are also attached.

Apple has ordered two seasons of 10 episodes, beating competition from both Netflix and Showtime. The series will come with a hefty chunk of buzz: it marks Aniston’s first major return to TV since Friends and comes hot on the heels of Witherspoon’s smash hit Big Little Lies, which was on HBO earlier this year.

It joins another impressive video project on Apple’s fledgling production slate: the rights to revive Steven Spielberg’s 1980s anthology show, Amazing Stories.

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