The Morning Show - The human side of #metoo

I wrapped up the incredibly sleek and high-end series The Morning Show. It's certainly high quality sophisticated (read had considerably high budget) and has a stellar cast. The show is about the #metoo movement in the backdrop of an extremely popular long running morning news show.

The series starts with allegations of sexual misconduct against one of the show's veteran anchors which basically brings the news show down to its knees. Knee-jerk reactions ensure that Mitch Kessler (played by the brave Steve Carell) is kicked out overnight, statements are made by the network dissociating from his actions, and his co-workers are left to pick up the pieces. The series continues from there exploring the reactions and upheavals in the life of the people associated with The Morning Show, primarily, Kessler's co-star of 15 years, Alex Levy, played by Jennifer Aniston and Kessler's suddenly pulled out from the dumps replacement, Bradley Jackson, played by Reese Witherspoon.

Now, usually the case with any movie or soaps based on exploitation of women is centered around the women who have been exploited, highlighting the turmoil and emotional struggle the victims go through, whereas the perpetrator is generally shown as the evil, heartless villain. This series is different in that sense. The victims are missing well into the 7th episode out of 10 and even then is at best a supporting character. The primary characters are the people around the perpetrator who are now trying to disassociate themselves with him, and then the perpetrator whose life comes down to the ground. So much so that at one point you even feel sympathy for him. The show also highlights how media houses go light on any wrong doing done by their "stars" because they get them big bucks. It also offers a behind-the-smiles look at how a news show is produced, and how the scandal opens the floor up for cutthroat office politics.

I think a lot of credit goes to the makers to attempt to humanise the perpetrator and the people around him. So basically The Morning Show isn’t a straightforward examination of the #MeToo movement, but in fact a more complicated depiction of the movement that has refused to die down over years now. For instance, in her statement to the American public announcing Mitch’s departure, Alex chooses her words carefully in denouncing his actions, but expresses warmth for the man she thought she knew. There's Mia, who everyone assumes that would be the one who went to The Times and reported Mitch because she had a "known to all" affair with Mitch which she had called off and had since been feeling as being shunned. Then there's show’s executive producer, Chip, who goes on a rant about how unfortunate he feels it was that the movement was tried in the court of public opinion.

But nothing will leave you more torn than Mitch’s explanation for his actions. 'So what if he had a few affairs', he asks in one scene. 'He never raped anyone, and some of the women in fact came onto him.' He is, he believes, just like any middle-aged man in America. Humanising a person accused of sexual misconduct, especially in the current climate, is a near impossible task which this series has managed to achieve. He is much like an alcoholic who refuses to accept his addiction. He can easily recognize the predatory behavior in the others who have been accused, and yet when it comes to himself, he feels like a victim, unable to see himself being projected with the likes of Harvey Weinsteins and Bill Cosbys of the world.

The lead stars of the series are, of course, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston, both of whom were famously paid USD 2 million per episode by Apple. I have seen a few movies of Reese Witherspoon earlier and have always loved her work (my favorite still being Legally Blonde) and she is absolutely in her elements here as the crackling outspoken Bradley Jackson. I have not actually seen much of Jennifer Aniston's work (actually I have only seen her in the star studded He's Just Not That Into You and no, I have not seen Friends). I know that she has garnered much praise for this performance of hers but I personally found it average. Her constant expression through the 10 episodes was of someone frustrated and under tremendous stress (her lips perpetually in an inverted U), which beyond a point started irritating me. Steve Carell is fantastic in the role, bringing the perfect balance of entitlement and dignity to Mitch. The supporting cast is fantastic; Billy Crudup as the smarmy head of the news division, Mark Duplass as the insomniac Chip who has to perform the balancing act, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Hannah Schoenfeld, and basically just about everybody is cut out for their role.

End note, amazing show!