The Morning Show, which began airing on Apple TV+ in November, has an eye-catching cast. It stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell. Thanks to them, or the amount of intrigue in the plot, the series received a high rating from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Morning Show was a project that Apple was betting heavily on, hoping that the series would lure users to a new online movie theater. Moreover, the stakes were very large: the corporation allocated about $15 million for the production of one series.

Usually such expenses go to the creation of special effects or large-scale scenes, in the case of The Morning Show, things are different. A large part of the budget was spent on the fees of two actresses who also acted as producers of the series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon each received $2 million per episode. It’s pretty funny considering that one of the show’s main themes is greed in the infotainment industry.

From the first episode, the series introduces us to the hot-tempered characters of the main characters. The ratings television show was brought to a halt by the news that star live host Mitch (Steve Carell) was involved in a sex scandal. His co-host Alex (Jennifer Aniston) quickly takes control of the situation. She disowns her former colleague, takes a central position in the morning show and issues ultimatums to her superiors, fearing that the channel’s management might get rid of her. At this time, a video with a speech by a provincial journalist Bradley (Reese Witherspoon), who loses her temper at a protest, becomes viral on the Internet. People like her straightforwardness, so the producers of the morning show invite Bradley as a guest on one of the broadcasts. There is a possibility that this is not the last appearance of a journalist. From that moment on, channel employees begin to fight for their positions and reputation, which can be shaken by any careless action.

The series shows the ins and outs of creating a TV show that brings the main news to the audience in an easy and friendly manner. It is worth noting that in the United States there is a certain cult of morning shows, and their permanent hosts become celebrities who carry certain images that cater to the interests of the public. This is part of the work of the character Jennifer Aniston – Alex changes behind the scenes, but when the camera appears, he continues to play his role.

Hosts of such programs have been creating a friendly atmosphere in the studio for years. However, real stories show that within the film crews the situation is quite different. So, the scriptwriters of the series based the plot on the dismissal of NBC host Matt Lauer, who was accused of sexual assault in 2017. The hero of Steve Carell becomes a collective image, he does not reproduce the history of Lauer, but in many ways repeats his career fall.

Series showrunners Jay Carson (who worked on House of Cards) and Kerry Erin (who produced Bates Motel) create characters that aren’t completely negative. They do unpleasant things, admit their mistakes and stumble again. At the same time, the situations of the series encourage one by one to sympathize with the main characters, hinting that there is nothing unambiguous in life.

This also applies to the MeToo movement, which is mentioned on The Morning Show. Showrunners do not suffer from moralizing, considering the situation from different angles. Some characters speak unflatteringly about him, others immediately set boundaries for themselves. Actually, the script simply broadcasts the opinions of many people, and the conclusions are left to the viewer.

What’s unsettling about The Morning Show is the show’s penchant for the typical multi-episode drama format. One of those soap operas, but of high quality, where, for the sake of intrigue, the characters eventually lose their logic and radically change their characters. The first season is interesting to watch, it reveals television insiders, but doubts are already creeping in about the second – will the creators have enough worthy ideas? (By the way, the shooting of new episodes is scheduled for 2020; Jay Carson, who left the project due to creative differences, will no longer take part in their creation).

Of course, bets will still be made on famous actors. But to be honest, they are not always justified. It’s nice to see Jennifer Aniston in a non-comedy genre, especially for those who have been watching her for a long time. Only now Aniston will not be able to please anything new, the actress showed her maximum artistic abilities back in Friends. In The Morning Show, she uses the same gestures, the same facial expressions and even the same intonations.

Reese Witherspoon will also not surprise with anything, but she will become an on-screen rival for Aniston, which in its own way can be called a curious sight. But Steve Carell, who is increasingly seen in dramatic cinema, adds some interesting tonalities to the series (take, for example, the episode in which his hero breaks the screen in a rage).

The Morning Show is primarily intriguing because of what Apple has invested such large budgets in. Then he still tightens the development of the plot and the actions of the characters. And it’s not far from the end of the season.