Watch a New Trailer for 'The Morning Show' Season 2
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In 2019, the new streaming service AppleTV+ took a chance with their expensive and highly anticipated original drama, The Morning Show. Their risk payed off.
The series, which stars Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell was a hit with viewers and critics alike, perhaps enamored by the story's portrayal of morning television and the #MeToo movement. It originally debuted to mixed reviews, but as the story progressed, viewers warmed up to the series, and the season eventually garnered three Golden Globe nominations: two individual acting nods for Aniston and Witherspoon, in addition to a best drama nomination.
"You know, I think we were a new show. I think people didn't know what to expect. There were a lot of expectations on the show. And I'm really glad and happy people have responded to the show so powerfully and with great vigor," producing director Mimi Leder told The Hollywood Reporter.
As we prepare for the show's season two premiere, here is everything we know about The Morning Show’s second chapter.
AppleTV+ has confirmed The Morning Show will have a second season.
The confirmation of a second season was not a surprise, as The Morning Show had a two-season order from its inception. Producers and writers are already at work on ten new episodes.
“We have the shape of it. We’ve broken the first three episodes,” showrunner Kerry Ehrin told Variety. “We’re writing the show now; we’ll film it this summer; and we’ll be on next November.”
Watch the new trailers.
AppleTV+ has released two trailers for the second season. Watch the initial trailer above, where viewers got their first look at season two. On August 23, the streamer released another trailer for the upcoming episodes. Watch it below.
Filming for season two resumed in fall 2020.
After months of delays, The Morning Show headed back to production in October.
Before shooting began, Witherspoon tweeted excitedly, looking forward to resuming filming. She said, "And We are Bacccckkkkk! 🤗"
And We are Bacccckkkkk! 🤗@TheMorningShow @AppleTV https://t.co/dXkqz4f7Zn
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) October 7, 2020
Season two will premiere on September 17.
In June 2021, Apple announced that the show will return on Friday, September 17, 2021 on Apple TV+. The new 10-episode second season will feel more like network television, with one new episode released each week on Fridays. The streamer also debuted a new trailer, featured above.
The second season will include a few new cast members.
This season will introduce new characters and, as such, new actors will join the show's cast. According to Variety, three-time Emmy winner Julianna Margulies is one such addition. The actress, best known for her work on ER and The Good Wife will play Laura Peterson, an anchor at UBA News.
Hasan Minhaj, of the show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, has been tapped for a reoccurring role, as well. The writer-comedian, also known for his stand-up, will portray Eric, a charismatic, rising star in the news industry who joins the Morning Show team.
Emmy Award-winner Holland Taylor is also slated to appear as 'Cybil Richards,' the savvy chairwoman of the UBA board. The new cast members don't stop there. Greta Lee (Russian Doll, High Maintenance) and Ruairi O’Connor (The Spanish Princess, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) will also appear in the series. According to Deadline, Lee is set to play Stella Bak, "an ambitious leader of an online media company that caters to a millennial and Gen Z audience." Meanwhile, O'Connor will portray Ty Fitzgerald, "a charismatic and savvy YouTube star."
The show's second season was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Morning Show season two was originally set to debut last November; however, production was sidelined because of the COVID-19 quarantine.
"We were four weeks in, and we had to shut down production," Reese Witherspoon told Regina King in a June 2020 Variety interview. "So we are going to get back as soon as people are going to let us back to work."
Season two was re-written to address today's "larger, global" issues.
Given the major changes occurring in today's world, the show underwent rewrites to reflect current events. Rewrites are nothing new for The Morning Show team, as the show's first season was restructured to depict the #MeToo movement.
According to Emmy nominee Mark Duplass, who plays producer Chip Black, "I know that [the writers are] rewriting, which is crazy because that’s what happened in the first season. They had a whole set of scripts [then] and they rewrote everything to include the #MeToo movement, and now we’ve got other, larger, global phenomenon to deal with. I don’t know what they’re doing but I know they’re rewriting.”
Such current events could include the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the 2020 presidential election. Jennifer Aniston recently expressed excitement about the inclusion of COVID-19 in the second season, praising the new writing's "humanity."
"It’s really interesting to see the direction that this pandemic has taken [creator and writer Kerry Ehrin] with Season 2, because I believe what we all have taken away from these months in quarantine, and the state of the world as it exists right now, is a lot of contemplation, and a lot of excavation, and a lot of inward work. And, what’s excess?" Aniston told Deadline. "The covers are being pulled on our government—that entire shitshow—and just everything that’s getting exposed. It feels like there’s an upgrade that’s taking place."
Steve Carell will return to the show.
It has now been confirmed that Carell will indeed return to The Morning Show. Though there was some doubt about Carell's status in season two, as the actor was originally on a one year contract, he will now appear once again as a series regular. Carell will continue to play disgraced news anchor Mitch Kessler.
Among the show's staff, there was much demand for Carell’s return. Ehrin originally told The Hollywood Reporter, “We would like him to be back in season two. It’s in the works, but it’s not a done deal yet. That’s all I can say. But I would very much like him to be and I think that continuing that story is actually important.”
Season two has "a lot more to explore."
In describing the second season, Ehrin said, “It’s like a huge building fell on everyone and it’s about escaping from the wreckage.”
Indeed, season two will be about picking up the pieces from the first season’s chaotic end. Witherspoon commented on this reckoning during the show’s Television Critics Association panel.
“I feel like at the end of this ten episodes, there’s a whole new world order. It’s chaos. No one knows who is in charge and what leadership means at this point,” Witherspoon said. “I think that’s what we’re exploring in the culture right now as it goes topsy turvy, what is the new normal? I’m excited that we’ve got a lot more to explore.”
Ehrin also stated that the second season will focus more on the relationship between Alex and Bradley, Aniston and Witherspoon’s characters. “They’ve gone through two really traumatic experiences together, which has sort of forged their souls in a way,” Ehrin said. “But they still don’t really know each other as people, so we’re playing some of that in the next season.”
In terms of subject matter, The Morning Show has big ambitions as to where season two will go, expanding their focus beyond #MeToo. “We explore racism, sexism, homophobia — all the things currently happening in news media,” Witherspoon said. “We're just beginning because there's a whole new world order. It's chaos. No one knows who is in charge. What does leadership mean at this point? And I think that's what we're exploring in this culture as we speak."
The show has received much critical acclaim.
Aside from early critical praise and Golden Globe nominations, the show is now nominated for eight Emmy awards. Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell got acting nods for their performances as Alex Levy and Mitch Kessler, while Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass are both nominated for the "Best Supporting Actor, Drama" category. Martin Short received a "Best Guest Star" nod and director Mimi Leder was nominated for the show's final episode, “The Interview”—Leder's tenth career Emmy nomination.
On Sunday, September 20, we'll see if any of The Morning Show's stars take home one of those coveted gold statues.
How can I watch?
Luckily you have plenty of time to catch up on season one and emotionally prepare for season two. The show airs exclusively on AppleTV+, Apple’s streaming service. A monthly subscription will cost you $4.99 per month, but Apple also offers a 7-day free trial. Additionally, you can get a year of AppleTV+ for free with the purchase of any Apple device, so be sure to take that into consideration when you’re pondering an iPhone upgrade.
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