There's a Simple Fix for The Morning Show's Woes

There have been enough negative reviews of The Morning Show, Apple TV+'s drama about a Matt Lauer-esque #MeToo scandal at a morning show, that nothing I tell you of its quality will be shocking. Pithy and potent takedowns like "rudderless and dull" and "Broadcast Snooze" tell the story: This is a boring show that wastes a ton of talent and narrative potential.

That's the bad news. Here's the good news: There are moments — basically any time series stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston share the screen — when The Morning Show is very good. Which, considering they play the two leads, you would imagine happens quite a bit. Yet in the first three episodes furnished as screeners to critics and released all at once on Nov. 1, they share roughly half a dozen scenes together.

Series leads not actually appearing on screen together isn't a problem unique to The Morning Show — remember the infamous Julianna Margulies/Archie Panjabi feud on The Good Wife? But it's surprising because there's no bad blood between Aniston and Witherspoon. Quite the opposite. The two have been friends for years, having first grown close on the set of, well, Friends.

So why the separation? (Mild spoilers ahead.) For the first two episodes, at least, it's for the sake of the story. Aniston's Alex Levy is busy dealing with the fallout of her former co-host Mitch Kessler's sexual misconduct scandal, and is trying to find a new co-host and secure her own contract renewal. Meanwhile, Witherspoon's Bradley Jackson is off reporting on a coal strike, going viral when her absurd, high-pitched confrontation with a counter-protester is filmed by bystanders. They only meet because, in an effort to highlight stories featuring women, The Morning Show's head booker (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) gets Bradley on the show.

It's in their interview that The Morning Show finally sparks to life. Confused as to why Bradley went viral – and perhaps threatened by her presence — Alex goes surprisingly hard on her in their interview. Bradley doesn't back down, biting back with a sermon about what Americans aren't getting from their news figures, because they no longer trust them. She ends it by saying Alex is one they can trust, but that's a lie and her implication is clear: Finding out Mitch is guilty of sexual misconduct makes Alex very untrustworthy to viewers. Bradley zeroes in on exactly what was making Alex self-conscious before, and manipulates it to put her interviewer on the defensive.

What's so impressive about this scene (and the few other scenes they share) is that each character gets to play to their respective actor's strength. Aniston's sunny exterior masking a seemingly unknowable interior lets her play Alex's multiple, varying motives with aplomb. Witherspoon, whose Bradley is a mess of a contradictions (she's not a conservative, but don't you dare call her a liberal, she's on the "human side!"), finally snaps into focus as a crafty-but-careful operator with a manipulative streak. Combine that with the women's natural chemistry, and you've got something special.

The big twist of The Morning Show, which isn't really a twist since the show was initially sold on this premise, is that Bradley Jackson winds up in the co-anchor chair next to Alex. What's actually surprising about this is how it happens: Alex, in an attempt to take controlof the situation, spontaneously announces Bradley as her new co-host. This choice was not made before Alex said it on camera, instead she forces her bosses' hands.True, this doesn't make much sense, as Alex has shown nothing but negative feelings for Bradley up to this point. But hey, I'll accept a rash and strange story decision if it helps a show be better!

Unfortunately, if the first episode after this move is any indication, it won't actually bring Alex and Bradley any closer. Save for a couple of scenes where Alex tries to reassure Bradley, then admits she doesn't know what she's doing, the two are separated during most of the third episode, even though their goal — to get Bradley ready for her first show the following Monday — is the same. Alex doesn't show up to rehearsals, and any time spent in the studio is spent with the rest of the team. Meanwhile, Bradley spends most of her scenes with Billy Crudup's sly-like-a-snake news division director (his scenes are truly black holes of anything entertaining).

I'd like to say that once Bradley and Alex are co-hosts we'll see a lot more of them together, but the third episode should have featured more of them as well, and it didn't. There's a way for The Morning Show to be great, after all, the series was sold on the chemistry of its two leads — and anytime Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are on screen together, the action crackles to life  — but those moments are few and far between. It will be interesting to see if The Morning Show's creators figure that out over the course of the remaining seven episodes, and give viewers the show they were promised from the beginning.

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Kevin O'Keeffe is a writer, host, and RuPaul's Drag Race herstorian living in Los Angeles.