“The Morning Show” has officially returned for its fourth season, bringing back Jennifer Aniston as news anchor Alex Levy and Reese Witherspoon as tenacious journalist, Bradley Jackson.
Debuting in 2019, the series chronicles the behind-the-scenes and often-cutthroat relationships of the anchors, producers and network heads at a morning television show.
“It’s always, to me, been a show about the tension between ambition and being in a capitalist system and trying to retain your humanity,” Charlotte Stoudt, showrunner and executive producer of “The Morning Show” tells TODAY.com in a sit-down interview.
“I think that is just the tension of the show in the same way there’s a version of yourself on camera, when you’re on the morning show, and the lights are bright and you’re perfect and you’re cheerful at 7:30 in the morning. And then what goes on when those cameras turn off and you have to live your private life,” she says.
The series, which also stars Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Karen Pittman and Greta Lee, has borrowed real-life headlines for many of its episodes, often putting its characters in the middle of topical moments like the Covid-19 pandemic, politics, space trips and the California wildfires among other news events.
Since its premiere, the series has earned 27 Emmy nominations and taken home four, including an outstanding supporting actor trophy for Crudup.
But at the heart of “The Morning Show” are the relationships between its characters, who often struggle to walk the line between advancing their careers and taking down their colleagues in the process.
“I think they live in a very highly privileged world and they’re highly or deeply flawed,” says Mimi Leder, director and executive producer. “I think the audience relates to that because we’re all flawed and sometimes we do lose our humanity, our kindness, our goodness to get what we want, because we all want something.”
Throughout the first three seasons, viewers have witnessed the rise and fall of nearly every character and Season 4 promises more of the same.
“It’s jam-packed full of exploring AI, deep fakes, who can you trust, who’s telling the truth, betrayal, heartbreak — severe heartbreak — and friendship,” Jennifer Aniston tells TODAY.com.
This latest season also finds Bradley Jackson in plenty of precarious situations, something Reese Witherspoon says is typical for her character, if not occasionally frustrating.
“Listen, I have to play her,” Witherspoon says laughing. “I’m like, ‘Why is she making this decision?’ She just continues to sabotage herself.”
Aniston agrees. “It just drives you crazy. It drives Alex crazy,” she says.
Like Bradley, Alex will have her own dilemmas in Season 4, including dealing with her father, played by veteran actor Jeremy Irons.
According to Aniston, the relationship will likely offer deeper insight into why Alex is the way she is.
“Why is she this workaholic? Why can she not maintain romantic relationships? Why is her relationship with her daughter so strained? It’s why she’s so lonely,” says Aniston.
“It’s wonderful to have Jeremy Irons come in and play my father and get to answer some of those questions,” she says.
In addition to starring together on “The Morning Show,” Aniston and Witherspoon both serve as executive producers on the series, but it’s far from their first collaboration.
The pair originally met on the set of “Friends” in 2000, when Witherspoon guest-starred as Jill Green, the little sister of Aniston’s character, Rachel Green, and they’ve remained friends since.
Is it harder or easier to work together given they’ve known each other for more than 25 years?
“Easier,” Aniston says without missing a beat.
“It’s much easier,” agrees Witherspoon. “But we don’t get enough scenes together. That’s what’s hard. It’s kind of like my universe and then her universe.”
“Sometimes they cross, but when they do, it’s so fun. Those are the best days on the set,” says Witherspoon.
“The Morning Show” premieres Wednesday, Sept. 17 on Apple TV+ with new episodes airing weekly through Nov. 19.