Bless the Beautiful, Bonkers Twists of ‘The Morning Show’

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This Week

My beloved Morning Show has returned.

I can’t stop laughing about this celebrity auction.

Gimme gimme gimme this Mamma Mia! oral history.

An instant Real Housewives icon.

Some sage celebrity advice.

TV’s Greatest Show Is Finally Back

There are TV series that have wild twists, and then there is The Morning Show. It’s just on a different level, like saying there are good actors, and then there is Meryl Streep—or there are things that are hot, and then there is the sun. The Morning Show is my sun. And my moon, my stars—my everything. I am so glad it is back.

(Warning: Spoilers for The Morning Show ahead!)

We should all be grateful to exist at the same time as a TV show that, to resolve its storyline in which Steve Carell plays a Matt Lauer-esque news anchor who is disgraced following a sex scandal, had him drive off a cliff in Italy and die. It was then revealed that Jennifer Aniston’s character, Alex, also had an affair with him at one point. This wasn’t even a finale cliffhanger (heh); these things happened during random episodes midway through the season.

There’s a certain gusto with which The Morning Show employs these twists, an unapologetic confidence that allows a character to do something that they never have given even the slightest indication that they would ever do and you just go “sure, make sense” without questioning it. Case in point: the decision to have Reese Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson and Julianna Margulies’ Laura Peterson start a romance with each other. There are moments in my life that were so packed with emotion that I’ll never forget a single detail about them: my high school graduation, the birth of my twin nephews, being in the same room as Oprah Winfrey, and when Reese Witherspoon and Julianna Margulies, completely out of nowhere, started making out in the back of a company car.

I am thrilled to report that the new season of The Morning Show, which began this week on Apple TV+, is every bit as twisty as its two previous outings, in all of its ludicrous, enthralling glory. In the first two episodes alone, Jon Hamm is introduced as a billionaire named Paul Marks who is not so loosely inspired by Elon Musk; Alex makes a Kelly Ripa-esque stand for the money and stake in the network she deserves; Billy Crudup’s Cory Ellison secretly tries to sell the company to Paul; we learn that Bradley was not just at the Capitol for the insurrection, but in it; she, Cory, and Paul are launched in a rocket to outer space; there is a cyberattack that exposes everyone in the company’s texts and emails; and there is an equal-pay race reckoning.

When a show is doing so much like this, you’d think it would be head-spinning. But there’s something almost comforting and calming about the cadence and wildness of these twists. One of the biggest surprises of The Morning Show was the revelation, over the course of its first season, that the series really was more of a soap opera than anything else. I think because of the pedigree of its star cast and the topics it was tackling amid the #MeToo movement, there was an expectation for pompousness or pretention. Instead, the show entertainingly leaned into salaciousness. At times, sure, that can be goofy. But it’s also really fun.

There’s even a relatability to all the outlandishness. Chronicling #MeToo, COVID, the collapse of the news media, racial tensions, political polarization, and cyber warfare, all while romantic trysts, family issues, and petty office drama affect the characters’ lives: It’s not trying to do too much. “Too much” is exactly what our lives have been like these last few years. There’s a delirium to everything The Morning Show is doing that is treated as normalcy—kind of like “being alive in the year 2023” is for all of us.

The Morning Show is a spiritual sister to the other TV series to which I have a ferocious devotion: And Just Like That. Whether they are of the same quality is debatable, but there is a certain preposterousness to characters’ behaviors that audiences are asked not only to forgive, but simply go along with in order to enjoy. Considering the decades of history behind the And Just Like That characters from the Sex and the City show and films, that’s more difficult to do with the sequel series. But celebrating rather than questioning the plot twists can lead to a highly enjoyable viewing experience. A person doesn’t spend a significant percentage of his life watching Grey’s Anatomy and dozens of TV series created by Ryan Murphy without learning how fun it is when you don’t take a show’s nonsensical choices and silliness too seriously.

So what do I think will happen on this season of The Morning Show? There is literally no way for a human to predict, no matter how closely they watch the series. And that’s why I love it.

This Celebrity Auction Will Make You Laugh

It is a rare moment when major Hollywood celebrities’ behavior is altruistic and noble, while at the same time absolutely hilarious. We are fortunate to be experiencing such a time right now—and the extremely online among us, bless them all, are having a field day with it.

A slew of famous people—actors, directors, musicians—are participating in an eBay auction to support the Union Solidarity Coalition, with the net proceeds going to benefit healthcare funds for crew members who have been affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Many of the experiences available for bidding are of the normal variety you’d expect from something like this: Zoom with the stars of Manifest; have dinner with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross; ask Sarah Silverman 20 questions in 20 minutes. Others are more…creative. Adam Scott will walk your dog for one hour. John Lithgow will paint a watercolor portrait of your dog. (Lots of opportunities to pamper your dog.) Lena Dunham will paint a mural in your house, which several people on social media remarked comes off as a threat.

The most genius members of our society—those who make memes—really ran with this one, Photoshopping fake items to bid on. It’s the perfect viral trend because some of the real-life items are so ridiculous that you really wouldn’t be able to tell which of the entries you stumble on while scrolling through social media are real and which are fake. (Except, of course, the ones that are of the shadier variety: Kate Winslet will tell you the “four gay actors” she knows who haven’t publicly come out, referencing a 2021 quote she gave, or Caitlyn Jenner will run over your nemesis with her car. Those are just obviously fake…and hilarious.)

It’s the rare meme trend where almost every single attempt is legitimately funny, and, though it’s been going on all week, hasn’t gotten old. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to run to the bank to apply for a loan so I can bid on “Natasha Lyonne will help you solve the New York Times Sunday crossword.” (Real item!)

The Mamma Mia! Oral History

It is my firm belief that the greatest, purest joy a human can experience during their time on this Earth is while watching a production of Mamma Mia!—or either of the two films based on the ABBA musical.

Short of that, there’s the bliss of reading Vogue’s oral history of Mamma Mia!. Timed to the film’s 15th anniversary, it’s a tell-all that goes on for about 450,000 words—and, as far as I’m concerned, could have gone forever.

The creators of the original musical, members of ABBA themselves, the films’ production team, and many of its stars all participate, and, in a rarity for these things, actually dish.

There are casting scoops on stars who were considered—Meryl Streep was always the first choice for Donna, but Michelle Pfeiffer was floated as a possibility—and who gave great auditions and were nearly cast. When it came to choosing a Sophie, Emily Blunt, Felicity Jones, and Natalie Dormer were great but not available; Gemma Arterton, Carey Mulligan, and theater stars Tammy Blanchard and Celia Keenan-Bolger made strong impressions; Amy Adams, Brittany Murphy, Jessica Biel, Kirsten Dunst, and Mandy Moore were among the actresses who were seen.

Dominic Cooper had to be begged to audition for Sky. Neither Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, nor Stellan Skarsgård had to audition, though they all confess to being convinced that they were about to royally humiliate themselves in a very public way for being in the movie. Everyone talks about the “Voulez-Vous” shoot as if they had been to war. On nights after long shoots, everyone got absolutely wasted together—Streep included.

If you’re a person of taste who has seen the Mamma Mia! films a few dozen times…a year—just me?—the whole thing is a blast to read.

A Real HousewivesStar Is Born

In this week’s episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, one of the cast members breaks down in tears. That’s hardly unusual in and of itself when it comes to this show—but the circumstances this time certainly are.

New cast member Monica Garcia got choked up while confessing to her mother that she had splurged on a Louis Vuitton bag that she could not afford. She felt inferior to the richer women in the cast, who are always flaunting designer brands, and wanted something to make her feel like she belonged. It was really touching and relatable—and finally an acknowledgment of the ludicrous wealth that the women on these shows are so typically nonchalant about.

Later in the episode, Monica confides in castmate Heather Gay that she was excommunicated from the Mormon church after admitting to sleeping with her brother-in-law for 18 months, and then spends an hour digging through the trash and tampon disposal bin in a public bathroom searching for Lisa Barlow’s $60,000 lost ring.

This is what you call a stellar Housewives debut, Bravo fans. I’m obsessed.

Words to Live By

From the people who brought you the iconic Kim Cattrall quote and headline “I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself” comes a new mantra, this one courtesy of Fleabag star Andrew Scott: “We need a bit more of people not liking things.” Amen

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El Conde: Pablo Larraín imagines if Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was a vampire. (Now on Netflix)

American Horror Story: Delicate: No one’s seen Kim Kardashian’s American Horror Story debut yet. But good or bad, it will definitely be fun to watch. (Wed. on FX)

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A Haunting in Venice: Please put an end to these Poirot movies! (Now in theaters)

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