‘The Morning Show’ EP Answers Burning Season 3 Finale Questions About Bradley, That Merger Twist & More
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Morning Show Season 3 Episode 10 “The Overview Effect.”]
The Morning Show Season 3 has come to a close, but not without delivering a major cliffhanger ending as Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) decided to turn herself in for covering up evidence in the January 6th insurrection.
Going into the FBI offices alongside her brother Hal (Joe Tippett), she’s bid adieu by close pal Alex (Jennifer Aniston), who is fresh off of her victorious takedown of tech billionaire boyfriend Paul (Jon Hamm) as she presented UBA with a merger pitch over his acquisition of the company. Cory (Billy Crudup) also faced the music for an investigation sparked by incriminating photos hinting the executive had inappropriate relationships with his employees, which of course, was false.
Below, director and executive producer Mimi Leder answers some of our biggest burning questions following the Season 3 finale as we look ahead to Season 4.
(Credit: Apple TV+)
Bradley decides to turn herself in with her brother Hal. Is it safe to say she’ll never work as a journalist again? And if that’s the case, will she continue to play an integral role in a series about a morning news program?
Mimi Leder: I would say that that is a very interesting and fascinating question as to Bradley’s future in journalism, and I don’t know the answer to it. I don’t think we know the answer to it yet because we wrapped in February and we were in heavy post when the strike happened. So it’s fair to say that there’s a lot of planning and writing to be done. But that question definitely will be one that we’ll see where she ends up. And I’m sure it’ll be integral to our storytelling in Season 4 and relevant to what we put out there. It’s a great question. And are people forgiven for their sins? Do people get second chances? We’ll see if she gets one. I’m not sure.
Paul’s true colors seem to be revealed in the final episodes. Did he ever genuinely care for Alex, or was their relationship an easier way for him to weasel his way into UBA?
Yeah, I think people are very complex. And Paul did come in for a reason. He came in as the savior. This huge tech billionaire walks into the room and he’s an accelerant and he pushes everyone in the story towards their truth. And he comes in as these maverick capitalists do — they come in to save us, money is the answer. As the story goes on, you see that Paul is just as vulnerable to capitalism and shifts of power like everyone else is. And discovering all that, people have many sides. Did he care about Alex? I feel he did. I feel that he’s almost a victim of his wealth, of his fantasies, of his greedy desires. Maybe he’s not a victim, but he’s certainly multifaceted. And can you love someone who does awful things? When she discovers who he really is, Alex steps into her power.
(Credit: Apple TV+)
Alex makes a very difficult decision about what to do with this great conflict. Her moral compass is challenged, and she has to dig deep inside her heart and decide what is the right thing to do, and she does. In the beginning, she wants a seat at the table and to see UBA go in a great direction. Cory is completely f**king it up. He’s out of money, and she doesn’t trust him to fix UBA, and she wants to fix it. It’s incredible to watch her character evolve and grow and become this powerful. She’s already a powerful woman, but she becomes more powerful because she speaks her truth. And that’s the theme of the show.
Ultimately, Alex pitches the NBN merger with UBA, sneaking around Paul’s back. To see if he’s tracking Bradley’s texts, Alex baits him with a specific message, which he ends up referencing. What was it like capturing that betrayal onscreen with Jennifer Aniston?
It was so much fun. We shot so many different angles, really tight, really intimate angles to see the wheels turning. What Bradley says, it’s really heartbreaking. We see how smart she is in setting this trap. And then when she realizes he takes the bait, it’s heartbreaking to see her in that closet alone, looking at the many faces of who she is, what has happened, and what is she going to do about it. And so seeing her walk into her strength and face the truth was heartbreaking, and Jen did an incredibly beautiful job.
Cory and Bradley have a great exchange in the hallways during their testimonies. It’s one of the first times we’ve ever seen him break down crying when she admits she misses him. Do you ever picture these characters pursuing a deeper relationship down the line?
I would say there is potential. I don’t know if it’ll ever happen, but I do know that they have a very deep connection. And that hallway scene is a heartbreaker. It is an incredible goodbye scene and it’s an incredibly honest scene about two people who do love each other but can’t be together, or can they? That’s the big question. You see their vulnerabilities in a way you never have before. And so much has happened to them this season. The journey was so great, so life-changing for both of them. And there they are kind of naked emotionally. And I think there is hope, at least for a real relationship.
Platonic or romantic, it would be great to see more of them together.
That scene kind of knocks me out every time I see it because he makes me cry and she makes me cry. And it’s very human. It’s always fun to see those two in a scene together and direct them because they dig deep, and the simplicity of their performances is so powerful between the lines in their faces that it just makes you feel so much.
The Morning Show, Season 3, Streaming now, Apple TV+
