Should There Be a ‘Morning Show’ Season 3? 7 Storylines We’d Need to Leave Behind
Spoiler Alert
Season 2 of The Morning Show has mimicked the pattern we identified in its first run. The opening episodes demand your attention just for the next few to put you to sleep — yet the last remaining episodes redeem the season’s colorless center.
There were plenty of stories this season got right. Cory (Billy Crudup) becoming the CEO of UBA Networks. Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) exploring her sexuality with the alluring Laura Peterson (Julianna Margulies). Alex (Jennifer Aniston) facing the consequences of her past actions. COVID as the backdrop of crisis. And so much more!
But The Morning Show‘s biggest imperfections are its uneventful filler episodes. The show obviously deserves another season — Aniston and Witherspoon alone are irresistible selling points — but in order for it to be entertaining all the way through, they need to pluck out all of the extra nonsense they cram in the middle.
Scroll down to see which stories we think The Morning Show should omit in Season 3.
Let Mitch's Story Rest With Him
It seems that the show’s producers want to keep Steve Carell on the show for as long as possible, but his character gave us absolutely nothing this season. Being labeled as one of America’s notorious “sexual predators,” Mitch seeks solitude and self pity by staying at a beautiful Italian villa. What a punishment! Every scene with him this season felt like eating stale bread — except when Alex visits him — which is why his death was desperately necessary to pick up the story’s pace.
Send Paola Back to Italy
It’s clear they’re still trying to keep Mitch’s essence alive through Paola Lambruschini (Valeria Golino), an Italian documentary filmmaker who hates cancel culture and develops a romantic relationship with Mitch while also trying to give him a redemption narrative through her art. At the end of the season, she shows Cory footage of Mitch, telling his story, and we see how this may be used for the show’s next season. But like Mitch’s story, we should also let hers come to a rest.
Chip and Madeleine Should Split
This season we are introduced to Chip’s (Mark Duplass) new fiance, Madeleine (Katie Aselton), and their relationship is like watching paint dry. Once he becomes Alex’s producer again, she gets pushed to the sidelines and we learn nothing new about her, other than the fact that she’s his wife-to-be. In the finale, Madeline calls Chip and he ignores it, suggesting a tension that will be addressed in Season 3. We don’t know Madeline enough to root for them to be together, so it’d be best if they just break the engagement off!
Daniel Does Not Need to Return
We got to see a lot of Daniel (Desean Terry), and maybe a little too much. Co-anchor of “The Last Hour,” Daniel is tired of being pushed to the sidelines and being doubted in having “the it-factor.” He tries to prove himself, like randomly bursting into a Neil Diamond song or confronting Pete Bullard (Dave Foley) on national television. On top of that, we see him furious with Alex’s return and disgruntled with Mia (Karen Pittman). Ultimately, his story becomes so disjointed, it ends up swiftly fizzling out. He quits in the season finale and states how he has to visit his grandfather in the nursing home — yet we’ve never heard of this grandfather until now. The ink seems to be drying out in writing Daniel, so it might be best to just keep him unemployed at UBA.
Give Stella a Proper Backstory
Some characters had too much useless backstory this season — *cough* Daniel *cough* — but Stella Bak (Greta Lee) remained an enigma. We grew familiar with most characters’ family lives, their friends, and/or romantic relationships, yet learned little to nothing about Stella outside of being UBA’s president. This needs to change in Season 3 because Stella possesses an invigorating energy that could help save the show’s imminent downfall.
Make Yanko Relevant Again
Yanko Flores (Nestor Carbonell) held a more significant role in the previous season, but unfortunately, this season failed to keep him connected to the story. They put him in a position where he had to reflect on his privilege and monitor things he says, like the term “spirit animal.” But the storylines they gave him felt like they were seriously running out of material to work with. Hopefully by next season, they’ll revive his relevancy and stop typecasting him as this figure of ignorance.
Let's Wrap Up This Lawsuit
The death of Hannah (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) has made a long-lasting impact on UBA. Now, the network is being sued by her father. The lawsuit isn’t introduced until the fifth episode, and it’s piled onto Cory’s long list of work difficulties, yet the show makes it feel like it holds no significant weight. They drag it on for the rest of the season, and even Claire (Bel Powley) returns for one episode, revealing she’s financially supporting Hannah’s family with the lawsuit. However, this lawsuit is another stuffed conflict that wanes out by the end — and if it’s addressed later, there should be a lively resolution.
