- 2 days ago
'The Morning Show' creative team takes a Closer Look at the iconic Apple TV+ show and talks about their favorite moments, characters and that ending of the third season.
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00:00Thank you for joining us for THR's Closer Look Live. I'm going to throw out a question for
00:08everybody to answer. We can kind of go down this row. And when you answer, if you could also
00:12introduce yourself and your role on the show. But the first thing I'd love to know is what
00:16were you most excited to see on screen, the final products of this season? Something you wrote,
00:23something you pitched, something you designed? And if you want to start.
00:27Hi, I'm Charlotte Stout. I'm the showrunner. I just want to say first, it's really thrilling
00:35to watch the show with an audience. It's not the finale until people see it. So it actually
00:43means a tremendous amount to us to see it with you. Because you sit in an editing bay and
00:48the VFX isn't done and the ADR and all that. But it's actually really moving. I feel all
00:54choked up. I guess just because I saw it, for me, the moment when the two women embraced
01:02that we just saw. They both give each other something in the scene. They say, we have to
01:06part now. But I'm going to take a piece of you with me. And we're going to be on different
01:11journeys. But, you know, I have you. So I like that idea. Because I do think fundamentally
01:18that the show is a love story. Mimi, leader, director, executive producer. There's so many
01:30moments I love. You know, I love Chip's rant. And I love that you all loved it. And it was
01:38really fun to shoot. And I really love Billy's response. You know, that he'd rather be with
01:47the Oath Keepers than give a penny to Paul Mars. And that was just very fulfilling. But
01:52the most, the thing I love the most is the last couple, few shots, where the women are
01:58walking into their future and speaking their truth. It was simple. And I felt elegant. And
02:07it just felt honest. And I loved it.
02:12Those are the right answers. Michael Ellenberg, executive producer.
02:19Just in terms of what we all experienced making the show, because there was also when you,
02:24especially seeing on the big screen, but that day, this show is deeply personal to everyone who
02:28works on everyone on the stage, those two actresses in particular. And so when you get
02:33to the end of it, it's an emotional roller coaster for viewers, and definitely for us as filmmakers
02:39making it. And so the vibe that day of filming that scene was just awesome. It was intense. There
02:45was a lot of crying. Everyone kind of goes method by the end of the show, for better or worse.
02:50But I think for better. And then when you watch that scene, and you're in, when the first cut
02:54come in, and you're like, oh, shit, it fucking, excuse me. It works.
02:58You can save it.
02:58You can save it.
02:5810,000.
03:02It's just kind of what the thrill and joy of working on the show is. So, yeah.
03:06Awesome. Hi, I'm Kristen Hahn, also an executive producer. It takes at least many of us to make a show.
03:13There's so many things I'm excited about this season. I literally just got so emotional sitting
03:19back there. It is, this is the first time I've seen the show with an audience. I think for a lot
03:23of us, it's just, yeah, it's so gratifying. Thank you for being here. And I think the thing that I
03:31was most excited about in the early days of conversations that we all had, just thinking
03:35about Jen's character, Alex, was bringing in a new Alex who had survived COVID, sort of survived
03:40death, survived cancel culture, and was kind of a phoenix rising into a new self that would be less
03:47curated, somebody who was more raw and vulnerable. And I love the aspect of our show that looks at
03:55power and how power works in a workplace, in a personal life. And the idea of Alex coming back
04:02into her power, but with more vulnerability and being able to see feminine power with vulnerability
04:09on top of the moral questions that Charlotte really embedded it for each character in this
04:15season, I just, I was excited to see a less, a more raw version of Alex. And it really, it paid off
04:23beautifully. I was, we know the show so well, and I'm like bawling as if I've never seen it before.
04:27So it was very satisfying seeing that Alex and Bradley come together at the end with vulnerability,
04:31but both powerful women. Hi, I'm Lauren Neustadter. I'm an executive producer from Hello Sunshine.
04:41And it's so interesting because I think we all feel so attached to all of the characters. It's very hard
04:47to choose just one moment. But I will say what immediately sprang to my mind was that scene in
04:53the hallway between Bradley and Corey. I have loved watching them over the three seasons and watching that
04:58relationship, which I think is so singular and seeing these two incredibly nuanced characters
05:04really be vulnerable with each other. I feel like vulnerability is the word. It's the theme
05:09up here, but you know, just, just the layers and the dynamics of that relationship and huge kudos
05:16to Charlotte for writing the hell out of that and Mimi for directing the hell out of that and for
05:21Reese and Billy, you know, and what they did that day. I'll never forget watching that scene. And we were
05:26all, there was not a dry eye in the house, but exactly as Kristen said, just sitting back there
05:30and watching it for what feels like probably the 20th time. You just, it just makes you feel so much
05:35and you care so much about them. It's just a relationship that I love. So that was a pleasure
05:40to be a part of all the way around. Hi, my name is Sophie Durakov. I am one of the three costume designers.
05:48Deborah's here on my left and Beth Lancaster is all the way up there in the back. Give a wave, Beth.
05:57Um, you know, again, the scene with Billy and Reese, I mean, being on set that day, I was a mess. I mean,
06:05I cried for two days straight after that. I remember walking into the elevator, pouring tears,
06:10Billy walks in and he was completely normal. And I was like, how can you not be in this moment?
06:15And that was extraordinary to see it because this is the first time I've seen it. But I would say,
06:21you know, what was one of the many things that was great about this season for me was,
06:25you know, we are a costume village. We are a team and it's very unusual if ever to have three
06:32designers who work together the way that we do. And it worked so great this season. It was such a joy.
06:40And I think it really, you can see it in the work. And I know we all felt it in our experience and to
06:46be, you know, to be part of this team and to have it go the way that he did. That was something that
06:53was very, very special to me that I will always appreciate that we were allowed to do that.
06:59And it worked out the way that it did.
07:00Well said.
07:04I'm Debra McGuire. I'm the costume designer for Alex Levy, Jennifer Aniston.
07:12I concur with everything that Sophie just said. It was very emotional for me watching it because
07:18I feel like my job in many ways is kind of separated from the whole. And for me to see
07:28this episode and with all of you, it was very, very emotional. In terms of the wardrobe,
07:35I have to say I kind of quelled from every single scene. But the shot of her red shoes in the elevator
07:46is pretty powerful. And she just walks into that boardroom in that pinstripe suit and just,
07:53I was so proud.
07:58I just have to say, Debra has worked with Jen for 25 years. She was the costume designer on Friends.
08:05So Jen grew up with Debra.
08:08And Sophie with Reese.
08:10Yep.
08:10And with Reese.
08:13Anyways, there's so much more I can say, but we'll move on.
08:16I'm Carol Kravitz-Ikanian. And I'm one of the editors. And
08:23to try to be different than anyone else, although I teared up a little bit too at the end, of course,
08:33because I cut episode one, episode six, and episode 10. These episodes follow
08:41the relationship between Alex and Paul pretty closely. The beginning, the coming together with
08:51the interview, and the end. And to see their path, I remember cutting the end, this last
08:59scene on the balcony, and feeling really choked up when I was cutting it. Because I felt I had
09:05been with them, seen how they fell in love, got together, and then finally had to move away
09:15from each other. And so there's a little something in me about the two of them together that is
09:21very special.
09:25Hi, I'm Nelson Coates. I'm the production designer for the show.
09:28When we were about to start on season three, Charlotte and Mimi and I sat outside the
09:39commissary at Sony, and they pitched me the show because I was nervous that I was just going to be
09:45babysitting environments that had already been established in season two. And I do say they threw
09:52down the gauntlet of one of the most ambitious seasons visually that I could have ever imagined.
09:58from space to new environments for almost all the characters. And we were putting together
10:06presentations with pictures. And my whole team was like, I forgot we had done so much work on this
10:13season. By the time you get to a season three, usually, you're kind of in a groove. And instead, this kind
10:19of broke all the molds for a season three, and is even bigger than what I thought was an enormous
10:23season two. And I am so grateful for this amazing team and amazing team that stood with me in the
10:32design aspects of the show. Because they answered every task that was thrown to them and not only
10:41answered it, but exceeded it. And I'm just so gratified professionally and personally to work with these
10:47people and this amazing cast.
10:51Hard to top that. I'm Olmo Ponz-Dominick. I'm a post-production sound mixer.
10:57As for moments, I have to go with Chip. The Chip moment is fantastic. I'm with Mimi on that.
11:04For sound, it was a lot of fun seeing the conference room scene where Jennifer Aniston comes, pulls it
11:10together and slams down the briefcase and gives you a little bit of the power of the sound going
11:15completely away, which is as powerful as the other direction with launching reporters into space, for
11:20instance. And also, I want to say just seeing it with a group is a reminder of how lucky I am to be a part of
11:25this team and this incredible cast and the work you all do. So, thank you.
11:30I love, I kind of, you forget that, like, television is such a solitary experience when you're watching it. To
11:39watch it with the group is very, I feel like, such a lucky thing that you get to do. So, congratulations on that.
11:46Charlotte, I love that you talked about how this is essentially a love story between two characters, two women.
11:52And I feel like, you know, it could very easily be about competition between two women. And so, I'm
11:59curious, you know, how do you maintain a storyline between these two women who do have a deep affection
12:07for each other without kind of leaning into maybe something that could be easily expected of an
12:13audience of these two women, two powerful women are going to go after each other or something like
12:18that?
12:19That's a great question. I think the key thing, one, they're such different people. They're from utterly
12:25different worlds. So, they're, they start off yin and yang. You know, one is from West Virginia nowhere and one is,
12:32you know, just always been in that Manhattan world. So, it's kind of that opposites attract thing. But I also think we all
12:39have someone in our lives, if we are lucky, at least for some point in our lives, the person who pushes us to
12:46become who we may want to become or who we're afraid to become, the person who holds us accountable, who
12:53pushes us, who challenges us. And that's what I think is so great about the relationship, that it is, it does have that spark to it. It's not, you know, they're neither cat fighting or just
13:05brightening each other's hair. Right. And, you know, you're relatively new to the show. This was your, it was your first season?
13:14First season. As a showrunner. And many of the other, yes, yes. Many of the other EPs have been here for a long time. I'm
13:23curious, you know, what was it like to step into this role and work with a group that, you know, have established who
13:29these people are? And, and did you feel like you had room to play around with, you know, where they could go in the
13:37future, you know, in this third season? Especially, you know, I think it's also incredible that you didn't know this
13:43was going to be renewed when you made it. So you, so this was, the fourth season was up in the air. So like that is also, I
13:50I imagine a real balancing act of finding how to create a season long story that has an ending, but
14:00also has an open ending for the future. It's kind of two questions. I apologize.
14:06No, not at all. Um, I think it's delicious and actually very humbling to come into a show where
14:14someone has created a world and people already love the characters. Like someone has done an
14:20extraordinary, like all these people here and Carrie Aaron have done the heavy lifting. Like
14:25it's amazing creation of Corey Ellison. Like he's just one of the most extraordinary characters.
14:31You're just like, can't take your eyes off of them. Um, so I love being able to sort of drill down into
14:37the DNA of the show that already existed, but then where can we take it? You know?
14:42Yeah. Um, and maybe there are other ways to look at, uh, how women struggle to have autonomy and agency
14:49and just the issue of consent that's even beyond a sexual consent. Just, you know, how much money do I
14:54make? How am I treated at work? Um, how, how do I, um, maintain my relationships in a way that doesn't,
15:02you know, negate me. So all those things I think. And yeah, I just, I, it's kind of amazing that I said,
15:10they're going to go to space and no one went, you're crazy.
15:14In episode one, even.
15:15It is. I, I just like,
15:17Nelson just, yeah, I just, I remember that day on the Sony lot. You were just excited.
15:22You were like someone had given you a Christmas present.
15:24I remember.
15:25You know, this is such an incredible cast of incredible actors playing incredible characters,
15:31very fun, um, complicated characters. I'm curious for all, all the EPs here.
15:36Is there like a wish list at the beginning of the season of like the people that you want to see interact?
15:41The people you want to maybe have a confrontation, um, because you know the people that you're working with
15:48and what they can, they can pull off as these characters.
15:52Well, I would say when Charlotte created the Paul character,
15:55there was only one person we went to and thought of, you know, John Hamm.
16:00He was the one. We didn't want to see anybody else.
16:03We didn't want to get a no. We wanted a win and we got one.
16:07And it was really wonderful to see that character evolve
16:12and to see this good guy, bad guy come to his center.
16:18And molding that character was, you know, first from the script, then directorial,
16:23then in every way, um, costumes, editorial, uh, was, was exceptional.
16:29I mean, I've got to say we have the most exceptional, uh, team.
16:33Carol is one of the most brilliant editors I have ever worked with.
16:37And Nelson Coates I've had a very long relationship with in my career.
16:42And so coming to work is like, it is so much fun because we get to just play.
16:47Nelson almost didn't come back.
16:49He said, there's kind of not going to be anything to do.
16:51And Charlotte said, well, we're going to space.
16:54And how do we do that? And it's not in the budget.
16:58And how do we create it? And how do we, you know, make it feel better?
17:02You know, make it feel authentic?
17:04And how do we bring our characters points of view in that spaceship?
17:08So it's not just a spaceship ride, but it's character driven.
17:12And the, everybody from the costumes of our, you know, that you designed for the spaceship.
17:18And I, I mean, it was just, it's just such a collaborative team.
17:22It truly takes a village to make any show, any movie.
17:28Anyone who says, I did it myself is really, you know, really, well, whatever.
17:35They should just go to space.
17:36Go to space.
17:37Anyway.
17:38Um, we for sure always talk about, um, um, there's wish lists of scenes that look to be old school and enjoy the pleasure of ongoing television.
17:51I mean, you get to see Greta Lee's character evolve and Greta and Corey have this amazing dynamic.
17:55Everyone sort of kind of got not jealous of Greta, but I think everyone want to, we want to see her in scenes together.
18:01And you guys can talk about, you know, we're all always discussing, uh, Alex and Bradley both together and who are they pairing with at the right time.
18:09And, um, and kind of milking it for, yeah, everything it's worth.
18:13And these, it's just an insanely brilliant cast.
18:16And so mixing and matching, um, almost everyone can go head to head.
18:20Juliana, this was not unique, but like that Juliana scene with Reese, they're kind of blow out scene.
18:26You know, they've had this beautiful dance with each other for a couple of years and they've been tough with each other, but never like that, you know?
18:34And so there's part of the pleasure of just working on the show as you get to, there are these, you know?
18:38There are these, these tentpole scenes that you're kind of waiting for and then you get to them and then you're on the floor and they're kind of like act offs with, um, and, um, and in a very collaborative, supportive way.
18:50Like I think everyone feels safe to just go for it.
18:52Um, and, um, and kind of trust that between the writing and the direction, like they're going to, you know, and Carol's editing, uh, they'll be protected, you know?
19:01Yeah. And I think, um, I mean, one wish list was Marcia Gay Harden for sure.
19:05Right. To bring Marcia Gay back for a scene that you would not expect, right?
19:10The trying to subvert the expectation and like, what would it look like if, if Marcia Gay's character had a little bit of an evolution and Alex is evolving as well.
19:20And how did these two women now relate to one another? Um, we love that scene and Marcia Gay is so brilliant.
19:26So that was really fun. And I think, yeah, we wanted to also bring forward the women of color on our show and start to tell more of their story.
19:33It was a big conversation we had, you know, Karen Pittman. And, um, we want to see more Greta Lee, if only to see her costumes.
19:40Um, she has the coolest wardrobe.
19:43And so that was a big piece too, like getting to know Karen Pittman's character, that she sleeps at the office, that this woman like lives and breathes her work, but yet see a little bit of her attempt to have a personal life and how messy that was.
19:56So that was part of the wish list.
19:58And I don't think we would have predicted like a signature scene would be Nicole Bahari and Holland Taylor, right?
20:04And it was like, you know, sort of definitive, sorry.
20:07And Tig Notaro. I think, you know, I, there's nobody that makes me laugh like Tig, but she's so amazing in this dramatic turn.
20:15And the other thing that I was going to say is I do think just to answer your question about what do we really talk about and what do we think about?
20:21I think there's great intention when it comes to the scenes between Alex and Bradley.
20:26Yeah.
20:27We always talk about sort of putting them together for moments when there will be absolute electricity, right?
20:33Because you don't want to, if you, if you take it for granted, if you do it too often, it really loses its magic.
20:39And I think it's a thing that whether it's conscious or subconscious, I do think that our audience really looks forward to the times when those two women come together.
20:48And I think it is something behind the scenes that we are always talking about.
20:52And we're sort of saying, okay, if we're doing it, how are we really doing it?
20:55And what's it going to really be about? And, and I think there's just a lot of intention that goes behind that.
20:59And it's always such a gratifying conversation that we are all in together.
21:03Absolutely. You know, I, talking about these, these confrontations, these tough conversations between characters,
21:10very curious how, how it works from an editor's perspective of putting those conversations together.
21:16And even from sound, I mean, there, you know, how, how you create the tension, you know, in your role as an editor,
21:24because I feel like that's something, you know.
21:26Well, I can tell you, it's very enjoyable.
21:28Yeah, I imagine. Yeah.
21:29The more tension, the better.
21:31You take your cue and rhythm from the performances, obviously.
21:34That's what, you know, that's what sort of tells me that first intuitive pass that we do editors with a scene is a,
21:44kind of a response to what we see on the screen and the way the actors have, what have they done with the scene and the way it's shot.
21:51So it's a very first intuitive pass, which then goes through many, many more passes, obviously, with different views and, you know.
22:01You're being humble. I think you're being humble, Carol.
22:03I mean, Mimi can speak more to it.
22:05But you really, when you're crafting your scenes, there's a, you're trying to mine, like, the deepest emotional truth.
22:14And that doesn't mean it's always the biggest take, but there's something special about how you craft it, that you're, there's an, you know,
22:20you have an intuitive emotional hold on these characters that, you know, your first passes, there's a magic always to it.
22:27And music. And music. You're so good with music.
22:30Oh, thank you.
22:32Like she, when, when you, Mimi and, and Carol do amazing things with music. Mimi, you talk about that, because you're in there.
22:39You know, Carol always surprises me. In the finale, in the first season, in the scene where Alex is coming down the elevator and Chip is going up.
22:50So I came in to see the cut and she put in, I forgot what it's called, this incredible opera piece.
22:55And I was just sobbing. I was so, ah, it was just everything.
23:00And then we put more opera in Vivaldi in the end, during a fight, a fist fight, a ridiculous fist fight with Mitch and Chip.
23:13And, and this year we did it in the, um, in the, in the spacecraft, uh, that Nelson so beautifully and brilliantly designed.
23:22And it was, it just, you know, brings it to another level, the music, and especially the music that Carol has this encyclopedic mind of music.
23:32It's, we have a great music supervisor, but oftentimes Carol.
23:36Well, we work together.
23:37Yes, of course.
23:38And, uh, it is a collaboration.
23:40I kind of know what I'm looking for and they help me find it, so.
23:42But what's really wonderful about, um, you know, working with Carol and knowing the arcs of the character and mining those tonally from the first episode all the way to the end.
23:55And to, you know, craft those performances, uh, editorially, directorially.
24:02And, you know, that just goes all the way down to, or up to, the costumes, the texture, the colors, the palette, the lighting.
24:10And, you know, it's all just one big souffle.
24:13It's incredible.
24:14Speaking about the costumes, I think it's interesting we see Alex and Bradley at very high moments, very low moments.
24:20And I'm curious how you use the character where they are and how that informs the costumes when you're, when you're dressing them in those scenes.
24:28I mean, that's really what we do.
24:30Like that is at the crux of our job is this interpretation of what is going on in the moment and what is organic to the character.
24:37And, you know, it's interesting in our show because obviously everybody is at work a lot, you know.
24:43And with those two in particular, the anchors have, you know, three different layers of how they present to the world.
24:52They have anchor.
24:53They have presentation when they're going out and they're going for dinner and they know they're going to be seen by paparazzi.
24:58And then they've got at their very most private moments.
25:01And so it's always, it's the balance of finding those rhythms within the script and within what is going on with the plot.
25:10And then, you know, working together to keep the characters separate and distinct, but yet in harmony so that nothing is ever bumping and you're not asking any questions.
25:23And so it just all seems that the flow is working.
25:26That's the best way that I can describe it.
25:29No, I think that's right.
25:30And, I mean, there are some, you know, like the scene with the girls going into the turning Bradley in.
25:37I mean, we really thought about that.
25:39That was really an important scene for how the two of them looked and felt.
25:48And because we, you know, it's such an emotional scene that in a way it has to be blank because we have to see them completely them.
26:02And so I was really happy to see that because I felt like we had accomplished that.
26:08And that was a difficult one to sort of figure out.
26:12But I thought it worked beautifully.
26:14And, you know, we have those situations often and, you know, sometimes it's just a matter of synchronicity with, with us together.
26:25Sophie and I, we have a real sense of our characters and it just, it's kind of, there's a magical piece to it that just sort of takes over.
26:35And I think also when you get into the third season, which, you know, I came from features.
26:39I didn't come from TV.
26:40So this was a big learning curve for me.
26:42But, you know, what I really understand now is that when you, the, the further into the seasons you go, you, there's a very much, there's a visual shorthand.
26:52You, you're establishing a visual language with the palette, with the silhouettes, with the ideas and the conceits behind everything.
27:00And I think sometimes it's hard for me to articulate the process because it's become such second nature now because it's an unspoken language is what you're kind of ending up with.
27:11Nelson, sort of a similar question for you.
27:13You know, you are designing spaces that are basically character spaces.
27:19You're also recreating real places like the Capitol.
27:23You're going to space.
27:24I mean, how do you, what's your approach to those, those settings?
27:29And is it, you know, is it more of a challenge to kind of create something through the eyes of a character and where, and who represents where they live or where they are versus, you know, recreating a space that maybe all of us have seen before?
27:42There's kind of a duality going on.
27:45There is the look of the show that I've really kind of embraced and pulled my arms around so that everything fits into the language of the show.
27:54And then there's the language of each of the characters.
27:57And I think one of the exciting things about this season more so than previously was really drilling into personal spaces and trying to find geolocated neighborhoods for each of the characters.
28:10Where are they in New York?
28:12Where are their usual paths?
28:14What would be in their apartment, the coffee place they go to?
28:17All those little details.
28:18So if you actually watch without the sound, forgive me.
28:21Forgive me.
28:22But if you watch without the sound, all of a sudden you see all sorts of things that are related to each of the characterizations.
28:32Also something you're probably not aware of is when I get scripts, there's an approximate timeframe that we talk about.
28:39It's March or it's, you know, this holiday or something.
28:42But we're trying to create a through line to the corporate culture too.
28:45So their show posters are changing.
28:48You know, I beg our teams to get actors in for photo shoots and they're like, what are they for?
28:56And you're like, well, we're going to use these as a standee.
28:59It's going to be this special thing that helps evolve the marketing and the timeframe that's visual.
29:05So you're driving a huge graphic component to the show.
29:11All the stuff that's happening on the screens, on every monitor, all has to be designed and sourced or created from scratch.
29:19So it's like doing multiple shows at the same time.
29:22But was there a particular challenge for you from, you know, maybe the biggest challenge for you this season?
29:28Is it something as big as the insurrection or is it something as small as a conversation between two characters?
29:36Interestingly, I think that sometimes those are the more difficult things or the quieter moments for us because you're very exposed.
29:43You know, sound, we're able to help establish not just locations and expand locations maybe sometimes, make spaces bigger than they are.
29:54But also we're able, I think, to help shift the focus at times.
30:00So if you're in the middle of something that's a little more intimate, making things sort of recede into the background sometimes helps with that.
30:09So it's a challenge in a lot of ways, I think, because we've had a little bit of everything.
30:13We've launched people into space.
30:14We've had the interaction.
30:16We've had some very personal, quiet, you know, moments between people.
30:20We've had arguments.
30:21There's, there's a lot, there's a lot of challenges in the show.
30:24So it's been a lot of fun, honestly.
30:26To, to talk about kind of the insurrection.
30:30Also, you depict the Dobbs ruling in the, in the show.
30:35I'm curious how, how you decide what are kind of the real life, recent history that you want to explore on the show.
30:44Versus kind of creating new characters, new, new, maybe conflicts that everyone has experienced.
30:52Fictional conflicts.
30:53And how you balance those two things.
30:57Certainly when we started the season three room, we were one of the first in-person rooms back.
31:05Most of the rooms were still Zoom.
31:07And just a bunch of people sitting in a room together for eight hours was really weird.
31:14Because people hadn't been doing, so everyone was very raw.
31:17And we'd all been through this crazy tumultuous time where you didn't know if you should wipe your groceries down.
31:22If you hug somebody, was it going to kill you?
31:24Like it was such a, is, is the election legitimate?
31:28Is it a ho, you know, like it's, it was such a tumultuous time.
31:31So we felt like we had to kind of address some of these big things that everyone had lived through.
31:38But what I always look for is, and I think again, taking it off the seasons one and two, taking off, you know, Carrie Aaron's template.
31:46You're always looking for what are the real life external events that are mirrors to the character's journey.
31:53So you might not include things that are incredibly important in the world, but aren't really relevant to what Alex needs to learn this season.
32:01Or, you know, what, what, what is Bradley's crucible for this season.
32:06So it's really about the characters there.
32:08We call them sort of thematic beds, the, the real life events since they're always kind of reflecting back.
32:14And that's kind of how we decide.
32:16Yeah.
32:17From a producer standpoint, are those kind of terrifying things to imagine recreating?
32:22Is it exciting to, I mean, you've, I think you were, Lauren, you were talking about just how strange it was to recreate the insurrection.
32:31I mean, was that something that you were kind of expecting to be weird or did it kind of at the, at the moment just feel like, oh God, this is eerie.
32:39It's interesting because I don't think we really thought about it.
32:42And then we walked into that building and we were like, oh my goodness.
32:46And it was, it was just an out of body experience.
32:51And obviously it was so emotional for Reese, for Joe Tippett, for all of us in Video Village.
32:58You know, it just, it, I do think this show has an unbelievable way of bringing you into these moments that feel so defining for all of us.
33:09And I think it's a huge credit to the writers.
33:12I just don't, I mean, I stand in awe of the gift of imagining these things.
33:16And I also, we sort of talk amongst ourselves about the clairvoyance of, of Charlotte and of Carrie Aaron.
33:23Because I do think, you know, if you guys, if you guys notice when you watch this show, it's like, God, how do they know that was going to happen?
33:31And the answer is, I don't know, you guys are so brilliant.
33:34But we do talk about, you know, the fact that this show is a lot of art imitating life, but almost anticipating life in a pretty interesting way.
33:44Yeah, I mean, the, the Dobbs, the Dobbs leak is an interesting thing that maybe Charlotte can talk more about.
33:50But I remember working on that script and, and how, again, surreal, you know, we're experiencing this in real time, but we're also working on a script about it at the same time, because we had already anticipated, you know, doing something in this arena, having no idea the Dobbs leak was going to happen.
34:09But doing something in this arena, and juxtaposing, you know, Fashion Week with the autonomy of women, and suddenly then Dobbs lands, you know, on our phones, and, and it was just, you know, a gut punch.
34:24And yet, we've got to like, keep going and do, do the script, like, develop the script and integrate it in, which you did beautifully, but you already had the place for it in the script.
34:36That was the craziest, craziest thing.
34:39Yeah.
34:40It was just, bizarrely, the episode was waiting for that.
34:43Right.
34:44It was waiting for the leak.
34:45Because it really was an episode about all these different generations of women trying to control their lives.
34:52You know, that Corey's mother, I had always imagined her as someone just kind of exhausted by patriarchy.
34:58Like, she's, she's at the beginning of Roe, and at the end of Roe.
35:02You know, and she's just tried to push things forward, and now she's seeing it slide back.
35:06And I think that's part of her, you know, the kind of melancholy that she, she carries.
35:11But I am, I have to say it, because I, I just have to, it thrills me.
35:16We had, we were told that the two reporters at Politico, who received the leaked ruling and, or the ruling and then leaked it, or put the story out, watched the episode and said, yeah, good job.
35:33And that, that was, that blew my mind.
35:35I mean, speaking of art imitating life, like, it was, you know, and of course I just wanted to ask, so, how'd you get it?
35:42Yeah, yeah.
35:43Did they tell you?
35:45I mean, is that cathartic in a way to kind of write through something that I think affects so many of us?
35:52I mean, even writing about the insurrection, I feel like processing that in an artistic way, I don't know, is that therapeutic in a way?
36:00I don't know.
36:01There are some therapeutic aspects, and I have to say, Chris in her extraordinary Valentino pink gown, just having a meltdown in the bathroom.
36:13I sort of needed that, you know, I just needed someone to just be that mad.
36:18Yeah.
36:19That was fun, deciding what she would write on the mirror.
36:21Do you remember?
36:22Yes, we had a whole.
36:23We were texting for days, like, how about this?
36:25It took about a month.
36:26Yeah.
36:27Well, to, to wrap things up, I, I'm sure you can't tell me too much about season four, but I'm very curious, I mean, just as, let's speak as fans of the show, what you're kind of excited, or maybe what you hope to see in season four.
36:42If we can put it that way.
36:44You don't have to reveal anything.
36:46No, I'm just like, does anybody else have any?
36:48Yeah.
36:49I think we need to see the, the consequences of episode 310.
36:53You know, we need to see how that plays out, and maybe it'll play out in a way that's rather unexpected.
36:59I'm excited to see what happens when women are actually in power, and, and how they handle it, and what mistakes they make, and what they learn from it.
37:10You know, it'll be interesting to see, you know, Alex has been fighting for, for power, fighting to be at the, at the head of that boardroom table.
37:17And she claimed her place kind of as a really nice parallel to Mimi's brilliant way of shooting the red dress when she basically told the bozos she's not letting them call the shots anymore.
37:30And, and seeing women in power now in this next season, I'm, I, I'm excited to see what Charlotte does with that, the complexity of that.
37:37We blew it all up, so it's kind of exciting to see what happens next.
37:42We're, we're as curious as you.
37:44Whoops.
37:45Well, I mean, it's a good place to end and start anew.
37:48Yeah.
37:49Thank you all for joining us.
37:52Congratulations on this incredible season.
37:54Thank you again.
37:55Thank you so much.
37:56Thanks.
37:57Thanks everybody.
37:59Lovely.
38:01Lovely.
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