- 19 hours ago
Stars and executive producers of the tentpole Apple TV+ series 'The Morning Show,' Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, joined The Hollywood Reporter in Conversation.
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00:00Thank you all so much for coming. I'm Alison Brower, the Deputy Editorial Director of The
00:08Hollywood Reporter, and speaking here with you tonight with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon,
00:14stars and executive producers of Apple TV's original drama series, The Morning Show.
00:24So I have to really start with the question of the moment, which is what is it like
00:28to see this show arrive and land finally when many of the stories that it was inspired by
00:35are back in the headlines in an even more dramatic way? I mean, it's odd. It's uncanny, isn't it? It's
00:40uncanny how prescient it is, kind of, in a way, because we didn't have, we had some information,
00:47but we didn't have a lot of the information that's going to unfold basically towards the end of the
00:52show is odd. Yeah, it's as if someone had been snuck in there. Yeah, but it's an amalgam of lots
01:00of different things, and unfortunately, gross negligence happens across many, many platforms
01:06and in many companies, so we had a lot of information. And the fact that Carrie Aaron,
01:12I have to say, was able to tap into it and not even, so not a part of that world in any way,
01:18and she was able to create a world and create characters that were so layered and complicated
01:25and honest and messy. It's, I haven't, we even said to her, are you psychic? I think she's psychic.
01:33Something. You two have probably done between you dozens, if not hundreds of morning show
01:38appearances in your careers, and what did you take from your experience on those shows? And also,
01:43did you research with some of the people who worked in that arena to get these characters going?
01:47Yeah, I did. I went to New York, and GMA was kind enough to allow me in at five o'clock in the
01:55morning, and walk through that world from five to seven, which is just an insane engine that revs up
02:02and then just explodes, and it has, it's done with such ease and grace by the end, you actually think
02:08there's no way this is going to actually happen. This is not going to end well, and it just does.
02:13And it's also the lives of these people, they live these lives of vampires underground, under,
02:20you know, in the night, and constantly just figuring out what they're going to tell all of us,
02:26so hopefully we don't feel so crappy throughout the day.
02:30They do get to travel in New York when there's less traffic. That's the benefit of getting up at
02:34five in the morning. But what was the most, like, surprising thing that you learned about their
02:38world as you were researching this?
02:40It's never easy. Waking up at 3.30 never gets comfortable. They hate it.
02:49So, Reese, what I was struck by when I saw the first couple of episodes, you've played in the
02:55past a lot of real straight arrows who then kind of bust out in Big Little Lies, Election, a lot of
03:00characters that are sort of in a box, and then they act out a little bit. Here, I feel like you're
03:04going the opposite direction. You're starting out as a real firebrand, and then maybe they're going
03:08to put you in a box. They're going to try.
03:12You wait and see.
03:16Yeah.
03:18Well, was there someone, I mean, is there someone that you drew on for this particular character?
03:22I mean, she comes in extremely hot.
03:24Yeah. I definitely looked at people who have, like, no impulse control. And I think my character
03:31also just has this tendency to say things and then think about it later, as you'll see
03:37more as the episodes go on. But it was really fun to play. That first scene was really hard
03:42with the cold. Oh, my gosh.
03:44That was one of your first, and you were sick.
03:46It was my very first scene, I think, and I had to memorize all those words, and I was
03:51like, what are these words? And I think I made up, like, half of them, guys. I'm going
03:56to be real.
03:58And they were, like, triple the amount at the table read. Triple the amount at the
04:01table read.
04:02Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:02I remember during the table read, I was like, well, this is impossible. You're going to need
04:05an earwig. There's no way. You had to actually learn what all those, I didn't know what half
04:09of that meant.
04:10Yeah, I'm pretty sure I made up half of them, honey. Like, they're not real.
04:13You're going to get busted on that, if that's the case.
04:17I think I said geranium, and they made me go back in. They were like, geranium's a flower.
04:26Yeah, but it's also coal.
04:30There are a lot of scenes, Jen, where the camera really lingers on your face, your face in the
04:36mirror, your face as you're going through a lot of emotions. It's like a very intense
04:40close-up for more seconds than I think we're comfortable with, certainly from your old
04:45network TV world. How does it feel to be back in that TV lens after a while?
04:49Well, that's not what my TV lens used to look like. I did not have that kind of slow, terrifying,
04:56slow pan into my thoughts. And it doesn't really feel different. I mean, to be honest,
05:02this is a schedule that is like our film schedule, but with more dialogue during the day.
05:06Mm-hmm. And longer. And longer, yeah. It's like making... By the time we got to the end
05:11of it, it was like we'd made three movies. Yeah. So there's a key moment where Alex says
05:15she's running on instinct and impulse, and yet, you know, she's externally showing a pretty
05:20controlled woman to the world. So how did you find that balance for her?
05:25Well, that's sort of... One of the wonderful things about Alex's character is the layers
05:31that she is... That I was able to access, the human being, and then the woman that has
05:38to sort of pull it all together and say good morning to America.
05:42Mm-hmm. And that's... That's, you know... And then you have such a deeper appreciation
05:46for these anchors in the morning, because, you know, life is happening, and they're there
05:51for us. They're our mom and pa, and waking up, and they're comfort food for us. They're
05:55our constant. It's comforting. And then they also have life happening, crumbling down around
06:01them, or, you know, whatever. Or in the chair next to them.
06:04Yes, exactly. With your... Yes, exactly. Steve's character.
06:06And have to still sort of show up. I mean, it's... We experience it in a very small way,
06:13but there's something similar. There's something about being on live TV, too,
06:17that is terrifying. Terrifying. Because you can make so many mistakes. And I think back
06:21to your first... Like, one of your first questions about, like, what is the thing that's so surprising?
06:25I think the way that they synthesize information, and then, like, it's something terribly tragic,
06:30and then transition to something really upbeat is so weird.
06:36The transition. Yeah. They're like, there was a train crash, and also vitamin D.
06:41Like, and Jen, I remember walking on set, and Jen, like, she just had her newscaster voice,
06:48and I was like, I don't have my newscaster voice yet. I was like, how did you get that newscaster?
06:53But she was like, well, I watched a lot of newscasters. Shit.
06:56That's what was so fun. You weren't supposed to really know.
07:00I wasn't really supposed to be very practiced or polished, but it was mesmerizing watching
07:04you do it. And then we had a really fun day where Diane Sawyer came to set and watched us
07:08do our newscaster voices. And we were talking about sunglasses and wake... It was, like,
07:12really kind of inane stuff. Yeah. It wasn't, like, you know, something... I don't know.
07:18No, but then we had to talk, like, about Turkmenistan or something like that.
07:21And it was really confusing. And Diane was laughing. Yeah. Wasn't she?
07:26We were laughing. We were laughing. We got the giggles. We got the giggles.
07:31So these characters are set up by the show, seemingly, and by the circumstances as competitors.
07:40But you think Alex and Bradley are not going to play that game, or are they? But how did you,
07:46you know, both creatively during the development, but also in building your characters,
07:50talk about how you wanted to upend some of those entrenched ideas about women in the workplace
07:55always being in competition, there's only room for one. How did that work into your development
08:00of your characters? Well, I think we felt strongly it wasn't, you know, it wasn't supposed to be this
08:05acrimonious or adversarial relationship. It was actually just two women with different ideology
08:11kind of having to exist in the same space. But there aren't a lot of references for two women
08:17in space, right? Two strong female leads in a piece of material. I mean, this is just sort
08:24of a new thing that's kind of happening now in dramatic premium television. And so it was
08:31kind of the Wild Wild West, whatever we wanted to make it. And our relationship goes up and down.
08:35It goes up and down. They're finding each, they're finding their way in this new, this new normal,
08:41which everybody is trying to navigate. And also realizing they're at a break, well, for my character,
08:50she's at a breaking point, she's kind of losing it a little bit, which also keeps escalating and
08:56escalating. And then it's, we're all just trying to figure out this new playbook, which is actually
09:01really fun because we could make, we were able to take creative license and sort of create a world
09:05that, you know, that's what's so fun about art in general.
09:09The scene at the end of the first episode where you two kind of throw down or have the interview
09:14about Bradley's experience at the coal mine was, got a big reaction in here and seeing you two
09:20finally kind of get to be head to head. How did that feel for you two with that first kind of,
09:26it's not a confrontation.
09:27No.
09:27Exactly. But it's something.
09:30We're sparring, yeah. It was a really fun day.
09:32It was.
09:32It was a long day. I think as we filmed it, the day we filmed it, I didn't realize it was going to have
09:37that much impact because that's what people walk away with. So a lot of people who have seen it
09:43really kind of take that scene and go, that was so intense to watch them finally kind of come together.
09:49But I just thought it was fun.
09:51It was. It was really fun.
09:53You are on your phones a lot in this show.
09:56I was like, I am not.
09:57Well, it's very true to life in media.
10:01And I'm sure it works fine for Apple product placement.
10:04But speaking as, you know, the Hollywood Reporter also had its moment in the second episode.
10:10So, yeah, there's a news clip that comes up with from THR.
10:13But how do you act opposite a phone?
10:17Wait, are there like big scenes with the phones?
10:20I don't think so.
10:20You're in the hallway a lot on your phone.
10:23Yeah.
10:23That's life.
10:24Like, isn't everybody on their phone?
10:25Probably more Alex than Bradley.
10:27Oh, my Lord.
10:29I just draw from experience.
10:31You have to know these media people are on their phone constantly.
10:37I mean, Twitter constantly.
10:38It's crazy to watch that.
10:41Because you can't be a beat behind.
10:42You can't be a minute behind.
10:44And if you're a day late, you've lost the story.
10:47So much competitive scoop.
10:48Like, people scooping you is a huge deal.
10:52I learned so much about how competitive the just between networks.
10:58Because you're talking about a $500 million enterprise.
11:01And if you drop in the ratings to second, you lose about $100 million in advertising.
11:07So that's what that whole ratings wore.
11:09Was that clear in the show?
11:10Was that clear?
11:11Yeah.
11:12Good.
11:12I'm glad.
11:13Because you think it's a high stakes world.
11:16Reese, you're working with shows on multiple platforms.
11:20Hulu, Little Fires Everywhere, HBO, Big Little Lies.
11:22How did you decide that Apple was the place for this show?
11:27Well, Jen and I talked about it a lot.
11:28I mean, we went back and forth.
11:31We had, like, two or three days where we really spoke to everyone and really heard everything
11:37that everybody had to say.
11:39And Apple just came up with a proposal that was so, felt very cutting edge.
11:43It felt like the story, it felt like they were going to allow us to really push creative
11:47boundaries.
11:49And we were nervous.
11:50Yeah.
11:51Because we didn't know, they didn't know what they were doing.
11:52They literally said, we don't have offices.
11:55Right.
11:57And we were like, neither do we.
11:59This is kind of cool.
12:00It felt very Wild Wild West, as you said.
12:03And that was exciting, because you know, at the end of the day, Apple does things pretty
12:07well.
12:07Yeah.
12:08And they were about quality, not necessarily quantity.
12:12And they have been awesome partners, because we have been allowed such creative freedom.
12:18Well, it's a big opportunity, but also a little bit of a risk to be the first big show, or among
12:23the first big shows on this platform.
12:25Like, all eyes are going to be on these shows on November 1st.
12:28So, are you ready for that, Onslaught?
12:31Well, now I am.
12:33Scared the crap out of me.
12:36It's going to be great.
12:38So, you both were executive producers on this, obviously working on it together from the beginning.
12:42What was your, did your involvement, was it sort of sustained through the whole process?
12:48Was it greater during development, continued during shooting?
12:51Every day.
12:52Every day.
12:53And, like, we were working on set and doing scenes, we'd be looking at, write drafts of
12:59a script, and then we'd go to a read-through, then we'd give notes, then we'd be looking
13:02at an edit of one of the episodes, and it was just...
13:05Constant.
13:06It was constant.
13:06It was fantastic.
13:08It was.
13:09It was so nice.
13:10It was really fun to be, I mean, for us as, we've been doing this for a long time.
13:14Yeah.
13:14And so, to be where we are and doing what we are allowed to do together right now, in
13:20this day and age, in this time, being a part of something that's starting from the ground
13:25up, we were pretty excited about it.
13:27And to have people listen to us, you know, and be interested in our input.
13:32I mean, it was really extraordinary.
13:35And a female showrunner, and a female director, at least on those first two episodes.
13:38That's right.
13:39A lot of great fun roles.
13:40So, between Alex and Bradley, who would you want to get your morning news from?
13:48Alex.
13:50Well, it all depends on what blows your hair back, right?
13:54I just did.
13:55I love Alex.
13:56I love Alex.
13:56I have to say, when I was doing this scene where I have to talk to you about Cole, and
14:01I was so nervous.
14:03So was I.
14:05Were you?
14:05Oh, yeah.
14:06But she had this outfit on, and then she has these, like, fake assistants.
14:10But they look kind of real, and they're bringing her water, and she's, like, folding her glasses.
14:13And I was like, it was like, the presence of it was very, it just felt perfect.
14:19And I feel like this is, I can't imagine an actor more perfect for a role than Jennifer
14:23in this particular role, right?
14:25Oh, I love you.
14:26There's something so perfect about it.
14:30Because we know you and love you, but it's almost like this tiny peak at, like, what
14:34is it really like to be known in the world, everywhere, the good, the bad, the pretty,
14:41the terrifying, all of it.
14:42So it's just, it just deepens the love for you, I think.
14:45I love you.
14:46Well, I mean, I don't even know what to say.
14:48I've got to thank Jessica for a second.
14:53And Rebecca.
14:54Okay.
14:54Well, it is fun to see you back.
14:56And I'm going to guess this is not unrelated, maybe, to the fact that you recently joined
15:01Instagram.
15:03And almost broke Instagram.
15:06Within days.
15:06It's not my fault.
15:07It's Courtney's fault.
15:08I blame all of you.
15:10It's all your fault.
15:11Within days, as of this afternoon, it's probably grown since then.
15:13You have more than 16 million followers.
15:16Reese, however, has more than 20.
15:17I know.
15:18So, you know, catch up.
15:19I know.
15:20I don't know what to say.
15:22I've been on it for five years.
15:23She's been on it for three days.
15:26But what did convince you to finally do it?
15:28And did you seek some tips from your expert co-star and co-executive producer?
15:33Well, I watch her expertly do it, and effortlessly.
15:35Like, it's never in your face.
15:37I know there's people that are kind of constantly doing it, and it feels like a little too much.
15:43But, of course, I asked friends and sort of just felt, listen, this isn't going to go away.
15:51And so, you know, why not?
15:53Can't beat them.
15:54Join them.
15:54And I already, I really want it to be over.
15:57I'm like, no, we love it.
16:01It's so good.
16:02No, I'm kidding.
16:03I think you're married.
16:03I'm kidding.
16:04It's very, it's actually quite fun, and it's fun.
16:09Reese, with a little more social media experience under your belt, Reese, has there been any bad social media moments for you?
16:16Yes.
16:17Oh.
16:18Yes, of course.
16:19Yeah, what do you do about that?
16:21You just, well, you realize that everybody has it, and it's like, it's like white noise, right?
16:27And anything that's there, nobody remembers it the next day.
16:30You can't remember it three minutes later.
16:32So, and we're going to mess, I mean, we all mess up.
16:34You make mistakes, you say sorry in a genuine way.
16:37Yeah.
16:37Okay, so sorry.
16:38I had a chance.
16:42Where you two have acted before together on Friends is the Green Sisters, Rachel and Will.
16:47We're, we're not, we're not going to talk about a Friends reunion, but where would the Green Sisters be today?
16:55Right here.
16:58We just need another chair for Christina Apples.
17:00Yes, we need Christina up here.
17:02I don't know where we would be.
17:04We love her.
17:04We love Christina.
17:05Oh, she's so great.
17:07She's a good one.
17:07But she's on another show.
17:08I know.
17:09Oh, right.
17:09Another great show.
17:10I'm sure we can, oh, hello, little animal.
17:12Yeah, we need an animal.
17:13A little dog there.
17:13So what, growing up, what kinds of things did you get in trouble for?
17:22Being sassy, having a smart mouth, being too opinionated.
17:30I got suspended in high school for telling the English teacher that I didn't think the homework was hard enough.
17:36Oh, my God.
17:37What a dork.
17:43That just told me.
17:45That's amazing.
17:46I have a friend.
17:47Oh, God.
17:48Look at you.
17:48You're like, I'm sorry.
17:50This is not hard enough.
17:52Then I got sent to the principal.
17:53She was like, Reese, you can't, even if you think it, you just can't say that.
17:58You can't say that to the teacher.
18:00I was like, why not?
18:01She needs to know.
18:04My God, you are Bradley Jackson.
18:06I know.
18:07We get it so natural.
18:08Or Tracy Flick or something.
18:09I don't know.
18:10And what about you, Jen?
18:11Oh, God.
18:13I was sent out of the room all the time.
18:15But not for saying things weren't hard enough.
18:19Because I would be, I would write little, I would daydream and we would pass notes and
18:25we'd try to out-laugh each other.
18:28So that, I always got, somehow, I'd laugh the hardest and get out of the room.
18:34And then I'd be psyched to be out of the room.
18:36Right.
18:37So that's my experience.
18:39The fact that I graduated high school was a miracle.
18:42But, and what else did I get in trouble for?
18:45Yeah, daydreaming.
18:45I was a day, daydreaming and not paying, you know.
18:49Okay, so, and speaking of being in trouble, which of your cast members, not just each
18:53other, but any of your cast members, which would you want to bail you out if you were
18:58in jail for some reason?
19:01Who should we send?
19:03Mark Duplass.
19:04Mark Duplass, yeah.
19:05Mark Duplass.
19:06Mark Duplass.
19:07Because?
19:08Because he's got to get shit done.
19:09If he does.
19:11And he needs a show to go on air at the time and he needs you out of the...
19:14Oh, I thought we were talking about Mark Duplass for real.
19:18Oh.
19:18Like if I was in jail, I'd call Mark.
19:20Well, I'd call you first.
19:21Oh, it's just going to say.
19:23Yes, I'd call you first.
19:25But then I'd call Mark.
19:26Yeah.
19:27I don't know why.
19:28It feels like he could spin a story and get you out of jail.
19:30See, I think it would be you.
19:32Really?
19:32Yeah.
19:33I could do that.
19:34I know people.
19:35You do know people.
19:37So I know that all the breaks of humor in the show, even in these very dramatic scenes,
19:43got a good reaction here tonight.
19:44People really responded to that element.
19:46Certainly, though, you wouldn't call it a dramedy.
19:48It's a drama, but there's a lot of humor.
19:50How did you, in development and working through as you were doing the scenes, find that balance
19:55of how much the comic note was going to be right?
19:59I think it just was, I mean, my favorite kind of comedy is comedy that comes out of
20:05real life, you know?
20:07So it wasn't really about how do we make this a comedic moment.
20:11It just was, because some of the things that were happening were hilarious.
20:16So it was just kind of, you know, playing the truth of the moment.
20:20I know that you both really wanted to work with Steve Carell on this.
20:23He's fantastic.
20:25Very solid, grounded.
20:27I don't think we could have imagined any other person, because he's so lovable, and
20:32he has such good will.
20:34So you couldn't imagine any other actor playing the part of Mitch Kessler.
20:41He's just perfection.
20:43And there's so much more to come.
20:45There's so much more Mitch in the show, too.
20:48So he arcs through the whole season.
20:49Yep.
20:50The whole season, so you get to really see what his life becomes like, which I really
20:53like about this show, too.
20:55It's not really choosing who you like and who you don't.
20:59And I think, you know, sometimes life is so bizarre.
21:02You have no way to process it.
21:04And this show really, I think, helps, you know, show what his inner life is like, and
21:08what happens to his wife, and what happens to his kids, and his reputation.
21:12And he does such an incredible job grounding that, and making you really care for him as
21:17a human being, because he's a human being.
21:20Yeah.
21:21Who really does not understand what happened.
21:25Yeah.
21:26What did I do?
21:26The rules changed.
21:27One day he woke up, and the rules changed, and no one told him.
21:30Yeah.
21:31And that's the charming narcissist.
21:32It's like, well, who doesn't want to...
21:34All of everybody wants to be with me, right?
21:36I mean, I think those boundaries just don't, you know, it's a rude awakening.
21:41Another very memorable moment from that scene we just talked about outside is when he says,
21:47you know, you say, I miss you, or whatever, and he says, me too, and you say, you just
21:52said it to me.
21:52I did.
21:53I wouldn't use those two words together if I were you.
21:57That's a great line, Carrie Aaron.
21:58When you saw that in the table read, or whatever, I mean, like, what was your response to that
22:03kind of moment?
22:04Everybody laughed.
22:05Everybody laughed in the read-through.
22:08Everybody laughed a lot in the read-through.
22:10And also for one of the screenings.
22:12I was surprised.
22:13Oh, really?
22:14More than I anticipated.
22:15Did y'all laugh?
22:15Did you find a lot of funny?
22:17Yeah.
22:18I think you got a lot of laughs.
22:19On a scale of one to ten.
22:21How funny was it?
22:23Well, on a scale of one to ten, this was a fantastic night.
22:26Thank you so much for being here.
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