The halls of UBA are about to be a little more crowded.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Following the merger that ended The Morning Show<\/a> season 3, season 4 picks up with the \u201cgrowing pains\u201d of two rival networks coming together, showrunner Charlotte Stoudt tells Entertainment Weekly.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe question of the season is: Can the women do it better now that they’ve chased out all these men?\u201d Stoudt says, adding that Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston<\/a>), Stella Bak (Greta Lee), and company aren\u2019t home free. \u201cYou always have to pay some kind of tax.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n That tax comes in the form of Bro Hartman, a \u201cmanosphere podcaster\u201d that UBA inherits upon merging with NBN. \u201cIt’s like the women have the run of the place, but they’ve got this annoying little brother blowing raspberries and doing pranks in the house,\u201d Stoudt says. \u201cSo we wanted to play with that tension.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Tension certainly abounds in season 4, in part due to the arrival of several new characters in addition to Bro. Below, Stoudt breaks down the five new faces and how they\u2019ll shake things up.\n<\/p>\n Marion Cotillard as Celine Dumont <\/p>\n Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup on ‘The Morning Show’.<\/p>\n Apple TV +<\/p>\n Cotillard, who Stoudt says was a \u201csuper fan\u201d of the series before joining for season 4, plays Celine Dumont, a UBA board member who finds herself the board president after the merger.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cShe’s from one of these massively wealthy European dynastic families, and I think one of the first things we talked about was how these families always give the crown to the sons,\u201d Stoudt says of Celine\u2019s background. \u201cI think she really chafes at that. She’s very much somebody who wants to define her own life, play by her own rules, have what she wants, just like all the men in her family.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n And while Celine is \u201caligned\u201d with Alex and Stella at the beginning of the season, \u201cyou never know what secrets people might be carrying,\u201d Stoudt teases.\n<\/p>\n Aaron Pierre as Miles Allam <\/p>\n Aaron Pierre on ‘The Morning Show’.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Apple<\/p>\n With the arrival of Celine comes her \u201ccharisma bomb\u201d of a husband, Miles Allam, played by Aaron Pierre.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Stoudt says that Miles represents everything her wealthy French family would disprove of, which is perfect for her. \u201cMiles is a painter, he’s an artist, he’s working class, he’s American, he’s a man of color, and they fell madly in love,\u201d the showrunner says. \u201cOf course, Celine’s family would want her to marry like a minor prince of Luxembourg or another family\u2026 For her to sort of essentially step out of line and make this choice, the family essentially banished her. So I think that’s part of the intensity of Celine and Miles’s ties, is that they both stepped out of their worlds to be with each other.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The pressure of Celine\u2019s corporate job won\u2019t be without its ramifications, though.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cCeline is caught in this, \u2018I just [want] one more, just one more win\u2019 [mentality], she’s kind of pulled into that, where Miles is sort of like, \u2018No, that’s not who we are. We’re rebels, we’re independent thinkers, we’re rule breakers,'” Stoudt explains. “I think that pulls them apart from their original connection to each other. They really defied people when they first got together. And now she appears to be really deep into the corporate capitalism. And he’s a little like, \u2018Um, it’s not what I signed up for.\u2019\u201d\n<\/p>\n Jeremy Irons as Martin Levy <\/p>\n Jeremy Irons on ‘The Morning Show’.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Apple<\/p>\n A big theme for season 4 is \u201cthe pull of the past, the pull of families,\u201d Stoudt says. Enter: Alex Levy\u2019s father.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cThis year we wanted to look at Alex and go like, ‘What does that family look like?’ I was also always interested in who she married. She married this British academic, obviously that’s all the way back to season 1. So I was like, what’s that about? And that led us to this idea of this overbearing father, this just extraordinary, charismatic, dynamic, brilliant man who kind of raised this daughter on his own and basically wanted to make a copy of himself in her.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Irons tells Entertainment Weekly that Martin works as a university lecturer, and describes him as \u201cvery much his own man.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s in that sort of shady world of university government and making policy and encouraging people to do or not to do things for legal reasons,\u201d the actor says. And while he\u2019s \u201chighly successful\u201d in his work, he might not have been the most present father to Alex.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI think he contains many qualities which don’t go towards making a great father,” Irons adds. “But I think he’s basically good hearted and honest, but tends to speak his mind when perhaps he shouldn’t.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Ultimately, meeting Martin leads viewers to better understand Alex, according to both Stoudt and Irons. \u201cA lot of Alex’s superpowers are very similar to his. And then the things she doesn’t like about him, she might share more of those than she realizes,\u201d Stoudt says.\n<\/p>\n William Jackson Harper as Ben Rusch <\/p>\n William Jackson Harper on ‘The Morning Show’.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Apple<\/p>\n Sports reporter Ben Rusch is another result of the merger, coming to UBA from NBN. Stoudt says she and the team were inspired by NBC\u2019s out-of-the-box coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics and wanted a character who could feasibly be responsible for similar innovative ideas.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Season 4 indeed tackles UBA\u2019s coverage of the Olympics, and Ben is the executive producer who comes in with a fresh approach.\n<\/p>\n \u201cBen is young, he’s an innovator, he’s smart, he sees the future. He has a very different leadership style to both how the women lead and also the old model of Fred and Corey,” Stoudt says.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s a stealth power guy. He doesn’t sort of alpha you, he kind of incepts you, and I think that’s the key to his success,” she continues. “Everyone feels like, \u2018Oh, he is so capable, he’s so trustworthy,\u2019 and you’re like, ‘Well, maybe Ben has his own secret ambitions.’ And that’s something you find out this year, that Ben is absolutely playing the long game and he wants to go eventually all the way to the very top. And why shouldn’t he?\u201d\n<\/p>\n Boyd Holbrook as Brodie \u201cBro\u201d Hartman <\/p>\n Boyd Holbrook on ‘The Morning Show’.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Apple<\/p>\n Finally, we come to Bro, who Stoudt says is a response to \u201cthe encroachment of the manosphere into the center of the culture.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Stoudt says that while Bro leans right, the thing he detests more than anything, anywhere on the political spectrum, is hypocrisy. \u201cHe likes to call people out on their bulls—. That’s really his brand and that’s what his fans love.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n While Stoudt brings up Joe Rogan as inspiration for the character, Holbrook tells Entertainment Weekly that he didn\u2019t model Bro on any specific podcasters. \u201cI just want to do my own version of that, and I think that’s what’s so cool about all these personalities from Danny Jones to Joe Rogan to other more eclectic types, because it’s all really about the guest that you have on and this new, strange subject that you know a lot about now.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Stoudt and Holbrook agree that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Bro. \u201cAt the end of the day, it doesn’t seem like he cares a lot, but he really does. He really cares about equality, justice, and the right thing,\u201d Holbrook says. \u201cI think [he has] his own insecurities about how he fits into the world, if he does fit into the world. He’s covered up by a lot of jokes and just seeming like he’s not taking it seriously.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Bro and Alex are two sides of the same coin, Stoudt says. \u201cThey’re kind of twins in a certain way. They’re both very charismatic on-air talent. They obviously have different missions in terms of the news, but they’re kind of like Celine and Miles. They’re very well matched.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n That connection might just go beyond their professional similarities, Stoudt teases. \u201cThe one thing [Bro] didn’t expect after the merger, I think, is to be so interested in Alex.\u201d And in case there\u2019s any confusion on whether that interest is purely professional or skews more romantic, she adds: \u201cit leans towards more of the sexual tension category.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n For fans who can\u2019t wait to catch up with longstanding characters like Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon<\/a>) and Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup<\/a>) in addition to seeing the newbies onscreen, Stoudt has one more teaser for you. \u201cThey take the leap,\u201d she says of Bradley and Cory. \u201cAnd just like everyone else, the result is quite unexpected.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The Morning Show season 4 premieres Sept. 17 on Apple TV+.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The halls of UBA are about to be a little more crowded.\u00a0 Following the merger that ended The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":{"0":"post-97485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}