The star-studded Apple TV+ series The Morning Show never ceases to bring the drama. The series, anchored (no pun intended) by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, has explored the behind-the-scenes tensions that bubble up in the news world, and has also covered events and scandals that have affected viewers in real-life. Three seasons in, the series has gone through the California wildfires, the COVID-19 pandemic, and even the Capitol insurrection. Still, its strength relies on the personal toll these and other events take on their co-hosts, Aniston’s Alex Levy and Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson.
The show’s first season sees Alex and Bradley struggling to coexist following the latter’s hiring to replace former co-host Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell). All this happening while Mitch and the network navigate the accusations (that turned out to be very much real) of sexual misconduct against him. Season 2 puts TMS and its network, UBA, through the very first stages of the 2020 pandemic, with sprawling consequences of which not everyone makes it out alive. With Season 4 coming up, here’s your detailed refresher of what went down on The Morning Show’s Season 3.
‘The Morning Show’ Season 3 Brings Bradley and Alex Together Again
Bradley and Alex shake hands in a scene from ‘The Morning Show’ Season 3 finale.
Image via AppleTV+
Season 3 of The Morning Show kicks off with Alex and Bradley still working at UBA, but now on different primetime slots. Alex hosts TMS alongside Yanko (Néstor Carbonell) and their new co-host Christine (Nicole Beharie). Bradley has moved on from TMS, now leading the evening news. Still, fate has ways of bringing them together once again. Only this time around, it’s under the most stressful of circumstances, as UBA is on the edge of financial ruin. Aiming to save UBA’s streaming platform and carry on as CEO, Cory (Billy Crudup) plots for billionaire Paul Marks (Jon Hamm) to buy the network.
One of Paul’s strategies to soft launch this joint venture is effectively launching himself, Cory, and Alex into space in one of his rockets. But Alex’s participation is botched after she helps Bradley with reporting the arrest of a pro-choice activist. This, in turn, puts Bradley on her spot, somewhat perpetuating the dynamic of them being pitted against each other whether they want to be or not. After safely returning home, the network is hit yet again with another scandal.
Holland Taylor’s Cybil Makes a Brutal Mistake in ‘The Morning Show’ Season 3
Adding to its financial troubles, UBA drowns in chaos after the network is hacked. The avalanche of confidential information going out to the public includes Bradley covering up the participation of her brother, Hal (Joe Tippett), in the Capitol insurrection. Also, an e-mail reveals Holland Taylor’s Cybil, one of UBA’s most renowned board members (and Cory’s main retractor) used a racist slur against Christine behind her back. The media storm that follows ends with Cybil being removed from board leadership, leaving Cory a clear path to continue the courtship of Paul to seal the acquisition deal.
But everything crumbles after Paul detracts his offer because of the turmoil the attack caused on UBA. This forces Cory and Stella (Greta Lee) to join forces to muster the required resources for the network to survive. Mia (Karen Pittman), while seeing for herself and the advancement of her career, is able to help UBA’s ratings. Having obtained pictures of the Ukraine conflict directly from her boyfriend, Andre (Clive Standen), she decides to give the exclusive to UBA while endangering his life in the process. These scheming tactics — all the way from the higher-ups to the everyday workers — expose the elaborate web of lies and treachery behind the media industry.
Bradley and Alex’s Personal Lives Take Unexpected Turns in ‘The Morning Show’ Season 3
Reese Witherspoon and Julianna Margulies as Bradley and Laura in The Morning Show.
Image via Apple TV+
During the initial stages of the pandemic, Bradley moved in with Laura (Julianna Margulies) after they got close in Season 2. But Bradley’s issues with her family strained their relationship, with them eventually breaking up. Flashing forward to the time after the hack, Laura discovers Cory helped Bradley cover up Hal’s participation in the January 6 riots. In a way, he was making up for outing Bradley in the first place, when her relationship with Laura was made publicly known. Cory being behind Bradley’s exposé later comes into play when Paul circles back on his proposition to buy UBA.
Alex, on her side, spends Season 3 of The Morning Show going back and forth with Paul. The lines between their personal and professional lives are blurred as they struggle to define if they’re a couple or not. She then learns about the countless manipulations that Paul went through to ensure the purchase of UBA. He was the mastermind behind the hack, he planted the article about Cory outing Bradley (which also said he groomed her since her early days at the network), he spied on Alex’s phone, and lastly, he plans to sell UBA for parts once the company is his. Through all this, Paul makes Alex an offer to leave UBA before the network’s downfall – and help him build a new media empire.
Season 3 of ‘The Morning Show’ Ends With Uneasy Alliances
Billy Crudup as Cory Ellion in The Morning Show Season 3
Image via Apple TV+
The season ends after Alex and Bradley make choices at a crossroads. Alex decides not to confuse ambition with selfishness, and rejects Paul’s offer. She also blackmails him into pulling out of the purchase and he leaves the negotiating table empty-handed. She then proposes the board merge with NBN — Laura’s network — instead, with NBN making a much better offer than Paul’s. Bradley and Hal decide to come clean to the FBI on their participation in the Capitol insurrection. The consequences of them turning themselves in will likely be a huge plot point in The Morning Show Season 4.
Season 3 of The Morning Show was a parade of business scheming that, after some blackmail, was resolved. The season shows that UBA is — whether they want it or not — a family after all. The united UBA front was led at times by Cory and, other times, by Alex herself. After they finally stop Paul’s acquisition, they accept the fate of televised media in the current sociopolitical landscape and agree a merger is the way to go. Whether this was a better or worse move remains to be seen in Season 4 of The Morning Show. But whatever the case may be, drama is ensured to continue for Alex, Bradley, and the whole staff of TMS and UBA network.
Release Date
November 1, 2019
