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This simply isn’t true lol most shows airing right now aren’t integrating covid, several of which are set in New York.
Some have though, and others will incorporate it into plotlines moving forward. The new normal can’t be escaped, and it’s borderline irresponsible to completely overlook covid storylines on television due to “escapism.”
ReplyCopy URLBilly Crudup was outstanding in that opener. I’m glad they’re giving him more material (I liked him in the first season and would have nominated him but my only problem was I felt he was a bit under-utilised?) Both him and Aniston play off quite well with each other and that scene in the cottage in Maine with them was one of the highlights of the episode for me. It felt quite raw and natural.
The episode as a whole was ok-ish which is really how I’d describe season 1 too. My main issue with this show is that at times it almost feels like it doesn’t know what it’s doing. I’m kind of a sucker for shows that incorporate comedic elements (whether light or dark) in the midst of heavy dramatic moments but I feel like this is something the show sometimes doesn’t really execute so well and the flaws of which were quite prominent in the opener of this season. When it comes to whether Covid should be incorporated into shows if they can be. For example I wouldn’t expect a show like The Other Two to cover it because that would just not fit at all in the show’s world but for a show like The Morning Show that uses a lot of realism and is very much set in a world closer to the one its viewers are living in it is something I’d like to see. To engage an audience with a story there needs to be an element of honesty and genuity (that’s not necessarily me saying every show in the entire universe needs to incorporate Covid into its storyline or that every show in the world needs to look exactly like the world we’re living in today) and it would feel rather off-putting for a show like this to ignore that completely. However I felt the execution of indoctrinating Covid in this episode was quite poor and felt a bit tone-deaf. It felt like it was dropped randomly in conversations between characters just for the sake of it, the sneeze at the end felt a bit tacky and the whole “impending disaster” feel felt very artificial. Perhaps I’m being unnecessarily harsh on the show’s handling of “the world just before Covid hit” because I saw a really heartfelt drama about Covid over here starring Jodie Comer last night but I really hope the show’s handling of the pandemic is in a different light from this episode not only because it would feel quite uncomfortable to watch but also it would feel like it was disregarding how difficult the past year has been for people who have lost (and are still losing) close people in their lives or have lost their own lives because of how this pandemic has led to an environment too dangerous for some people to even go outside.
ReplyCopy URLFYC: Better Call Saul, The English and The Good Fight in all categories including Emily Blunt, Bob Odenkirk, Christine Baranski and Rhea Seehorn.
Some have though, and others will incorporate it into plotlines moving forward. The new normal can’t be escaped, and it’s almost irresponsible to completely overlook covid storylines on television due to “escapism.”
Firstly, as I already stated, its obvious the new normal can’t be escaped, but setting a show in the world of the new normal with mask wearing, testing, and a slight return of comfort is different than setting a show in the truly apocalyptic aura of March/April 2020.
And when it comes to responsibility, that’s kind of my point. If a show wants to document the harrowing saga of covid’s rise specifically in the US, that’s gotta done with a pretty serious and unflinching attitude. That’s why I take issue with this show doing it, because as we all agreed just a page back, this show is at its best when it embraces how ridiculous and soapy it can be. And that soapiness doesn’t mesh well with a tragedy that was 18 months ago and is still ongoing. Nobody wishes that Chernobyl was produced by Shondaland.
ReplyCopy URLFirstly, as I already stated, its obvious the new normal can’t be escaped, but setting a show in the world of the new normal with mask wearing, testing, and a slight return of comfort is different than setting a show in the truly apocalyptic aura of March/April 2020.
And when it comes to responsibility, that’s kind of my point. If a show wants to document the harrowing saga of covid’s rise specifically in the US, that’s gotta done with a pretty serious and unflinching attitude. That’s why I take issue with this show doing it, because as we all agreed just a page back, this show is at its best when it embraces how ridiculous and soapy it can be. And that soapiness doesn’t mesh well with a tragedy that was 18 months ago and is still ongoing. Nobody wishes that Chernobyl was produced by Shondaland.
And I think the show can achieve both aims, b/c ignoring the pandemic altogether would be irresponsible.
ReplyCopy URLI can’t stand the ridiculous analogies that Corey speaks in. I find it distracting. I know it’s mostly done for comedic effect, but it felt like he spoke in riddles for every single scene in the premiere. The speech about a news broadcast network being a “battle for the soul of the universe”… Billy Crudup is amazing but I hate the dialogue he is given a lot of the time, it’s just too obscure. When they let him speak like a regular human, it’s such a great character. I mean if you were Alex and your former boss left you a voicemail reciting a poem, you’d file a restraining order.
Reese is here for her Emmy. She was brilliant as always and obviously Jennifer was too. Very little Duplass and he was separate from the rest of the cast.
Can’t wait for Margulies to show up and for more backstabbing and betrayal to unfold. Excited to see what Maggie will reveal in her book. I’ve missed this show! Apple should have given us 3 episodes!!!
ReplyCopy URLJust out of curiosity, because I know we’re both huge fans, how do you feel about Succession ignoring it?
From my understanding, S3’s taking place immediately after S2’s finale, so things are still happening pre-covid. I think that’s the workaround the show’s using this season. But if there’s some sort of time jump or we’re in 2020-to-present-2021 and not a peep is mentioned by a single character in NYC about covid, then yes, I’d be disappointed by that. The irony is something on “Succession”‘s high level would probably handle a covid season with the delicacy and realism you crave far better than “TMS” likely will. That’s going to be the issue any modern day-NYC show (or other major city really) faces moving forward–addressing and capturing the current pandemic moment as it truly is, or going for a fairytale form of irresponsible storytelling instead where covid doesn’t exist.
ReplyCopy URLThat absolutely ridiculous sneeze at the end is what I watch the morning show for. Absolutely batshit storytelling decisions that I just cannot look away from for the sheer audacity. Aniston and Crudup are obviously the best parts performance-wise, but I can even find some enjoyment in just how haphazardly Bradley is written. Season was an engrossing car-wreck I just could not look away from, and hopefully season 2 will be more of the same. Pump it straight into my veins.
PS – I did not need this show or any other show to bring up covid. Yes, it reflects our reality, but it’s an alternate version of our reality where Mitch Kessler exists instead of Matt Lauer and there’s a gilmore girls musical. No one here is playing real people. This is a “version” of reality, and in that version covid does not need to exist. But I don’t get paid to make the decisions so go with god TMS. Like I said, the sneeze was the type of thing I’m here for anyway so why not
ReplyCopy URLBut COVID is going to be with us forever in some form. How long would you go before accepting that and allowing it to enter our entertainment? Especially on a show that’s centered around the news?
I suppose that’s a valid point, but if we look to past pandemics, they all do end eventually. Even if like the influenza they stick around forever, they eventually become minor parts of our lives. You don’t see all news shows making the flu major plot points just because it was once a pandemic. I don’t know, I guess there’s no right answer, especially since the answer is probably once the pandemic is “over’ (not once covid is gone, bc as you say it probably never will be, but once it’s no longer a pandemic), but there’s know way to predict in advance when that will happen which is what shows need to do to stay topical. So really there’s no right answer, I guess just in this specific instance of this show at this time, I don’t feel like they needed to do it. I don’t look to the morning show for commentary on my day to day life.
ReplyCopy URLI find it bewildering that anyone wouldn’t want or expect to hear about Covid in a TV show about news, a show which obviously is attached to topical issues. AFAIK, no other show has looked at Covid from the inside yet, so it’s really novel (haha) and eventually will be a feature of every single show and movie just as terrorism was for years after 9/11.
I thought it was neat that there were references to kids’ immune systems, and doomsday predictions for 2020 (sweet summer children), but the best for its snappy journalistic dismissiveness was:
“Hey Mia, can you weigh in on stories for tomorrow? It will only take a sec. Pick two: Pakistan issues; health ID cards to trans people to reduce discrimination; China investigates respiratory illness outbreak sickening 27; and 80 people in the Bahamas tested positive for tuberculosis in storm shelters after the hurriane.”
“Pakistan, Bahamas.”
“Thank you!”
Also there was a big CDC Covid billboard at the beginning of the episide, supposedly March 2020.
Aniston and Crudup are amazing to watch. They can both do such great things with their faces. They fascinate me as actors, especially Crudup who will always be Russell Hammond from Almost Famous to me.
Thought this review was interesting: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/1037337590/the-morning-show-recap-season-2-episode-1-my-least-favorite-year?t=1631905165196
It’s not the most groundbreaking show in the history of television, but does everything need to be?
ReplyCopy URLHere for the comedies
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