00:00The reviews are in for Apple's The Morning Show and the critics have a lot to say.
00:05The 10-episode drama toplined by Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell
00:10follows a morning news program thrown into disarray after lead anchor Mitch Kessler
00:15is accused of sexual assault and fired from the show, leaving his longtime partner
00:19Alex Levy to pick up the pieces and fight to remain in her position.
00:23Witherspoon, who executive produced along with Aniston, stars as Bradley Jackson,
00:27a small-town conservative news reporter fighting for her own role on the show.
00:31Some critics were less than impressed with what was considered the streaming platform's
00:35crown jewel. The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Feinberg says the series struggles to find
00:40its focus, tone and attitude toward its main characters, calling the first episode
00:44brutally dull, the second meandering and not until the third does it become
00:48more satisfying and confident. Feinberg adds,
00:51"...for what is allegedly one of the most expensive shows in TV history and for what
00:55is certainly a pivotal show in the burgeoning streaming wars, one out of three
00:59isn't good enough for a recommendation yet." The Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall echoed a
01:03similar sentiment. Aside from commending some of the performances, he concludes that
01:07the show as a whole may think its stories are different than everyone else's, but they
01:11aren't. Nor are they told well enough to make up for that. The show and the service
01:15don't need to exist and thus far aren't justifying that existence.
01:19And CNN's Brian Lowry says that if the morning show is Apple's way of sounding the
01:23alarm for its new service, feel safe to hit the snooze button. Meanwhile, other
01:27critics took a more positive approach. The AV Club's Alex McLevy called the
01:31morning show a hell of a lot of fun and funny, biting and with just the right dose
01:35of trashy zing. This is high-gloss soap. Broadcast News meets LA Law.
01:40Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin cheers Aniston's performance and her
01:44host friends return to TV, saying she gives a powerful performance literally. She
01:48pounds tables, rage slams her phone onto counters and yanks out hair extensions with
01:53such violent contempt you'd think they owe her money. The series, which has drawn
01:57comparisons to the Matt Lauer scandal and his firing from the Today Show, represents a
02:01major investment for Apple's new streamer, which is set to launch Friday at $4.99 per
02:05month. As reviews were released Monday morning, the series received a Metacritic score
02:10of 60 and 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. For more critics' take on The Morning Show,
02:14head to THR.com. And until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.
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