Must see TV

By Gonzalo López Martí- Creative Director
https://www.LopezMartiMiami.com/

  • If you happen to be gainfully employed in a multiethnic workplace in the fields of entertainment, media, advertising, marketing, streaming and the like, trust me: you gotta see The Morning Show on Apple TV+.
  • See, when Apple TV+ released it with big fanfare circa 2019, I brushed it off.
  • I was reluctant to sacrifice sleep over what appeared to be a soapy ensemble sitcom.
  • The cast telegraphed toothless comedy with carefully focus grouped gender, racial and sexual representation.
    Cut to 2024.
  • A friend whose pop culture taste I happen to trust suggested I give it a try.
  • I did I and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised.
  • Boy I was wrong.
  • Pardon me oh gods of entertainment for I was prejudiced.
  • Not sure I would call it a masterpiece, but it is a very very good show.
  • To their credit, I don’t think they are trying to make history here.
  • They are not trying to reach for the stars.
  • It simply is a well thought out, flawlessly executed pastime for grownup audiences.
  • Quite refreshing coming from self-important Hollywood types.
  • Despite some tropes here & there the storyline is quick on its feet yet pretty plausible.
  • Airtight script, no facile plot shortcuts, no shark jumps.
  • It manages to deal with the zeitgeist in a fair and balanced fashion.
  • There’s a leettle lecturing and some exposition, but it is subtle and totally passable.
  • It stays healthily away from virtue signaling and grandstanding.
  • No faux true crime, no serial killers, no glamourized cartel kingpins.
  • Nobody is totally innocent or totally guilty.
  • Add a generous budget, flawless realistic settings, great camera work sans unnecessary affectation.
  • No gratuitous drug use.
  • Awkward sex scenes kept to a bare minimum.
  • Quite kosher and perhaps even educational for older teens.
  • Billy Crudup steals every scene.
  • It certainly helps that he got the best role and the best lines, but still.
  • His recent Emmy award is well deserved.
  • Kudos.
  • Mark Duplass is great too.
  • Our man Néstor Carbonell initially looks like the token Latino in the room.
  • The proverbial DEI hire.
  • But his character, Yanko Flores, evolves nicely, becomes fully fleshed out and highly relatable.
  • Spoiler alert: he seems to be the only decent dude in the lineup without an agenda or an axe to grind.
  • He’s just a romantic who happens to love his job.
  • The two main stars, Aniston & Witherspoon, display good range and chemistry, but I am not sure these are career
  • defining roles.
  • Problem is, it is extremely hard to not remember Rachel and Legally Blonde when they appear on screen.
  • They deliver the dramatic goods though.
  • Oddly enough, Steve Carell is the weakest link.
  • He is OBVIOUSLY channeling Matt Lauer.
  • Carell is arguably one of the top ten big & small screen comedians alive.
  • He rarely misses the thespian mark, but something’s not fully clicking here.
  • Maybe he’s too much of a nice guy to play such a first-rate a**hole.
  • Spoiler alert: I finished binging on the first season and am already two episodes into Season 2, the plot becomes a little far-fetched but it’s still worth it.
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