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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
51
Mixed:
48
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews
The GuardianDec 3, 2019
Season 1 Review:
There isn’t a weak link in The Morning Show. Aniston is flawless. ... Everyone else – especially Billy Crudup as the network suit playing seven-dimensional chess with everyone – matches her point for point. The script has depth and endless torque and the whole thing is an exhilarating rush that makes room for nuance, thought and – though it’s definitely a drama – humour.
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Nov 23, 2019
Season 1 Review:
The Morning Show is high-voltage drama and big-time entertainment, a savage, scorching portrait of the TV news industry as a modern court of the Medicis where corporate genocide is coffee-break sport, where subordinates exist to be crushed and superiors to be sabotaged. It may not be exactly news that the most trusted men (and, these days, women) in America are anything but, but it's never been so convincingly demonstrated.
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Screen RantSep 17, 2025
Season 4 Review:
Juggling the boardroom, corporate executives, onscreen talent, and even a few billionaires for good measure, the series covers a broad range of subjects. Despite the ambitious coverage, though, it sticks the landing. While the performances elevate the material, the series excels due to the incredible writing and creative vision of behind-the-scenes talent.
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TV Guide MagazineSep 21, 2023
Season 3 Review:
Sexism, institutional racism, pay inequity: You name the hot-button issue, The Morning Show pokes it. With Sleepy Hollow's terrific Nicole Baharie as UBA's latest high-profile hire, a Black former Olympian who isn't afraid to speak her mind, the stakes couldn't e higher or the fireworks more satisfying. [25 Sep - 15 Oct 2023, p.12]
The Mercury NewsSep 18, 2025
Season 4 Review:
Even though it is overstuffed, it consistently and intelligently weighs in on hot-button issues and avoids traditional black-and-white commenting or resolutions. .... Overall the show bristles with sharp writing and acting; Aniston anchors the entire production and gives a career-high performance this season.
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ColliderSep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
The Morning Show takes on a lot this season, but it impressively succeeds at most of it. By integrating topics in a way that's natural and featuring riveting friendships, romantic relationships, and power struggles, it gives the majority of its characters their moments to shine.
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Oct 28, 2019
Season 1 Review:
It takes a little time to find its whip-smart footing, with the pilot trying too hard to make everyone sound clever for clever’s sake and some hoary speechifying, but once it gets going, The Morning Show has the addictive rush of great old-school TV dramas. Funny, biting, and with just the right dose of trashy zing, this is high-gloss soap—Broadcast News meets L.A. Law.
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Sep 17, 2025
Season 4 Review:
There’s an appealing, almost nihilistic self-awareness to how unapologetically the series bills itself as a campy confection about sad and stressful things. Four seasons in, it remains shallow, glossy and awfully entertaining. Like the talk shows it apes, which pivot seamlessly from tragedy to puppies, it understands the value of lightness.
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Sep 17, 2025
Season 4 Review:
The show is ludicrous, but our own reality is equally, if differently, ludicrous (see: professional troll Bari Weiss may soon be in charge of CBS News), and I can’t help but find The Morning Show’s depiction of the twilight of television news compulsively watchable. At the very least, maybe it has something to reveal about what falls through the cracks in a news business built on cults of personality.
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Sep 21, 2023
Season 3 Review:
The loopy plotting may be hard to embrace initially, but it straightens out before the last few episodes and gives Aniston one of the best acting showcases in her career. .... When the third season gets to its oh-so-good last episode, you can see the grand contributions producers Mimi Leder and Charlotte Stoudt have been able to make.
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TV Guide MagazineSep 23, 2021
Season 2 Review:
The Morning Show sprinkles wit amid overheated cascades of high melodrama. [27 Sep - 10 Oct 2021, p.6]
Sep 22, 2021
Season 2 Review:
While the first two episodes of season two are too enamored with getting players in place (particularly since season one ended with a house cleaning), “The Morning Show” does pick up steam and gets everything from the Iowa Caucuses to a visit to Wuhan in the picture. ... Crudup, though, is the heart of this world. As corrupt as he may be, he’s worth following.
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Sep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
About four episodes into the new season of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, I stopped expecting it to have the qualities of a prestige television series—narrative complexity, emotional resonance, logic—and began simply appreciating it for what it is: one of the most batshit-expensive soap operas ever made. ... If you can meet The Morning Show on those terms, its second season is quite a ride. ... The Morning Show is camp: earnest, schlocky, nonsensical drama that’s not ruined by its excess and ridiculousness, but redeemed by it.
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Nov 1, 2019
Season 1 Review:
As a mix of melodrama and well-written interactions that feel genuinely human, “The Morning Show” is fairly entrancing. Its characters, though big, are flawed in normal ways. ... The ending is almost operatic; not quite believable, yet emotionally satisfying. It killed me, I must confess.
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Oct 29, 2019
Season 1 Review:
What they arrive at by the end of the third episode is at least something soapily effective, an entertaining knot of contemporary babble that manages at times to emit a ring of truth. Aniston and Witherspoon are strong complements to one another, earning their enormous paychecks (each were paid a reported $1.25 million per episode) by riding this voluminous wave with confident precision.
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Oct 28, 2019
Sep 15, 2023
Sep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
What makes The Morning Show Season 3 so watchable is that its intrinsically soapy qualities help undercut that smugness… while it tries to both reflect growing pessimism about the state of media today, and shine forth beautiful ideals about truth and journalism and the American way.
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Sep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
It's fun, all this chaos — but it also takes time away from one intriguing, ultimately underdeveloped subplot. Daniel, the only Black anchor on TMS, feels sidelined by the network. ... Still, if The Morning Show is going to pick a lane, perhaps "freeway to Crazy Town" is the best choice — because that's the show Billy Crudup has been starring in since season 1.
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Sep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
So, sure, it’s all a little glossy and undercooked. “The Morning Show” got fluffier when it stopped being about the dark underbelly of a silly little morning show and became an earnest drama about the fate of a network instead. But hey: It’s still a lot of fun to watch — maybe over a pastry, with a cup of coffee.
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Sep 13, 2023
Sep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
As much as it’s improved since Season 1, The Morning Show is always going to be a little goofy. The new episodes continue to portray a world of absurd coincidences, where the same two dozen characters, not all of them famous or influential, keep resurfacing in connection with every conceivable news story. .... But the show is really onto something with Cory.
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Sep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
The Morning Show tackles everything from online privacy to Roe v Wade as moments and messages fly by at a breakneck pace—and while everything hits the wall, only some of it sticks. But even in all its messiness and political flailing, The Morning Show remains an addicting series absolutely worth watching.
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Sep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
Even when it misses the mark, the performances help anchor the theatrics, and new additions for season 3, like Jon Hamm and Nicole Behari, shine while the returning Karen Pittman and Greta Lee grapple with some of the big themes. Two A-listers lead the cast, but this drama utilizes its ensemble and guest cast with maximum impact.
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Sep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
The Morning Show Season 2 is a thrilling melange of ridiculous drama. There are hookups that had me gasping, plot developments that gave me whiplash, and a few moments where I had second-hand embarrassment for all involved. ... The Morning Show will never be a perfect show. It’s too boldly outspoken, too shockingly self-indulgent, and too obsessed with speaking first about a moment in time instead of speaking wisely. Still, I can’t help but find its brand of backstabbing elites terribly fun to watch.
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Sep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
Season 2 again enters territory that is frequently too fraught to dissect in public without triggering knee-jerk responses — with all the risks that entails. And whether it holds together as the world falls apart is an open question. But “The Morning Show” most definitely succeeds at striking the balance between advancing its own personality-driven narrative and tackling topical issues in one entertaining drama.
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Sep 17, 2021TV Guide MagazineNov 14, 2019
Season 1 Review:
The Morning Show favors soap opera over self-importance, making this newsroom a fun place to visit, especially if you like your headlines over the top. [11-24 Nov 2019, p.17]
Nov 1, 2019
Season 1 Review:
The first three episodes made available to critics are remarkably flat for such a lavish venture. ... When The Morning Show finally gets its setup established, and starts to grapple with the consequences and the meaning of what Mitch has actually done, the show finds some momentum. It’s at its most fascinating, and meaningful, when it’s picking at the cultural scar tissue left by so many allegations.
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Oct 29, 2019
Season 1 Review:
If it takes a while to get a feel for most characters, Alex and Bradley come off as logical extensions of Aniston’s girls’-girl relatability and Witherspoon’s intensity. Yet the show doesn’t have the same depth or experimental spirit as the top tier of TV in 2019. Rather, it resembles a more muted Shonda Rhimes serial or a less smug Aaron Sorkin joint—it’s pithy and easy to watch but rarely as thought-provoking as you’d hope.
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The Daily BeastOct 28, 2019
Season 1 Review:
There are almost constant whiffs of very classy, intelligent people poking and prodding and preaching at you. When these arguments are as provocative and insightful as the creative team seems to believe, it’s fantastic. Delivered by a cast this stacked, how could it not be? But when it misses, the groan may as well be a foghorn. It can seem like a fool’s errand to engage in these issues in real-time, which is what makes the show both so impressive and susceptible to intense criticism.
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Sep 16, 2025
Season 4 Review:
Crudup gloriously leans into what the show truly is and watching his performance is an utter delight. .... Strangely, Alex and Bradley don’t have that much screen time together as other plots pull the two main characters apart. Both act in ways that aren’t totally consistent with their characters, but narrative integrity has never really been the show’s strong suit.
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Sep 16, 2025
Season 4 Review:
AI plays a major role in the season, and it’s probably the most fun. .... Other attempts at tackling real topics are less effective. Bradley is one of the most consistent weak spots on this show, which is not necessarily Witherspoon’s fault. The character is confusing, like no one wants to commit fully to any side of her.
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ColliderSep 16, 2025
Season 4 Review:
While Alex and Bradley’s arcs suffer, and Cory feels like he’s overstayed his welcome despite Crudup’s natural charm and undeniable charisma, Stella and Mia shine, and Celine and Miles are interesting enough to justify their addition to an already too-packed cast. I was rarely particularly impressed by The Morning Show Season 4, but I was also definitely never bored.
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Sep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
It is captivating in its stilted strangeness; almost arresting in its capacity to identify the least recognizably human direction for any story to go and then head unerringly toward it. “Bad” isn’t the right word, because it doesn’t capture how hilarious and striking the show can be. “Good” isn’t a great fit, either. ... This season of The Morning Show is just plain weird. Characters make choices that make no sense whatsoever, and they do it with a regularity that’s half the show’s appeal.
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The GuardianSep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
None of it feels real. Without the storyline that gave The Morning Show all its power and nuance, we are left with the old luxury fluff, reacquainting ourselves with characters who aren’t substantial enough to merely hang out with. ... This is a drama that demands we take it seriously – it needs to earn that right anew.
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The IndependentSep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
Two seasons in, though, The Morning Show is still something of a luxurious mess. It’s stronger when its characters guide the narrative – even Bradley becoming more textured as the season goes on – but feels trapped by its own fixation on real-world relevance, or plundering recent headlines for story ideas.
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Nov 1, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Apple TV+'s series is less about the intricacies of the business than the firestorms resulting when talent egos clash against management callousness. One might understand that more precisely after a slog through the first two episodes. But maybe audiences will forgive the clunky pacing and derivative scenes in those episodes, since "The Morning Show" less about the script than the performances and the star power.
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Oct 28, 2019Sep 17, 2021
Sep 18, 2025
Season 4 Review:
All these actors [Karen Pittman, Greta Lee and Nicole Beharie] are strong, but expect Lee and Beharie, in particular, to be in the Emmys conversation thanks to two grueling scenes in which each character’s world falls apart. .... But the resulting season feels mostly like filler that had me yearning for the episodes in which The Morning Show might finally grapple with the actual biggest threat to news media.
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Sep 15, 2023
Season 3 Review:
You can see, in the new episodes, all of the ways in which the series knows what works (dazzling one-liners; the absurdity of a TV program that requires anchors to segue from pie-eating contests to racism) while also being handicapped by the most unshiftable hindrance of all: its stars. .... You can almost sense the writers’ relief at having someone as fiendish as Cory to write for. Imagine a series in which every character could be this peacocking, this nakedly self-interested, this fun.
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Sep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
“The Morning Show” is not a snore, as the many plot lines seem to yell out to viewers, “Hey, look at me.” With season three, which premiered on Wednesday, it has shed any remnants of quality ambition and given into soap operatics of the highest order. In short, the series has gone fairly bonkers, with more attention-seeking and more ill-advised ripped-from-the-headlines material than ever.
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Oct 28, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Simplified storytelling and giving viewers what they signed up for — Jen and Reese together 4ever — would have benefitted The Morning Show. Future episodes may reward us with those, but as far as first impressions go, this Morning Show made me want to hit the snooze button.
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Oct 28, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Mostly "The Morning Show" is a show in search of itself, uncertain of what to say about the #MeToo movement and workplace misconduct, or how to explore those real world parallels (Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer). This is because "The Morning Show" is often a mashup of verisimilitude with outright balderdashery.
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IndieWireOct 28, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Early tonal inconsistencies can be expected, but they still make these first three episodes hard to gauge and, worse still, there’s very little to just enjoy. Maybe it doesn’t make sense to compare an ongoing TV series about morning news to a two-hour film about the financial crisis. But if that can be entertaining and incisive, than this should be, well, either.
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RogerEbert.comSep 17, 2025
Season 4 Review:
Crudup continues to shine in a career-highlight role as Cory, arguably the most complex and interesting character on the series. Aniston and Witherspoon are excellent actors, but it almost comes across as if they share our feeling that Alex and Bradley are no longer particularly fresh and challenging roles, and have possibly been played out.
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Sep 16, 2025
Season 4 Review:
Their [Mia and Chris'] late blooming as full-fledged protagonists feels borrowed from a more methodical, patient kind of show. It’s also not enough to anchor all the madness. “The Morning Show” has always been a compulsively watchable, campy kind of mess. In Season 4, the mess takes center stage.
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iSep 13, 2023
The IndependentSep 13, 2023
RogerEbert.comSep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
“The Morning Show” tries to be many things—camp comedy, workplace drama, and hard-hitting treatise on the wobbly intersection of politics and show business. The trouble is that each of those conflicting modes collide at any given moment, so you’re never sure what side of the line the writers and performers are on.
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Sep 13, 2023
Season 3 Review:
When the show isn’t carrying the banner for women — especially women of color — being underused and mistreated in the workplace, it’s underusing many of its women, especially women of color. Sure, Witherspoon and Aniston are the show’s centerpieces and both have heightened drama to play, but they’re also stuck in familiar The Morning Show tropes.
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Sep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
To give the second season of The Morning Show something, anything, to propel it forward, there are a variety of soapy dramas, many of them pinned to the new characters. These cobbled together histrionic dramatics are offensive compared to the gravity of the issues of the first season. Even combined, the desperate scrambles of the second season don’t have enough bite, or credibility, for the viewer to invest in.
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Sep 17, 2021
Season 2 Review:
A series with too much story seems to have lost the plot. ... Too often, “The Morning Show’s” second season is satisfied with the easiness of shock — of announcing itself, though not communicating much of note, in a blare. But the show it might have been, or might still be, is there, just barely avoiding being drowned out.
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The IndependentJan 3, 2020
Season 1 Review:
The Morning Show, as is standard for expensive dramas in the age of too much television, is also desperate to be About Something. And in that regard, it falls flat. Its politics are baffling – notably Bradley’s insistence on being neither politically red nor blue but “human” – and it’s not yet smart enough to say anything insightful when it comes to sexual misconduct in the workplace.
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Oct 30, 2019
Season 1 Review:
After three episodes, this tech company’s first venture into TV is good only at appearing to be good. It’s like something assembled in a cleanroom out of good-show parts from incompatible suppliers. Under the gleaming surface, as sleek and anodyne as an Apple Store, it is a kludge. ... Carell is good in his role, as are his co-stars. But they’re appearing in different shows.
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RogerEbert.comOct 29, 2019
Season 1 Review:
“The Morning Show” can’t quite figure what it wants to be, waffling between a soapy take on super personalities like “All About Eve” and “serious” commentary on the state of the world like “The Newsroom.” A couple of the performances—and one in particular—keep it from being a complete disaster, but the show has a high degree of unearned self-importance.
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