SPOILER WARNING: The following contains spoilers forThe Morning Shows Season 3 finale episode, The Overview Effect.
CHARLOTTE STOUDT: Thank you so much.
The protests with George Floyd; all the questions around the election.
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Billionaires having made so much money during the pandemic and the pandemic itself.
The clash over masks and vaccines.
It was a heightened time.
DEADLINE:The Morning Showhas consistently shown willingness to lean into whats current, which is very high risk.
What were some of the last-minute reworkings this past Season 3?
It has to be a bit seat-of-the-pants, right?
STOUDT: Theres a lot of seat-of-the-pants on the show.
But we certainly didnt anticipate, as no one did, the leak on May 2nd.
And we were already thinking of doing the tension between public and private.
We were going to have this big gala for episode seven.
When that leak hit, I just thought, oh my god.
I was like, wow, were just going to slot this in.
Thematically it worked perfectly.
And then the rug is just pulled right out from under them.
And when I heard that, I was like, OK, Im good.
Also, not to overreact.
Then weve got to trust it.
You never really get to be in.
And thats the kind of voyeuristic pleasure that the show gives.
LAUREN NEUSTADTER: when Covid came and we had all that time, it was all about the pivot.
Theyre happening because I think the show is meant to thoughtfully reflect the world that were living in.
So, were always in dialogue with each other about, Hey, this thing happened.
Did you read this article?
Did you hear about this thing?
What do you think?
I think its something thats really cool and unique about the show.
ELLENBERG: Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
ELLENBERG: I just feel badly for the people.
And it was like, OK. And it was quite a challenge to go to space and from our characters point of view.
And not just that, but creating space on our budget.
And is it the right thing to do?
Is it the right place to put our characters?
What do they see up there?
What are they feeling?
How does it relate to Bradleys experience when shes up there?
Is it [an experience] of reflection and deep sadness?
What is she sad about?
What is going on?
And space was a great way to do it.
And then there was the hack, which was really fun to do.
But shooting those two episodes as a block was quite interesting.
Making sure the actors are spot on.
Knowing where they are going, where theyre coming from, modulating those levels.
One and two were challenging, as was the entire season.
But in the best possible way.
Because stories are always about something and something completely relevant.
And our exploration of that was just quite fascinating.
The writing was really spot-on.
Every episode just kept exploring something new, but they were all intertwined and interrelated.
ELLENBERG: Mimis able to keep an emotional truth to all of these ideas.
In a way that seems almost biblical.
And if we werent doing that, then the souffle collapses.
Because behind the scenes of these morning show news groups, its so tense.
Speaking of space, its like when we would go behind the scenes of these control rooms.
Good Morning America or whatever, some people were kind enough to let us in.
When you are in these control rooms, you feel like theyre getting ready to launch a spaceship.
DEADLINE:Truly like NASA.
HAHN: Its like being in NASA.
And I love that about our show.
And what a piece of casting that was.
I love and adore everything Esther Perel does.
Tell me about bringing her on.
HAHN: That was actually a Jen idea, I think.
I think more real, more authentic, less persona, less curated.
And out of the gate wanted to establish that there was a slightly new Alex.
Esther of course pushed Alex even further with her ultimate question and Alex becomes speechless from that great question.
DEADLINE:Id love to know if Esther had any input in what that question was going to be?
STOUDT: Yes, absolutely.
I was furiously scribbling, and then just tried to put that all back together.
I love that Esther is just so direct.
Her directness is just startling, and shes always on my Instagram feed.
It was a great collaboration.
Thats part of the fun of the show is that someone like Esther is interested in collaborating with us.
HAHN: And she was such a natural interviewer too.
Because she does it in real life.
So, I was wondering how acting would be for her, but she was a total natural.
She was obviously playing herself, but she was so good at it.
She was, right Mimi?
LEDER: She was so keyed in.
There was no nervousness.
There was only excitement and a great eagerness to get it right.
But it was very calm.
And she pulled it off beautifully.
ELLENBERG: It was also a kind of collective group therapy on the set.
HAHN: I think thats so right.
Everyone was carrying a question.
HAHN: Well, this is life imitating art for our show.
It does happen a lot for us.
We all benefit from many of the conversations we get to have about whats happening on our show.
It is current events, and in this case, current events became very emotional events, right?
And what home meant for all of us, which Charlotte beautifully integrated thematically into the season.
Where do we belong?
Who are our people?
Because we all became so isolated during the pandemic.
So, all of these characters are going through the same things we went through.
Who did we shack up with for those months?
Who was our pod?
And how did we handle coming out of it?
DEADLINE:Something that Ive thought about so much this season is how you handle male fragility.
But in the end, what we see is women in their power and the men are fragile.
Ultimately, theyre kind of bankrupt in the end of this season.
Theyve been trying to put up this front and its just crumbled.
But Charlotte, perhaps you could speak to how men are represented in this season?
STOUDT: I like to see it all.
I like to see the fragility, but also the playfulness.
I always thought of in a way like a triangle.
One triangle this season is Corey, Paul and Alex.
So, youre right in that sense, there is a vulnerability.
But I always think about, what does female leadership look like and what does female power look like?
Just the way she is on set.
Because its total command of the craft, of the crew, of the material, of the performers.
So, I think that did somehow inform me.
And I think men, obviously along with women, can learn from that.
So, women have to figure out female power too.
Its not like we wake up with it one morning.
But I think youre right.
I mean, I think its a really special thing to track throughout all the seasons of this show.
What that is, and really looking at it so carefully and with such sensitivity and awareness.
I love the relationship between Alex and Bradley.
And then here it comes back around, and it shifts everything.
AndNicole Beharies whole arc as Chris too.
Also, that blistering scene where Laura confronts Bradley about her cover-up of her brothers actions on January 6th.
NEUSTADTER: And thats all the things.
I mean, thats what was on the page and that was the beautiful direction.
And Julianna and Reese togethertalk about two powerhouses.
That was really, I thought, just beautiful work.
Laura Wexler in episode nine, and Ill just say she did a great job researching.
We were like, were going to give you a shot.
She had three versions of that.
I remember the first version.
I was like, I think it’s possible for you to get a little spicier here.
And the second thing she wrote was, You should have just f***ed him.
And you have to be open and grateful for wherever.
And I mean, that comes from the top down on our show.
We are making the show together, and we work so well together.
And we do hire a lot of women.
Michael is the origin point of the show.
How do you want to maintain that and what are some of the hopes you have for next season?
We touched a little bit on what Cory might possibly be like after this experience.
Id love to know if you even imagine Paul Marks making a reappearance?
And because the talent, the bench is so deep on the show.
There are just so many people who are so fascinating.
But I just want to keep going deeper without losing that propulsion, as you say.
I think weve barely gotten to know Stella.
Chris is a new character, I think theres a lot to say there.
I dont know how Chip and Alex got started, so I would like to hear that story.
And thats one thing I really want to do this season.
HAHN:Thats our favorite codependent work relationship, right?
Its like the platonic love story.
DEADLINE:The work wife, work husband story.
HAHN:But what happens if somebody actually gets romance in their life?
ELLENBERG: Its always an exciting time in the modern media landscape.
And so, we will continue to reflect that energy.
They experience it all as an adrenaline rush.
Season 4 ofThe Morning Showis set to premiere in 2025.
