S01.E01: In the Dark Night of the Soul It’s Always 3:30 in the Morning

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

America's favorite morning news show is thrown into crisis when it becomes the news.

[sadie]

Got the heavy Matt Lauer vibes, who I can’t stand, but Carrol gave him some nice nuance. First ep might have been a bit predictable but I enjoyed it. Full disclosure I’m a huge Aniston and Witherspoon fan so it would have had to have been pretty horrible for me not to like. 

[tomsmom]

As much as I love Steve Carell I think Jon Hamm would have been a better fit.

[ichbin]

I saw some of the early reviews and didn't expect much.  If I hadn't just bought an Apple device and gotten Apple TV free I doubt I would have watched it.  I'm glad I did though.  Yes, it's very reminiscent of what happened with Matt Lauer/Today Show but I'm not having any trouble separating this from that.  The leads are fine. Lots of good actors in the cast.  The writing isn't bad.  I hope a lot of people don't get turned off by the lackluster reviews. I like it so far after watching the first three episodes. 

[maggiegil]

I'm distracted by how bad Reese Witherspoon's wig is especially when shes outside it looks so synthethic and unnatural

[Corgi-ears]

So, let me think this through. Mitch Kesseler has committed sexual misconduct. I would imagine that this misconduct most affects his victims (none of whom are in this first ep). My guess is that his wife -- who is in the first episode -- is also pretty fucked over by this, even if it looks like their marriage was already on the rocks. And then, I suppose, his work wife is also impacted? And we'll focus on her.

I mean, I understand. The star of your show is Jennifer Aniston, and she's playing that "work wife." And you can even make a case that it's a kinda interesting moral situation, since there are hints in this first ep that Alex's outrage about the sexual misconduct is not exactly selfless -- rather than, or at least along with her, empathy for the victims, she's also pissed at Mitch for jeopardizing her career.

Am I however that interested in watching this "but enough about the victims, let's talk about ME" situation play out? I'm not sure. We'll see how much of a hurry I'm in to watch the second ep.

[txhorns79]

So I’ve watched the first episode and I think the most I’ve gotten out of it is I really want the Gilmore Girls musical to be real.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

I really enjoyed this show. It is fun and intriguing

Alex couldn't possibly be in the dark about Mitch's conduct. She had to have known.

[The Ringo Kidd]

I only got half way through this drivel. The Aaron Sorkin style spittle flecked speech about coal and the news caused me to flee. 

Fake News.

[moonorchid]

I didn’t expect much based off the reviews but I’m a Witherspoon fan (and a more casual fan of anniston) and I’m loving both of them in this. When talented women are the driving force, it’s hard to fail with me. 
 

I actually had no clue what the premise was so it was really intriguing learning all this as I was watching.

My favorite scene was Alex and Bradley in the interview. I’m a big fan of simple intense scenes where talented actors just talk. Both were really good at portraying the text and subtext and where each person was coming from. 
 

My second favorite was when Alex went to see Mitch. Its not pretty but Alex’s devastation at how her world has changed because of Mitch’s actions was relatable. It’s still not clear to us what he’s being accused of, so we literally know as much as she does. 
 

Steve Carrel in the “Matt Lauer esque” role is really interesting and I think might be perfect. Steve Carrel is extremely likable and so was Matt lauer. I think having that “face” so to speak keeps Mitch from being a complete monster, at least for now, and that makes all of this more interesting. 

I definitely recommend trying it out for yourself despite the reviews. This was enough to get me interested in the next episode.

Edited November 18, 2019 by moonorchid

[Armchair Critic]

I watched the first episode of the new season of Mrs. Maisel and then I watched this and I liked this show better. I am in, so will watch this first even though I could see some of the plot stuff coming.

I usually enjoy Aniston and Witherspoon so I figured I would like them. I also like Steve Carell so I want to believe that the women were consenting and he is being railroaded but probably not if he is based on Matt Lauer. I recently watched the season of Goliath with Mark Duplass where he also played a scum bag who put on a charming front and Billy Crudup plays the obnoxious part well.

I didn't read any spoilers so I am only going off the first episode but wonder what's going on with Aniston's husband, did they break up because she cheated with Steve Carell's character? (yes I know I really need to learn everybody's character names). It looked like Steve Carell's wife was played by the same actress who was Lane Pryce's wife on Mad Men, she is good at playing a cold wife.

My worst nightmare would be having to wake up at 3:30 AM and have to be perky and look good for television. I've been a night owl my whole life, I would schedule my college courses later in the day and I always liked working 2nd shift.

What was that roller thing Jennifer Aniston's character was using on her neck and forehead and do I need one? Off to Google it.....

[ferjy]

On 12/14/2019 at 4:19 PM, Armchair Critic said:

What was that roller thing Jennifer Aniston's character was using on her neck and forehead and do I need one? Off to Google it.....

“do I need one?” lol Let us know what you find out. Maybe we can get a group discount. 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 12/14/2019 at 1:19 PM, Armchair Critic said:

What was that roller thing Jennifer Aniston's character was using on her neck and forehead and do I need one? Off to Google it.....

 

On 12/26/2019 at 7:00 AM, ferjy said:

“do I need one?” lol Let us know what you find out. Maybe we can get a group discount.

It's a jade roller. They are made from other materials but jade is the original material it was made with. The one she was using was pink so it was probably rose quartz. You can buy them everywhere these days (Sephora, Ulta, etc).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I liked that after ignoring Mitch's phone calls all day so that she could focus on doing her job (and cleaning up the mess he left behind), Alex finally went to his house to confront him about how abandoned and betrayed she felt. Mitch had spent all his time feeling sorry for himself, playing the victim, and rationalizing his shitty behavior. He never stopped to think about the fallout for someone like Alex who loved him and was affected by this and was forced to deal very publicly with what he had done even though she had nothing to do with it. I think it forced him to finally stop thinking about himself for a few minutes

On 11/17/2019 at 9:57 PM, moonorchid said:

It’s still not clear to us what he’s being accused of, so we literally know as much as she does. 

He admitted to the team assembled at his house (I'm assuming it was his manager, his agent, his PR person, etc) that he slept with some PAs and some assistants. Since he was the star of the show and they were at the bottom of the ladder at the studio, that's a massively different power dynamic so at the very least the complaints were about sexual misconduct. It can only get worse from there.

[pasdetrois]

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I only got half way through this drivel. The Aaron Sorkin style spittle flecked speech about coal and the news caused me to flee. 

Fake News.

I worked in this world years ago. While the egos are indeed huge, the two leads seemed to have gotten lost and wandered onto a Ryan Murphy set. All that screeching and melodramatics from two supposed experienced professionals. Extremely disappointed.

[Avabelle]

One episode down and Reese Witherspoons Bradley is driving me nuts. The screaming. Just calm down. 

[teddysmom]

I was surprised it's as good as it is, as far as quality of production. Reese is a little too much. How she would get a job anchoring a network morning show from that rant is ridiculous. They would bring in someone from the network. 

I have to hand it to Aniston for allowing herself to be filmed with no make up (or minimal) to show how people actually look in the morning. 

That jade/rose quartz roller thing is easily replicated with your own hands. Massage your skin, roll it around under your fingers every area, forehead under eyes, eye lids, around mouth, neck etc. It'll thicken your skin and get circulation going better than a roller. And you'll be able to feel your skin change.  Also: free. 

[Eolivet]

The casting on this is absolutely perfect. Aniston and Carell have that wholesome Americana vibe (likely through their previously famous characters) and I feel like I'm getting a peek into an alternate universe where Katie Couric was still there when Lauer's treachery was exposed. Not to mention Crudup's entertainment-turned-news guy plays like a thinly veiled Jeff Zucker, so I'm just full of mid-2000s nostalgia.

I found the writing a bit ponderous, and some of the dialogue was just weird, but I agree the interview with Witherspoon's character was outstanding. The cursing can get distracting, and often seems like it's put in to seem "edgy" rather than illuminating character development. But the casting is so good, and the characters are compelling, so I'm in (a little late! But hey, maybe the Friends reunion will bring more viewers here).

[Anela]

I'm watching more Apple shows, before my free trial runs out, and am finally trying this, I already love Reese's character.