Apple TV+’s ‘The Morning Show’ is back with a fourth season that keeps drama and intrigue on the agenda as Alex Levy and Bradley Jackson once again set out on another journey of truth and revelations. The last season wrapped up with UBA agreeing to merge with their arch-rival, NBN, a proposal by Alex following the revelation that Paul Marks, the billionaire whom Cory had convinced to purchase the network, had other plans in mind than what had been originally envisioned. Bradley, however, turns herself and her brother Hal over to the FBI for his part in the White House uprising and her part in destroying evidence against him. The fourth season begins two years after all of this has taken place, and although much is different for the characters, some is not. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Alex Lands Network in Yet Another Well
-Meaning Scandal After the merger, UBA is now UBN, and Alex has been transferred from the Morning Show to be based in Paris to cover the Paris Olympics. A great deal has gone into winning this deal, and the games are going to contribute significantly to reviving the network to its former glory. The Morning Show has been left in the capable hands of Chris Hunter and Yanko Flores, with Mia Jordan running the show. Alex, however, is working with Ben, the new Head of Sports, and her assistant, Remy. Meanwhile, Chip has turned towards documentary making, and Remy reveals that his latest project will be released at the upcoming film festival, and she can confirm that the film is rather well-made. Chip’s reference and the fact that he is doing fine without her put Alex in a slightly bad mood, but she suppresses her emotions. She is also irritated by the inclusion of Bro Hartman, a podcaster whose views she does not share, but who has the audience which the network requires.
Alex remains on task, which is to interview a young Iranian fencer named Roya Nezari, who is set to compete in Paris. Her father, who also acts as her translator, hands Alex a note before they sit down to do the interview, which says that they want to defect. Alex is taken aback, but attempts to have the interview as normally as possible. Next, she asks a politically loaded question, which causes the Iranian bodyguard to end the interview. As the network folks attempt to cool him down in the hopes of resuming the interview, Alex escapes with Roya. After double-checking that this is what the girl desires, she instructs her to exit via an alternate door and depart by car. In order to cause a diversion, Alex activates the fire alarm, but this also helps Roya’s father make an exit. Although Alex believes she has assisted the daughter and father, the network is put into crisis management mode. Celine, representing the new board, arrives immediately to take control of the situation and is met by Stella, the new UBN CEO. What they have found out, however, is that when the network spent an outrageous sum of money getting the Olympics contract, they also guaranteed to remain neutral politically. Alex’s actions have, however, jeopardized that since it has been discovered that the defection was not aimed at the Olympian athlete but her father, who is an Iranian nuclear scientist. Now, while they are being debriefed, so will Alex be interrogated by the FBI. But more importantly is how the network will handle the new dilemma before them.
Bradley Jackson Returns From Retirement
With Alex confused in the Roya Nezari matter, Stella chooses to take her out of the Olympics assignment, at least for now. Chris, being the retired athlete, is the best bet for the replacement, but that would leave her seat as host of the Morning Show vacant. Mia and Stella discuss their possibilities, then the topic shifts to Bradley and how her combination with Alex had the most viewers for the show. They ask what Bradley is up to these days and if she’d return. Mia chooses to discover that and travels to West Virginia, where Bradley has been in hiding since the Season 3 finale. It turns out that she is now teaching journalism at a community college, and Mia arriving at her doorstep is the most thrilling thing that has happened to her in a while.
Mia informs her of the situation while also keeping her in the dark regarding Alex’s approval of returning. Nevertheless, Bradley does not want to go back on the show and declines the offer. That same night, she gets an anonymous text from a user named “gaiawarrior96,” who wants to know why she declined Mia’s offer. They also inform her of UBN being implicated in a cover-up regarding a company called Martel, whose chemical factory has been called out for polluting the water supply, destroying wildlife, and causing birth defects and illnesses among the locals. The texter encourages Bradley to return to UBN and apply her detective skills to trace and reveal the truth behind Martel’s misdoings. Still, they won’t say how they found out about her encounter with Mia and why they care about the Martel case. Regardless, they pique Bradley’s interest, and she changes her mind to take Mia up on her offer. She must first notify the FBI agent who is handling her case before she can pack and head to New York. She clarifies that the Morning Show is not even journalism, and she will not be doing anything wrong. She is only taking the job for money. The officer notes that she is actually not in the good books of the FBI. While her brother, Hal, is in prison, Bradley avoided that because she chose to spill dirt on Paul Marks, but that did not quite work as it was supposed to. While he allows her to leave, he also tells her that she can’t mess up, or the FBI would double their efforts on her, and it would destroy her life.
Alex and Bradley Clash Once Again as Cory Battles for His Survival
Alex attempts to assist the Nezaris, who are continuing to be debriefed. There is no indication of whether or not they will be granted asylum, and though her bosses warn her to steer clear of it, she cannot do nothing. She goes to see her father, Martin Levy, a law professor, to learn more about what can be done for the Iranians. The discussion implies that the father-daughter relationship is not at its best, and it could be due to Martin disdainfully regarding his daughter’s job on a show that is not much related to serious journalism. He does not hold his tongue, but Alex is restrained, being shown to have developed a method of not letting him rile her up. He repeats the warning on not getting involved with the Iranians.
He turns the conversation about himself, being shown that he has finally been offered the role to be the dean of law, which he had unfairly lost out on to a woman before. He requires Alex to talk to a reporter writing a profile of him and say something about their father-daughter relationship, essentially speaking favorably of him, although the look on her face indicates just how ridiculous his request is. Cory is meanwhile working in LA, attempting to earn a living as a movie producer. He was expelled from UBN after Paul accused him of sexual misconduct. Although he was cleared of such accusation, the mere fact that he was accused has canceled him out to the point that nobody is willing to work with him any longer. Somehow or other, Cory was able to secure a project, but the weather, the town, and the people seem to conspire against him. When he loses the lead actress, he makes one call after another to arrange for another big actress to star in the film. When the scheme backfires, he calls Doug Klassen, and Doug is not willing to speak to him at first but then pities him and requests that he fax over the script. Stella, meanwhile, has sex with a man called Miles. Initially, they appear to be strangers at a bar, but it is a role-play, something they have been doing for a long time. Miles is discussing picking up a date to Japan, but both of them know that the proposition is impossible. The true cause of it ends up being the fact that Miles is Celine’s actual partner, so he and Stella are having an affair behind her boss’ back.
Back in New York, Bradley comes home, and her first destination is Alex’s residence. The reunion soon escalates to a quarrel because Alex does not try to disguise her real sentiments on Bradley’s return. She informs him that the bosses of the network do not know why she actually left the last time, and she also says that perhaps Bradley needs to look elsewhere. This makes Bradley angry because he was deceived into thinking that Alex wanted her back. But what irritates her even more is that even though she has done some of those wrong things too, Alex is playing a moral high ground here and condemning Bradley for attempting to defend her brother, when at the end she did the right thing. The scene closes with Bradley letting out that she has no intention of leaving. This prompts Alex to call Cory, inform him of Bradley’s return, and observe that a catch-up between them has been long in coming. Read More: Why Did Paul Get UBA Hacked?
