My Least Favorite Year

"My Least Favorite Year" is the first episode of the second season of the American drama television series The Morning Show, inspired by Brian Stelter's 2013 book Top of the Morning. It is the eleventh overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Erica Lipez, executive producer Adam Milch, and series developer Kerry Ehrin, and directed by executive producer Mimi Leder. It was released on Apple TV+ on September 17, 2021.

"My Least Favorite Year"
The Morning Show episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 1
Directed by	Mimi Leder
Written by	Eric Lipez Adam Milch Kerry Ehrin
Cinematography by	David Lanzenberg
Editing by	Sidney Wolinsky
Original release date	September 17, 2021 (2021-09-17)
Running time	53 minutes
Guest appearances
Janina Gavankar as Alison Namazi Tom Irwin as Fred Micklen Holland Taylor as Cybil Reynolds Hasan Minhaj as Eric Nomani Katie Aselton as Madeleine Kathy Najimy as Sylvia Portman Hannah Leder as Isabella Augustus Prew as Sean James Urbaniak as Backstage Manager Mark Harelik as Richard Victoria Tate as Rena Robinson Tara Karsian as Gayle Berman Joe Marinelli as Donny Spagnoli Joe Pacheco as Bart Daley Shari Belafonte as Julia Eli Bildner as Joel Rapkin Amber Friendly as Layla Bell Michelle Meredith as Lindsey Sherman

The series follows the characters and culture behind a network broadcast morning news program, The Morning Show. After allegations of sexual misconduct, the male co-anchor of the program, Mitch Kessler, is forced off the show. It follows Mitch's co-host, Alex Levy, and a conservative reporter Bradley Jackson, who attracts the attention of the show's producers after a viral video. In the episode, Alex and Bradley experience a fallout after exposing UBA on live television.

The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the new focus and storylines, although some expressed criticism for the over-abundance of subplots.

Plot

In the aftermath of their broadcast, Alex (Jennifer Aniston) and Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) prepare for a potential fallout. While they are approached by people to give statements, Fred (Tom Irwin) is put on administrative leave, while Cory (Billy Crudup) is informed that he has been fired.

Three months later, Bradley has become co-host with a man named Eric Nomani (Hasan Minhaj), while she helped Cory in getting his job back. Ray Marcus, UBA's evening news anchor, is accused of verbal abuse, which is widely reported. Bradley wants to take his place, but Cory convinces her she must stay in the morning cycle. During this, Cory wants to secure Eric to move into evening news, without letting Bradley know beforehand. He shares this concern to Stella Bak (Greta Lee), President of UBA's news division. Stella is frustrated by the ratings decline, and is heavily considering not extending Bradley's contract until she finds a new co-host.

Alex has quit the show and moved to Maine, writing a book on her experience. While her editor likes the manuscript, Alex is pressured to talk over his relationship with Mitch, which she refuses to do. She is visited by Cory, who wants her to return to The Morning Show. Alex refuses, claiming she is done with the network. With Alex out of the running, Stella decides to sign with another man after testing well, but Cory does not believe his presence will rescue the show.

While covering New Year's Eve, Bradley confronts Cory for not revealing Eric's position. Alex goes to a party, where she feels uneasy when a psychic claims she might be feeling guilt. After Cory leaves her a poem in a voicemail, Alex calls him back, promising to give him an answer tomorrow to secure her possible return. As New York prepares to welcome 2020, Mia (Karen Pittman) prepares a few stories ready to run, choosing to ignore a new pandemic. Cory calls Stella, telling her they have good news. As he tells her, he sees a news ticker that reveals Hannah's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against UBA.

Development

Production

The episode was written by executive producer Erica Lipez, executive producer Adam Milch, and series developer Kerry Ehrin, and directed by executive producer Mimi Leder. This was Lipez's third writing credit, Milch's second writing credit, Ehrin's fourth writing credit, and Leder's fourth directing credit.

Critical reviews

"My Least Favorite Year" received positive reviews from critics. Maggie Fremont of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "She doesn't officially accept the job, but things are looking up for ol' Cory Ellison. That is, until, amid the confetti and belting of “Auld Lang Syne,” he gets a look at a news chyron in Times Square and learns that Hannah's family is suing UBA for wrongful death. Ah, yes, that UBA ship continues to sink."

Linda Holmes of NPR wrote, "I want to talk about this show this season, even if you're not watching all of it. I want to talk about how they're using celebrity, how they're trying to capture shreds of the zeitgeist, why Steve Carell is still part of the show (he is!), and whether they have anything left to say about media or the #MeToo movement. But I also want to talk about how they shoot and light these people, how they dress them and do their hair, what music they use, and how they structure stories. Because in all its messiness, The Morning Show is a story about what television looks like at the moment."

Lacy Baugher of Telltale TV gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "New York City was certainly uniquely devastated by the earliest days of COVID-19 and it's probably necessary for a show that has so thoroughly embedded the Big Apple into its very DNA to somehow address it. How that's ultimately going to work out though, we'll just have to wait and see." Claire Di Maio of The Young Folks gave the episode a 7 out of 10 and wrote, "We know what's ahead, because just like Daniel's lack of a promotion and Alex's inevitable return and all else set up here, we'll get to that. But there are still three more months' worth of drama at UBA to come first."

Awards and accolades

Billy Crudup submitted the episode to support his nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards. He would lose to Matthew Macfadyen for Succession.

External links

• "My Least Favorite Year" at IMDb