Karen Pittman Interview: The Morning Show S2 | Screen Rant
The Morning Show returns to Apple TV+ on September 17, and its titular program is still reeling from last season's chaos when the premiere opens. UBA's flagship news program is falling behind in the ratings and the entire network might go up in flames after the bombshell co-anchors Alex (Jennifer Aniston, Dumplin') and Bradley (Reese Witherspoon, Little Fires Everywhere) dropped on air.
Producer Mia Jordan (Karen Pittman, Yellowstone) has been left to clean up the mess amidst the revolving door of faces on and offscreen, and her job includes more pressures than ever before. Not only does she have to toe the line between the hard-hitting news Bradley wants and the fluff pieces the network demands, but COVID is creeping up on the world in early 2020 and racial tensions in the workplace are bubbling to a surface.
Pittman spoke to Screen Rant about tackling new sides to Mia's job and deepening dynamics with characters such as Daniel (Desean Terry, Language Lessons) and newcomer Stella (Greta Lee, Russian Doll).
Screen Rant: Mia was left to put the pieces of The Morning Show back together after the truth bombs of season 1. How much more difficult is her job now and her responsibilities as we go into season 2?
Karen Pittman: We talked a lot about, with the writers and producers, that Mia does get promoted to the executive producer job at The Morning Show. But she also is standing on the proverbial glass cliff as she is getting up against that glass ceiling.
She has received The Morning Show when it is in an extraordinary transition moment, and it has fallen in the ratings. Over season 2, we see her grapple with how to handle all of the personalities and all the hosts; how to handle gender politics and race politics. It's a really interesting and incredible experience of what it looks like for a woman to be empowered, but very specifically a woman of color. I hope it resonates with our audience.
Speaking of personalities and politics, I really liked the dynamic between Mia and Daniel. It felt like we really got to see that friendship and the different ways they handle their role or position in this industry. Can you talk about working with Desean on that?
Karen Pittman: Desean is actually one of my most favorite collaborators. He loves to talk about the scene; he loves to get into the meat of it. I think that is probably a reflection of our shared training experience here in the States. He went to Juilliard, while I went to NYU.
But we also share this common ideology, which is that not all skin folk are kinfolk. There are a myriad of ways that melanated people see race and race politics. What I love about season 2 of The Morning Show is that we go into the different nuanced conversations about what it looks like for Daniel, and then what it looks like for me; what it looks like for Stella, and what it looks like for Yanko. We run the gamut, and I think there's a little something in there for everybody.
I love that you have so many new faces to interact with this season. Is there any dynamic that you are excited for fans to see Mia explore?
Karen Pittman: I'm certainly excited for them to see her explore a deeper relationship with Desean Terry's character Daniel Henderson.
But I've also got to say that my cohort Greta Lee brings a lot of humor and fun to her character, along with just being a fantastic actress. She brings another form of diversity and inclusivity to The Morning Show cast, and I'm excited for what people are going to see with an Asian American and African American woman at the top and sharing space and sharing power; to see what that looks like.
The Morning Show's second season premieres September 17 on Apple TV+.