“The Morning Show”
“The Morning Show,” Apple TV+’s witty dramedy about the chaotic world of broadcast news, has made a name for itself with ripped-from-the-headlines plots and characters pointedly mirroring real-life figures in our cultural zeitgeist (see last season’s Paul Marks (Jon Hamm), a space-travel-obsessed tech billionaire a la Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos). It’s only fitting that on PaleyFest’s opening night the panel focused on the real world as well. Moderator Kara Swisher — a journalist best known for holding powerful people to the fire at The New York Times and elsewhere — prompted the panel of “The Morning Show” cast members, producers, and its showrunner to share their thoughts on everything from the state of modern journalism and the specter of AI to the effects of streaming, strikes, and short-form content in the entertainment industry.
Co-leads and co-executive producers Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon were refreshingly candid in their responses to the topical questions. Aniston, who plays ambitious but morally wavering lead anchor Alex Levy, reminisced on the scene facing aspiring actors in the ‘90s — joking about how people would audition endlessly, just hoping to get a guest role “on ‘Quantum Leap.’” Today, that glamorous scene is all but gone, replaced by a data-driven focus on content. The discussion of such changes to the media landscape had Witherspoon wondering aloud about her and Aniston, “Are careers like ours possible ever again?”
That’s not to say the discussion about “The Morning Show” was overlooked. Karen Pittman, who plays laser-focused producer Mia Jordan at the fictional United Broadcast Association network, discussed having to learn Russian for a scene in the last season. “As an actor, you love when the writers throw you a horseshoe,” she said. Actor Mark Duplass earned plenty of laughs for his frank perspective on his character, producer Charlie ‘Chip’ Black. “Chip is obsessed with Alex Levy, and I understand because I’m obsessed with Jennifer Aniston,” he quipped of his character’s doormat behavior. Comedian Tig Notaro similarly kept the panel and audience in stitches with her anecdotes about acting on the show and interacting with the cast.
The panel also reflected on one of season 3’s most talked-about storylines, in which new character Christina ‘Chris’ Hunter (Nicole Beharie) confronts UBA’s CEO — who made racist remarks about her in an email after hiring her as an anchor — on live television. Speaking of the scene’s importance for her character’s arc, Beharie shared, “Chris’s responsibility was to bring light [to the issue], and now she has a weight to her. It’s a choice a lot of us in the public eye have to make right now.”
While showrunner and executive producer Charlotte Stout offered some insight into how the show manages to write timely storylines about subjects like the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade months (or years) before the show airs — including having researchers on the ground meeting with activists and policymakers — she kept mum about the upcoming season’s specific arcs.
“We blew everything up last year … so we have to play the consequences,” she said, adding that “it’s safe to say the show will be out after the [2024 Presidential] election.” Could “The Morning Show” predict the winner? Stout couldn’t forecast the results when jokingly prompted by the moderator. Whatever happens in season 4, viewers can expect that the series will continue to be on the pulse of the issues that matter — delivering the expected dose of twists, turns, and shocking moments along the way.
– Bailey Bujnosek, Senior Staff Writer
“Young Sheldon”
After seven years on air, the classic family sitcom, “Young Sheldon” closed out their final showing as a cast at PaleyFest on April 14. This show follows the iconic character, Sheldon Cooper from “The Big Bang Theory” in his early years of life with his family. As more seasons came out, the fan base grew to reflect the audience shown at PaleyFest with almost a sold-out show. The “Young Sheldon” panel featured Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon), Annie Potts (the grandmother, widely known as “Meemaw”), Zoe Perry (Mary Cooper, the mother), Lance Barber (George Cooper, the father), Emily Osment (Georgie’s wife), Montana Jordan (Georgie, the brother), Raegan Revord (Missy, the sister), and executive producers Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro, and Steve Holland. Melissa Peterman was the witty moderator behind this panel that kept the crowd laughing, keeping it upbeat despite the show coming to an end.
The panel began with a 23-minute sneak peek at the finale episode that aired on CBS on April 18. It featured the classic dinner table talks with the whole family and some old familiar faces from “The Big Bang Theory.” After the teaser, the heartfelt yet comedic panel began as the cast reminisced about their on-set experiences and relationships with one another.
Barber had a running joke about “face factories” that he and Perry had when they reacted to the crazy things the kids did and said on set. Barber had a specified number system that the cast could call out which corresponded to a particular reaction that made the audience laugh. Revord and Jordan talked about their extremely close sibling bond that developed throughout the years of filming. Revord continuously referred to him as her real brother and explained how Jordan filled in this big brother role for her and still does. The bond that this cast has is undeniable and was felt through the screen and while hearing the amazing things they said about one another. A true testament to this family bond was seen in the way they treated their newest cast member, Emily Osment, as she was able to fit right in and experience the end of the show. “It’s my third year on the show, and I have been here a shorter time than everyone else, but it still feels like a family to me. And I know everyone has got to see these kids grow up. … It’s definitely very bittersweet coming to an end.”
“Young Sheldon” is a television show that is becoming a staple for the homes of many families. To see it come to an end is a sad moment, but it also brings excitement as fans have a spin-off show with Jordan and Osment to look forward to. While “Young Sheldon” may have been the prelude to “The Big Bang Theory,” the attention and love it has received has made it a stand-out show in its own right, leaving younger fans of “Young Sheldon” wanting to find out what an older Sheldon Cooper is up to.
– Yamile Peel, Senior Staff Writer
“Avatar: The Last AirBender”
“Avatar: The Last AirBender” is one of the most influential and beloved cartoons of our generation. The creative writing is rare to find in recent shows and hard to match. Each character starts with deep-rooted flaws, but by the end, they have grown into characters with whom you can sympathize and have a deep connection. When the live-action series was announced, fans were excited yet hesitant, especially after the disappointing 2010 film adaptation. Due to the popularity of the new live-action series, many fans are curious about the future of the show and the decisions made behind the current season. This curiosity gave PaleyFest the perfect opportunity to have the fans’ questions answered in real time.
On April 14, PaleyFest had the cast of the new live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last AirBender” released in February to talk about the show. The panel featured Gordon Cormier (The Avatar), Kiawentiio (Katara), Ian Ousley (Sokka), Dallas Liu (Zuko), Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Uncle Iroh), Arden Cho (June), Elizabeth Yu (Azula), Albert Kim (showrunner, executive producer, and writer), and Jabbar Raisani (executive producer and director). The panel was brilliantly moderated by senior producer at Collider Perri Nemiroff who provided both his own insightful questions and ones from fans about the upcoming season 2.
Lee and Liu’s uncle-nephew relationship outside of filming displayed how close they got throughout the show and how their characters manifested through the actors to create a realistic bond on screen. Lee expressed how Liu has a work ethic compared to no other and a pure heart that facilitated the growth of their bond. Raisani and Kim, who wrote and directed most of season 1, explained how they wanted to stay authentic to the original show but faced challenges when trying to produce a one-to-one remake of the cartoon. They emphasized how they kept the costumes almost exact and made a lot of the animals and bending better than they could have imagined with CGI.
The panel was a great experience that showed how the cast interacted and the bond they all created in such a short amount of time, and it is exciting to see how it will play out in future seasons as the actors settle into their characters.
As for the quality of the live-action adaptation itself, the actors deserved better writing. King Bumi, one of the most beloved characters in the cartoon, was turned into an unlikeable and off putting character. This was disappointing because the relationship between him and Aang was meant to bring fond memories from their childhood when they reconnected but instead brought vengeance because of the way they wrote Bumi. Aang’s character was also not portrayed as the whimsy kid he originally was; instead, he was serious and only cared about his duty to the world instead of penguin sledding and riding koi fish. Although the run time of the live-action series was around the same as the cartoon, it felt like a summary. It had good moments that acknowledged Uncle Iroh’s son and dove deeper into Aang’s relationship with Gyatso, which offered more than the cartoon. One of the biggest mistakes the writers made was to have Aang not intentionally run away from being the Avatar. In the live action, he went to clear his head and accidentally got frozen, whereas in the cartoon he meant to run away. This led to false blame on Aang, who learned no lesson.
Luckily for the viewers, the casting was strong and gave us what the cartoon characters would have looked like in a live-action world. This first season was a bit rocky, but as the cast begins to warm up more to their characters, seasons 2 and 3 will give us a lot more. We are seeing these characters at the baseline when we still aren’t too sure how to feel about them, but as the showrunners develop the characters through the next two seasons, I hope we get to love them just as much as their cartoon counterparts. Bringing childhood memories to life is a hard thing to live up to, especially with a show like “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” but this cast is perfect for the job. Watching this play out will be very exciting for all fans of this show.
– Yamile Peel, Senior Staff Writer
