The Morning Show

[announcer speaking Belarusian on PA system]

[announcer 2 speaking Russian on PA system]

- - Okay.

- - Uh… Okay.

- Um… -

Okay.

Hey, uh, they just pulled me out of the security line.

And, uh, they're going through my bag right now. Oh, shit.

I-I uploaded, um, some of the files to the drafts folders

so they should be coming through now. But… Fuck.

Wait. They took my computer.

Hey, um… That's…

- - I need my computer. That's…

I'm a journalist and I can't work without my computer.

I'm gonna miss my plane. I need to get back to New Yo--

- Stop! You're hurting me. -

Where are you taking me? I'm a journalist.

Stop it! Stop!

Thanks for sharing this, Alex.

They claim they found a suspicious hard drive in her luggage.

What's the State Department saying?

Oh, they're reviewing her case to see if she qualifies as unlawfully detained.

It could take weeks.

The Belarusians haven't charged her officially.

But what does that mean? Char-Charged with what?

Espionage. Conspiracy against the state. It could be anything.

Espionage? She was chasing a story.

What story?

Something that happened before the merger.

A pollution cover-up in Ohio.

A place called Wolf River.

If the story's in Ohio, what's she doing in Belarus?

She was meeting a source. Someone who worked for the chemical company.

I don't… I don't have all the details

because she and Chip were still putting all the pieces together.

Wait. Chip Black?

Oh, God. She asked for institutional support and cover for her travel.

And I said no.

Uh… This isn't your fault.

You… There's no way you could've known.

All right. What is happening? Do… Am I getting on a plane?

Uh… The last thing we need is more eyes on this.

We have to go through the State Department.

If this blows up, it'll only be harder to get her back.

We need to talk about news coverage.

I know, but this is going to leak at some point.

And we need to be ready to run something. Also, what do we tell staff?

Nothing yet.

Not until we know more.

I'll speak to the State Department.

And I wanna see any Bradley Jackson package before it runs.

Nothing goes out until we're ready.

- Okay. - Of course.

Okay, we'll figure it out.

Oh. I'll call you back.

Hey. Quick question.

You should've stayed gone. You were free.

- Well, then I wouldn't get to bother you. -

So, why is Chris on call for TMS all week?

I was supposed to have her clear for the next few days.

Oh, someone should've told Bradley.

Why? What's she doing?

She's sick.

So sick she couldn't even send a text.

- Seriously? - Yeah, Ben said to roll with it.

I'm about to roll my ass to the bar if you wanna get a drink.

I don't care if it's unconfirmed.

Just on background, give… give me your best guess.

All right, all right. Thanks. I appreciate it.

- Oh, God. - What?

They're gonna press charges against Bradley.

- Oh, shit. - I'm gonna fucking throw up.

Lying to government officials, at a minimum.

My friend at the IMF said that they're planning to move her end of day tomorrow.

- Alex, if that happens-- - Yeah, I know.

And everybody that I've been speaking to in D.C. is saying just what Celine says,

which is just let the State Department handle it.

I-I just started going through the documents Bradley sent over.

So we don't know what-what she found.

We don't know what they think she found.

And if Belarus says that this is espionage…

Exactly. I mean, these are the people that dragged an activist off a plane.

Their-Their top ally locked up that Wall Street Journal reporter

and threw away the key.

If we don't get her back now, she could be locked up for fucking years.

Okay. What are we not thinking of, Chip? Come on.

Who are we not thinking of?

Who could help? Come on. There's gotta be somebody we can call.

- - Okay, look, uh…

Belarus is like Russia, right?

It's a shit show run by oligarchs.

So we need someone who can interface with the actual power brokers.

You have an idea.

Um… No, I don't.

Yes, you do. Yes.

Fuck me.

What?

Hi. Thanks for meeting me.

You said it was an emergency.

Come on. Sit down.

Talk to me.

What can I do for you?

Bradley's being detained in Belarus.

- What? - I know how you feel about her. I do.

But, Paul, I really need your help.

Well, she's on-air talent. I mean, she's way too high-profile.

- They're gonna let her go. - They're about to file charges.

- What do you want me to do about it? - There's someone you know who could--

- Alex Levy. -

Every time I see your highlights I know the sky's about to fall.

Can you just give us a couple minutes, please?

I… I'm in between meetings. And I have an event tonight, so…

Okay. If I wanted to get in touch with Dmitri Ivanov…

Jesus, Alex.

Or maybe you could talk to him

and see if he would be willing to lean on some government official to release her?

You want me to broker a deal with a sanctioned Russian oligarch?

Go through the White House.

Or-Or better yet, call your friend Celine Dumont.

Her whole family owns half of France.

She must know someone.

She's deferring to the State Department.

- Paul. - One… One second.

Trust me, Paul. I hate this.

I hate that I have to come here and ask for your help.

I really do. I'm very sorry.

But all they keep telling me is that I have to sit tight

and be patient and let the professionals handle it.

But they're not handling it.

And if she gets thrown in prison and stuck there, it's my fault.

You're not the reason she's over there.

Well, I am. Essentially.

- More or less. - God.

I'm sorry.

Alex… …there's nothing I can do.

Yeah.

Okay.

- Bye. Thanks. Bye. - Yeah.

- You cannot get involved with her. - I know. I know.

I know this is gonna be hard.

I couldn't do this without you.

We can watch it later together. You, me, and Naima.

- Mm-hmm. - Mm-hmm.

- I love you. - I love you too.

- - Ready?

- Let's do this. -

These medals represent integrity, sportsmanship and excellence.

And I'm proud to finally be able to give them to their rightful owner.

Elaine, these belong to you.

In celebration of your achievement.

Thank you. This is an incredible honor.

- Can I? - Mm-hmm.

Um… Oh, thank you for understanding, for accepting.

And, um… they look good on you.

Uh, we will be right back after this break.

Thank you for coming in on such short notice.

I'm sure you understand time is of the essence.

Of course. Um, I do want to say that

Alex gave us the go-ahead to investigate this story.

So if there's any question of liability, or UBN's legal exposure--

There isn't.

Bradley is one of ours.

Why don't you start from the beginning? How did you get onto the story?

Well, Bradley got a tip from an old colleague.

She was busy on The Morning Show,

so I said I would go to Ohio and do some legwork.

We eventually made contact with a source.

Someone from inside Martel Chemical.

And she said she would only meet face-to-face, so…

- This source… - Mm-hmm.

She's a whistle-blower?

Uh, I mean, that's what we assumed. Yeah.

But you're not sure?

Uh, I mean, she was a little cagey, but…

What if she's not a whistle-blower at all?

What if she set you up?

This woman told Bradley to come to a hostile country.

She did.

And now she's been taken.

Bad luck?

Or was that her plan all along?

What? Uh, hold on.

That's not what happened.

Did Bradley actually meet with her?

In the video she mentioned some files.

Look, if she did send something, um, I wouldn't be able to share it.

Not without Bradley's permission.

I think, given the circumstances, she might make an exception.

Well, uh, nothing came through, you know.

There was the, uh, video from the airport

that went to the cloud but that-that's… that's it.

Sure.

Just let us know if you think of anything else.

Absolutely. I will.

- Hey. - Hey.

What are you doing?

Uh, Bradley asked me to come by to just, uh, grab some stuff for her, so…

- Oh. Great. You talked to her. - Yeah.

- She's feeling better? - Uh, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, she's not out of the woods yet,