The Morning Show

Wow. It's been a while since we talked outside of work.

How are you?

I'm fine. What...

How did you find my apartment?

Oh. Well, they couldn't take everything from me.

Still have my contact list.

Hey, could I come up for a couple of minutes?

There's something I'd like to talk to you about.

I'm having people over.

Let's just talk here.

What's going on?

Okay, well, do you remember a couple of years ago,

to the point,

you slept with me and then leveraged it to get the head booker job?

And I'm not judging you.

Really. I would have done exactly the same thing.

I salute you for it,

and it might have even hurt my feelings a little bit.

But I got over it.

Anyway... You remember that, right?

I don't... I'm not...

Okay. Well, you played the game. I get it.

But if you wanna dance, you gotta pay the fiddler.

And I need your help.

I need proof that Fred swept my so-called "behavior" under the rug.

And you are the living, breathing emblem of Fred's complicity.

And that's why I need you to go on the record with a reporter.

You want me to go against Fred?

I know. It's not a small ask.

How could I? This is my job we're talking about. My career.

I know. As far as I'm concerned, you've earned it.

And you're really fucking good at it.

It can be anonymous if you don't wanna be ID'd.

I just need someone to corroborate this.

I don't... I'm not sure.

You know what? When I first met you, you know what I thought?

I was touched by your ambition and your idealism.

And what you did...

What you did sort of took me off guard.

I bet that making a choice like that cost you something.

And I bet you still think about that choice.

I will admit, I am being forced to examine my behavior.

So, why is Fred the only one who doesn't have to look at his behavior?

I know the world has changed,

but shouldn't we all be living by the same set of rules?

I suppose.

Well, I have already started talking to reporters.

Your story's coming out either way.

Controlling narrative is more powerful than you can imagine.

Okay. I'll think about it.

It's all I ask.

Thank you.

Thank you, Hannah. You're truly one of a kind.

Oh, shit.

Hello.

Good evening, Ms. Levy. I have Bradley Jackson here.

- Oh, fuck. - Do you want me to let her in?

Yeah, just... Give me a few minutes.

- And then send her up, okay? - Sure.

Okay. Fuck.

Oh, my God.

Don't jump. Just drink instead.

This view. It...

Oh, yeah.

Your whole place is... Wow.

- Thank you. - Wow.

Thank you. Thanks. Yeah, I got this... year five.

That must've felt really good.

Yeah, it felt like a fortress.

So, that did feel good for a while at least.

- Cheers. - Cheers.

I know this is hard.

Yes. It is.

But I think that it's fair to just tell us how you feel.

Okay. I'm just feeling that...

I just hope, by sharing my divorce with America,

that they realize that...

my sex life is about to get a whole lot better...

finally.

I think you have to say that.

Honesty is the best. And it's fine, and people like that.

My God. You wanna join Tinder with me?

I mean, you're single. We could do it together.

- Please tell me you're joking. - Of course I'm kidding.

'Course I'm kidding.

Yeah.

Have you ever been interested in marriage?

No.

Wow. That's... "No," very definitive "no."

I've... I mean, I've seen marriage.

I'm not suited for it. I'm not sure I believe in love.

Marriage is a way too big of a leap for me.

That's a shame.

You think so? You're still a fan?

Yeah. I am. I think it's... I think it's conceptually lovely.

I think partnership is beautiful, you know, in whatever form it comes

or even, you know, however long it lasts.

I have something that I wanna talk to you about.

But I don't really know where to start.

Oh, my God. I just vomited my entire insides to you. You can start anywhere.

Okay.

There's an interview that I would like to do.

And I think it would be really good for us, really good for the show.

But I want to acknowledge up front that it is a sensitive subject.

Take the kid gloves off. What is it?

All right.

Mitch contacted me, and he wants me to interview him on the show.

What?

Look, he obviously has an agenda.

He wants to out Fred Micklen for promoting a culture that silenced women.

And he's obviously out for revenge, in the most base and obvious way.

But in order to accuse Fred, he has to admit he was part of the problem,

and that's a pretty stunning place to start an interview from.

I know I can hold his feet to the fire, particularly with your help.

And if we can nail Fred at the same time?

I mean, shit.

What would you... What would you like me to say?

I wanna hear your honest opinion.

When you said that... When you said that he contacted you,

did you mean in, like, in an e-mail or was it a phone call, or...

We met in person.

All right.

And you didn't think that you should talk to me first?

No, I... I should have.

But you didn't.

Probably because I thought that you would say, "Don't do it."

And I wanted to hear him out.

I felt like it would be irresponsible not to.

Oh, irresponsible.

Yes. Irresponsible.

Alex, I would never bring this to you

if I didn't think this was an opportunity for both of us.

Stop saying "us." There's no us.

There is you interviewing him and me getting fucked.

- Please hear me out just a minute. - Oh, God.

I really do not think it would go that way.

You know he doesn't want just Fred Micklen, right? You know that.

He wants everybody. He wants company in his cesspool of misery.

And guess what? That includes me.

Well, I would never let that happen.

- How? Exactly how? - I would protect you. I...

Oh, please! I don't need protection.

I did nothing wrong. Mitch did something wrong.

And if Fred enabled that, then fucking who cares?

- It's business. God... - I didn't...

He protected him because Mitch was financially beneficial,

and it was a boys' club and whatever else you're trying to point out.

Everybody knows that this silencing culture exists!

We don't need you telling us all how the world works.

We need you to sit down and do your fucking job,

which includes just one little shred of loyalty to me.

- Loyalty? - Yes!

- I think I should go. - Yeah. You'd better go.

You know why he went after you, right? 'Cause you're an easy mark.

He's gonna get what he wants, and he's gonna make himself look good

at the expense of your career and my fucking show.

And given how easily you fell for it, he wasn't wrong.

I'll show myself out.

Show yourself out.

Holy shit, Bradley Jackson.

Not The Morning Show's Bradley Jackson? Oh, my God.

Shut up. Are you busy?

Yeah, I'm just taking meetings

and weighing my options.

- Why? You miss me or something? - Something like that.

Hey, what's up?

I don't know. I...

Did I ruin our lives?

Jesus. What, do I have to come up there and give you a fucking hug?

I'm serious, Hal, I...

We were doing fine as a family.

I mean, we weren't awesome,

but we were functioning.

And...

Dad could've gotten away with it.

Nobody saw. Nobody knew anything but you and me.

And I... For some reason it got stuck in my mind

that I could fix something if I...

if I told on him.

How fucking arrogant is that?

And what did it fix?

Dad went to jail, and Mom lost her shit,

I became an angry asshole.

Well, you were an angry asshole before, but...

I keep living this pattern over and over again.

I'm just... sick of myself. I...

- You finished? - Yes.

Dad was a drunk. He killed a kid.

And if you hadn't reported him, it might have happened again.

How many times did he drive loaded with us in the back?

You didn't make me an addict. I'm an addict because...

I'm wired wrong.

You wanna know why I'm gonna get better?

'Cause drugs are bad for you?

No, because...

you seem to think the world is worth saving,

and I find it really fucking entertaining to watch.

I had a front row seat my whole life.

I'm just happy everyone else gets to watch now too.

I'm gonna get better so I don't miss the fucking show.