The Morning Show

I have an easy fall guy when all this goes to shit.

Oh, we're talking about me, right?

- Chip. Mitch is here. - Five seconds...

This is scary. I get it.

Saying things that are unpopular about people that are unpopular in the moment.

But this is my fucking life!

Who else knew what was going on?

Who do you think?

I want a divorce.

Well, no.

Jason, I'm sorry I did that. I'm sorry I left you at the party alo...

Breathe. Just breathe.

Look, life is messy. Everybody's life is messy.

And I want you to know that you can trust me.

You can tell me things, you can be vulnerable.

It's okay.

Okay.

I am sure it has crossed your mind.

Fred's left holding the bag and you're kicking ass,

then you could quickly find yourself in Fred's seat.

I don't see Fred getting taken out unless something specific comes out on him.

- Like what? - I don't know, Chip. Like what?

You're not impartial on this subject. You knew what Mitch was doing.

I don't ever remember you confiding in me about Mitch.

- Asking me for help. - Asking me for help.

I remember you being pretty capable of taking good care of yourself.

Well, didn't I tell you? Best falafel in all five boroughs.

I read about it on Eater. You know about Eater, right?

- Yeah. Eater's a great website. - Love it.

Fuck, I love Eater too.

Can we get back to what we were talking about, please?

Yeah, please continue. It was titillating.

You were saying you got your hands on some e-mails.

Yes. Evidence of transfers. Payoffs. Shuttled complaints.

And I know people who can back all this up.

- There's a former VP in HR. - Yeah.

A producer in evening news.

Unfortunately, nobody can tie this directly to Fred.

'Cause, you know, he's too fucking smart.

But of course he's at the center of all this. You know.

I mean, nobody's doing this shit in a vacuum.

Everybody's too busy just trying to fucking survive.

Including you.

Hey, look. Just... hear me out.

Let's say that I background some of this evidence to a reporter, you know.

I know somebody at the Times or it could be somebody else,

or somebody young and hungry. I don't know,

but I could allude to a larger story about network complicity, okay.

I wouldn't give them any details, but I'd kind of usher them towards it

and then just fucking let 'em run with it.

Let it build and build, and it turns into a fucking runaway train.

- And then we just sit back and... - Let that train crash into Fred.

Yes.

- Are you gonna... - You've seen Planet Earth , right?

The nature documentary?

Documentary series, but, yeah. It's really moving, and it's educational.

You should fucking watch it. It's David Attenborough.

There's this category of animals, they're called ambush predators.

And they run the gamut between starfish,

cephalopods, crustaceans, spiders, snakes, cats even.

And ambush predators, they wait for the prey

to come within ambush distance before striking.

They're deliberate. They usually remain hidden,

in camouflage right up until the moment they strike.

But when they do strike, it's over before it began.

And then there is pursuit predation. It's a different strategy.

Direct. Aggressive.

But it only tends to work when the predator is faster than the prey.

Look, I'm not an amateur, all right. I'm faster than you think.

You're not as fast as Fred.

This is his wilderness, and he's been running for a long time.

He is fucking fast.

You do not chase Fred Micklen out in the open

unless you know you can take him down.

Otherwise, he's gonna turn around, attack you,

gut you and eat your innards in the middle of the fucking savanna.

And that's gonna hurt. A lot.

I mean, what the fuck am I supposed to do?

You wait, man. Were you listening to me?

Until the timing is right and we have enough ammunition.

Actual airtight evidence that links Fred to a cover-up.

Yeah. That's easy for you to say.

Fred has me fucking trained in his rifle sights, okay?

Hey, man. I just gotta point out right now you seem really desperate,

and desperation is not a strong position to make a big move.

Is that something else you learned from your nature documentary?

No. That's Sun Tzu. Art of War.

Jesus. Somebody fucking kill me right now. I just...

Look. Chippy. Come on. You're tired.

You just got back from LA.

Focus on the show.

And be patient.

Wait.

Night, Chip.

Yeah. Fuck you. Good night.

And, finally, new details have emerged

illuminating Weinstein's mind-set in the final hours before his firing.

In an e-mail that leaked to the press, he wrote to his friends and colleagues,

"I'm desperate for your help.

Just give me the time to have therapy.

Do not let me be fired.

If the industry supports me, that's all I need."

Wow. So interesting.

It's a real window into how he operated

and how he was able to manipulate the people around him.

Yeah, I know. It's how the culture of silence lasted so long.

What the fuck am I doing?

About a week ago,

you jumped into an elevator

to ask me who else knew about what was going on.

Yes, I did that.

Well, if you really wanna know, I can give you the whole story.

And I assure you that it is Shakespearean in scope.

The things that went down.

Who knew. Who covered.

Well, that's a bit general. I'm gonna need some detail.

Actually, there's something that I want from you,

so I'm not gonna give up the goods just yet.

What could you possibly want from me?

I want my old platform back.

To tell my story.

I want... you to interview me on the show.

Look, an interview is not gonna happen.

I will tell you that right now.

No? Why not?

The ratings would go insane.

Yeah, so would the critics.

And social media.

And public opinion would not be in the favor of the show.

You don't strike me as the type of person who gives a shit about public opinion.

Meeting me for 30 seconds in an elevator qualifies you to know me somehow?

No.

But am I wrong?

Look, you're a journalist. I am bringing you a story.

Disgraced predator going home,

talking about his reprehensible behavior.

And also, he lifts the veil

that protects the corporate puppet masters.

Who, quite frankly, run the whole fucking country.

I mean...

come on.

You know Alex will never go for this.

Not in a million years. Or Chip, for that matter.

No, you're right. Alex would not wanna do it,

for a myriad of reasons.

The main one being, she is hardly innocent herself.

What are you saying?

She...

She wasn't blind.

And as for Chip, he's a dead man.

There is no way he survives this.

It's in the tea leaves.

Can't fuck with the tea leaves.

I know what you're doing.

Oh, really? Please. Please tell me my motivation here.

Because everybody else is having such a good time doing that.

You're not doing this to be altruistic,

to take down the big, bad executives at UBA.

You're doing this 'cause you're hoping to get exonerated.

And I don't want any part of that.

Hey, Bradley.

I have proof.

And I can dig up some witnesses.

What kinda witnesses?

Off the top of my head, I can think of one.

A woman I had relations with.

She basically used me to get a career bump.

She doesn't hate me.

And I think I can get her to back me up.

I am offering you news.

This is an important story.

It matters.

It could change things. You know that.

What if that important story takes down the network,

but at the same time, it takes down the show and everybody on it?

Yeah, that could happen. That's a risk.

But you have to ask yourself, is that a risk worth taking?

Anyway, let me know.

Soon.

Because I'm going out with this, with or without you.

Oh, my God. Just tell me what is going on.

I know it's something horrible.

Is someone sick?

- No. No. No one is sick. - No, no. No.

No one is sick.

Okay, Lizzy.

We love you so much.

And nothing's just gonna change.

We're a family, and we will always...

Okay. What are you saying? Just say it.

Your father and I are getting a divorce.

What?

No, no, no.

You told me you were separating so you could work things out.

How did this happen so quickly?

That was the reason.

It was. Honey, it was.

So you lied to me?

- No. - No.

No, we did not lie to you, honey.