As The Morning Show Adds A Good Place Alum, I'm Flashing Back To What The Showrunner Told Us Is 'Really Gratifying' About Audience Reactions
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The fourth season of The Morning Show is in the works as a continuation of one of the best shows on Apple TV+, so those with Apple TV+ subscriptions just have to wait to find out what's next for Reese Witherspoon's Bradley, Jennifer Aniston's Alex, and the rest of the returning characters. Now, fresh news reveals that an alum of NBC's beloved sitcom The Good Place has joined the cast for Season 4, and his character could take the show in some interesting directions. In fact, his casting reminds me of something that The Morning Show showrunner Charlotte Stoudt told CinemaBlend earlier this year!
William Jackson Harper Joins The Morning Show
William Jackson Harper, who is arguably best known for playing the infamously indecisive Chidi on The Good Place, has joined the cast of The Morning Show, according to TVLine. The outlet reports that Harper is set to play the Head of Sports at the network, describing the character – named Ben – as "self-assured and innovative." Ben was said to originally have been planned as a gay character before plans changed.
At the the time of writing, Harper has not yet commented on the news, although he's just the latest Good Place alum to make headlines recently after Manny Jacinto's debut on The Acolyte. He has kept busy over the years since the sitcom's series finale back in 2020, notably including Max's Love Life, Peacock's The Resort, Netflix's A Man in Full, and of course Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, even though his role in the MCU film was disappointingly small.
Other newcomers to The Morning Show Season 4 are Jeremy Irons as Alex's father and Marion Cotillard as Celine Dumont. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon will reprise their leading roles, with series regulars Billy Crudup, Greta Lee, Mark Duplass, Karen Pittman, and Nestor Carbonell expected to be back as well.
All in all, I'm nothing but optimistic about William Jackson Harper joining the show for the fourth season, as his credits in recent years prove that he's more than capable of delivering drama as well as comedy. And realizing that reminded me of a conversation I had with showrunner Charlotte Stoudt earlier this year.
What The Showrunner Told Us
I spoke with Charlotte Stoudt earlier this year, well before the 76th Emmy nominees were announced to set The Morning Show's cast up for a lot of potential wins. At the time of SCAD TVfest in Atlanta, the showrunner was just hours away from attending a screening of her show that was being presented for a group of students. When I asked Stoudt what she takes away from experiencing live reactions to episodes, she shared:
I think it's really gratifying. You've let the final product go and the audience tells you what it is. Because honestly, when you're in the middle of making [it], you're like, 'I don't know how this is gonna feel. Is it gonna feel very dramatic? Is it gonna feel like a dramedy?' You kind of don't know when you're in the middle of it, even when you're editing. I like the audience to say, 'It's this.' Because you kind of don't know until then.
Producing a streaming show as opposed to a network TV show can mean finishing a full season before any fan feedback to it, so Charlotte Stoudt doesn't always get to experience live reactions. When I went on to ask if she's ever surprised by the reactions that she sees from an audience, the showrunner laughed and said:
Honestly, I'm always happy when people laugh. I mean, they shouldn't laugh in the wrong places, but I'm happy for a reaction. Like Chip's rant in Episode 310. I didn't know how that was gonna go over, and generally people do laugh. I mean, he's a little bit absurd but he's also saying something very true at the same time. I wasn't sure how that one would go over, but seemed to be okay.
Mark Duplass has been a standout part of The Morning Show from the start – and is in fact one of the several cast members nominated for an Emmy from Season 3 – so I was glad to hear Stoudt give him a particular shout out. Plus, her reference to Chip ranting made me think back on one of William Jackson Harper's funniest sequences on The Good Place: when Chidi was broken by and ranting about Jeremy Bearimy. The two scenes definitely aren't interchangeable, but it's never bad to think back on Harper in The Good Place!
Of course, The Morning Show ended the third season with a fair number of questions that had not yet been answered. Did the showrunner already have the answers to those questions in mind when putting the finale together? I asked Charlotte Stoudt that very question, and she explained:
Not enough of them, to be honest, because you're just desperately trying to get to the finish line. But you have an idea. You have an idea. For me, it's really about the long term journey that each character is on and what are they missing? Or what are they seeking? What kind of events are going to bring them closer to being an integrated person? More sort of self aware.
Apple TV+ has not yet announced when The Morning Show will return for Season 4, but you can stream the full first three seasons now. You can also find some TV options to watch as the wait for new episodes continues with our 2024 TV schedule.
