Whereas many of the reveals that kicked off Apple TV+ almost six years in the past have lengthy since reached their conclusions, two of its crown jewels are nonetheless going sturdy. Final yr, Apple renewed For All Mankind for a fifth season, and this week, it introduced that The Morning Present will return this fall for its fourth.
The collection, which satisfied Jennifer Aniston to return to TV and made her and co-star Reese Witherspoon the highest-paid TV stars in Hollywood, was an early runaway success for Apple’s fledgling streaming service. Whereas it didn’t garner the accolades of Ted Lasso, it racked up dozens of award nominations earlier than the primary season ended, together with a number of Golden Globe nominations.
Whereas Apple acquired shut out on the Golden Globes (and slammed by host Ricky Gervais), Jennifer Aniston acquired a Display Actors Guild (SAG) award for Excellent Efficiency by a Feminine Actor in a Drama Collection, and supporting actor Billy Crudup gained a 2020 Critics Alternative Award for his portrayal of Cory Ellison.
Years within the works, The Morning Present was the primary main Apple TV+ mission we heard about again in 2017 when Apple’s streaming ambitions had been merely the stuff of rumors. It didn’t have a title again then, nevertheless it was clear it was going to be a “morning present drama” and that Aniston and Witherspoon would each star and co-own the collection as government producers.
When Apple lastly unveiled the service as Apple TV+ in March 2019, the 2 stars took the stage, alongside different luminaries comparable to Steven Spielberg and Oprah, to announce that The Morning Present can be considered one of Apple’s debut reveals. Whereas Apple had many different initiatives within the works, a few of which it additionally highlighted on the occasion, not the whole lot confirmed up suddenly.
The truth is, The Morning Present was considered one of solely three drama collection that had been out there when Apple TV+ launched on November 1, 2019, alongside For All Mankind and See, the latter of which resulted in October 2022 after three seasons. The opposite launch reveals had been Apple’s first comedy collection, Dickinson, and a lineup of children’ programming that included Snoopy in House, Helpsters, and Ghostwriter.
A number of extra, like Octavia Spencer’s Fact be Instructed and M. Evening Shyamalan’s Servant appeared just a few weeks later, however to say there wasn’t a lot to observe on Apple TV+ at launch can be an understatement. That meant that what was there needed to be superb. Thankfully, most of it was, which was good as Apple had reportedly spent over $6 billion on solely a handful of reveals, with single episodes rivaling the finances of function movies in some circumstances.
The Morning Present and For All Mankind each hit it out of the park, which is undoubtedly why they’re nonetheless working. The Aniston-Witherspoon-led drama had a sluggish begin, probably resulting from an excessive amount of exposition, nevertheless it ramped up rapidly by the tip of the third episode. It additionally put a bunch of stars greatest identified for lighter fare into some severe dramatic roles. The characters Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carrell portrayed had been nothing like these they performed on Pals, Legally Blonde, or The Workplace — a lot in order that The Guardian movie critic Stuart Heritage known as the primary season of The Morning Present “TV so glorious it’s going to make you completely resent Pals.”
Whereas The Morning Present has a core narrative arc throughout its first three seasons, every stands considerably alone with a prevailing theme. Season 1 centered on the scandal of the primary lead anchor, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell), being fired over sexual assault allegations and the complicity of the community’s energy brokers. Season 2 picks up after these explosive occasions however delves deeper into the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect, after which season 3 shifts gears to see the community being acquired by a tech billionaire and the shifting of the media panorama from conventional broadcasting.
Following the conclusion of season 3 in November 2023, stories circulated that season 4 would concentrate on deepfakes and AI and the way they affect information. Apple confirmed this in Wednesday’s press launch:
Season 4 of “The Morning Present” opens in spring 2024, nearly two years after the occasions of season three. With the UBA-NBN merger full, the newsroom should grapple with newfound accountability, hidden motives and the elusive nature of fact in a polarized America. In a world rife with deepfakes, conspiracy theories and company cover-ups — who are you able to belief? And how will you know what’s really actual?
The information additionally confirms the forged for season 4, which is able to naturally nonetheless be headlined by Aniston, Witherspoon, and Billy Crudup. Karen Pittman, Nicole Beharie, Nestor Carbonell, Mark Duplass, Greta Lee, and Jon Hamm will even return from season 3.
New forged members for season 4 embody Academy Award winners Marion Cotillard ( La Vie en Rose and Inception) and Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune, Die Arduous with a Vengeance), together with Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad), William Jackson Harper (The Good Place), and Boyd Holbrook (Narcos).
Season 4 of The Morning Present will debut on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, for one more ten-episode run, which provides us loads of time to atone for the final three seasons in time for the season 4 premiere. See beneath for some extra photographs from Apple’s first look.