Disney+ came out yesterday and wow the amount of content is overwhelming – in the best possible way. The first thing I did was watch the first episode of “The Mandalorian”, the newest content in the Star Wars universe, and subsequently texted everyone I know saying that they have to watch after the bomb that’s dropped at the end of the episode. I had three people respond saying they’d already seen it and loved it, and two who promised they’d watch it as soon as it was possible so that we could discuss. This was literally less than 24 hours since Disney+ dropped. Then I checked Twitter and saw my timeline full of people who were so excited about the new platform and struggling about whether to watch old Lizzie McGuire episodes or the new “Lady and the Tramp” live action movie.
I’m starting an article about AppleTV+ by talking about Disney+ to underscore the deep contrast. AppleTV+ has been out for 12 days now and I can’t find anyone who wants to talk about “The Morning Show” or “Dickinson” with me. Of course, Apple was always at a huge disadvantage, not having an existing library to contribute to the platform, especially when compared to Disney, which not only had a gigantic existing library, but also had an extremely valuable library filled with more treasured IP than anyone even knows what to do with! AppleTV+ did have the advantage of new Apple devices coming with AppleTV+ – a lot of people have Apple devices after all! But that hasn’t seemed to really help… most all of my friends have iPhones yet none of them decided to buy AppleTV+ even though it’s the cheapest streaming platform out there. It’s only $4.99 per month! What a bargain! But I guess if you add that to your Hulu (no-ads, especially), Netflix, HBO, maybe cable, now Disney+ and probably Spotify and that’s a lot of subscription services. Around $70 per month for all of them. And I guess $5 Apple hasn’t made the cut.
After acknowledging all the hills AppleTV+ has had to climb to try and be relevant in the extremely competitive streaming wars, I do want to say that I’ve really enjoyed the shows I’ve watched on the platform so far. I’ve only watched two of them and TBH don’t plan on watching “See” or “For All Mankind” but I really enjoyed both “Dickinson” and “The Morning Show.” I’m going to make a case for both of them as a plea for someone I know (or don’t know, hello strangers of the internet) to get AppleTV+ so that we can share these shows together.
I think I have to start with “The Morning Show”, AppleTV+’s marquee entry into the Prestige TV space. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carrell. It’s Jennifer Aniston’s return to the small screen after Friends, one of the most iconic TV shows of all time. Not to mention it’s also Carrell’s first big TV role since another extremely iconic TV show, The Office. Further, it represents Reese’s next move as a Prestige TV Queen since absolutely crushing it with her first venture, Big Little Lies, winning 4 Golden Globes and 8 Emmys for its first season (season 2 is over but it didn’t air in time to qualify for the 2019 Emmys, which is absurd, but that issue is for another article). The show is based on the book “Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV” by Brian Stelter, which is based on his experience working for NBC’s “The Today Show.” Steve Carrell plays a stand in for Matt Lauer who gets fired due to #MeToo; otherwise stated, he gets fired from his job as The Morning Show host for having sex with members of his own staff. Aniston plays Alex Levy, the co-host to Steve Carrell’s Mitch Kessler. She’s left out in the open to dry after his abrupt, shocking, and upsetting firing. She decides to take her life into her own hands, instead of letting a sleazy Studio Exec, namely Billy Cruddup’s Corey Ellison, push her out; her solution: hire Reese Witherspoon’s southern, fiesty, unlikable-yet-somehow-likeable Bradley Jackson.
The show is rounded out by an amazing supporting cast of Mark Duplass and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The show released 3 episodes off the bat to binge and become attached to and now is being released every Friday. The show is slightly uneven at first; as a viewer you don’t know how to really watch Steve Carrell yell and scream that it’s unfair he was #MeToo’d because the sex he had was consensual. Jennifer Anniston’s character’s life also has a clear flaw; what is the deal with her and her husband? I think we’re supposed to assume that they’re separated but staying together to keep up appearances that she’s stable, which in a show that surrounds a #MeToo storyline feels weirdly out of place. Shouldn’t we technically be past the stereotype that to keep a position of power in the workplace, you need to appear as a stable homemaker in your personal life? Also, the show is clearly steering us towards the plotline of Billy Cruddup and Reese Witherspoon having sex, which I am EXTREMELY here for, but I’m curious to how they’re going to execute it. At the end of the day, it’s just plain fun to see Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon firing on all cylinders, acting against and with each other for an hour. I could watch them both on my screen all day. So someone, please watch “The Morning Show” so we can discuss Reese and Billy Cruddup’s sexual tension, Mark Duplass’ shlubbiness, Gugu being too good of an actress to be a supporting cast member who just doesn’t get enough lines, and watch as Jennifer Aniston either becomes best friends with Reese’s character or has a complete mental breakdown. Plus, where are they planning on taking Steve Carrell’s character arc? Is he going to be redeemed? Will that be problematic (probably yes)? SOMEONE TALK TO ME!
Next up is Hailee Steinfeld’s “Dickinson”, created by Alena Smith. Alena has writing credits on both “The Affair” and “The Newsroom” but this is the first show she was given full reign on, and wow, the result is bizarre. Hailee Steinfeld, who plays the titular role of Emily Dickinson, is one of my favorite celebrities in Hollywood; she’s always hustling as both a pop star (“Love Myself” will forever be a BOP) and a criminally underrated actress. Her performance in 2017’s “Edge of Seventeen” was one of my favorite of that year and deserved significantly more praise and eyeballs than it received (seriously, go watch this movie if you haven’t).
Hailee was the perfect choice for this odd role. She’s silly and weird and plays an exasperated teenager in a way that doesn’t make her feel annoying or over the top. But don’t get me wrong, you have to be willing to go along with the absurd premise to enjoy this. The show is set in the 1800s when Emily Dickinson and her family were actually alive, but they speak like they’re in 2019 and the music is modern. There’s a lot of “huh” and “WTF” moments in the show but I think that’s more because of the pacing. AppleTV+ dropped the entirety of Season 1 (10 episodes) at once; it was the only show they did this for; the others are going week-by-week. For example, we see Emily and her best friend Sue in love with each other, secretly of course, due to the attitudes towards LGBTQ+ at the time. They’re completely obsessed with each other and we see them frolicking along for 3 episodes before Emily convinces all her friends to do opium at a party where later in the night, she and Sue get caught kissing by Emily’s brother Austin, who is happens to be engaged to marry Sue. (Side note: this scene where they’re all dancing while high on opium is set to techno music, which obviously wasn’t possible back then but seems like it’s way better than the contemporary music; could you imagine getting high with your friends in the 1800s and all that there is to party to is like Beethoven?? That’d be so weird). The way they casually gloss over this is absurd – the next episode there is no mention of Austin being mad at Emily or anything. In fact, Emily fakes sick and Austin professes that he couldn’t live his life without his weird sister. Weren’t you just mad at her for being a lesbian (which was NOT cool in the 1800s) causing your fiancé to flee to Boston??? I’m not sure – I’d probably be angrier for a bit longer. And then we see Emily fall in love with Ben, her father’s law clerk, which I guess takes away her all consuming love for Sue, which makes Sue jealous, and then Ben dies??? It’s a rollercoaster of a show. If you can ignore the insane speed of the show and appreciate it for the moments with 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski as a hilarious Stepford wife and Emily’s vain sister Lavinia drawing a “nude portrait” for her sleazy boyfriend, then you’ll like this show. Plus there’s so many other hilarious moments… Wiz Khalifa is death! Lavinia gets fingered at the table by her boyfriend and pretends she’s just really involved in her friends story! George is in love with Emily and is such a sweetie you want to just hug him the whole time!
Once again I request: SOMEONE PLEASE WATCH THIS AND TALK ABOUT IT WITH ME!!! Cry over Ben with me, talk about how we’d act if we had to live in the 1800s and look up to a douchey Henry David Thoreau aka John Mulaney (yes you heard that right). This show has so much weirdness packed into 30 minute episodes and is genuinely delightful. Again, someone needs to watch it with me, especially because Hailee announced that they’re already working on Season 2 and I bet it’s going to be an even weirder time; I can’t wait.
Well, I hope I’ve convinced at least one of you to join me in the AppleTV+ universe because I’m all by myself at the moment. I really enjoy these two shows and I think other people would too if they felt like giving them a chance. Or, just go watch “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ again… I’ll talk about that with you too.
