And that's the least of what is in store for Bradley Jackson in season two.
Reese Witherspoon Reveals Why They Ditched Bradley’s Wig on ‘The Morning Show’
When The Morning Show kicks off its second season, now on Apple TV+, viewers will notice a lot of changes. Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) is no longer on the air, Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) is in the driver's seat, and there are new additions Julianna Margulies (as UBA news anchor Laura Peterson) and Hasan Minhaj (as TMS anchor Eric Nomani). And though Bradley and Alex blew the lid off the toxic workplace culture at UBA in the season-one finale, there are still a lot of issues to work through.
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While the season-two trailer has racked up millions of views, it also doesn't tell the full story of the explosive developments about to come. If you thought the first season was an emotional roller coaster, get ready for another wild ride. (In fact, there are so many shockers that Apple TV+ sent out a list of do-not-reveal spoilers to press ahead of time.)
But there's one thing that you may have noticed already: Bradley Jackson has a new look. Gone are the days of her mousy brown hair (a wig worn by Witherspoon), now replaced by a shade of blonde that perfectly blends in with The Morning Show's sunshiny vibe. The decision to ditch the look was more than just character-driven. Witherspoon fills us in on that and much, much more. Read on.
Hasan Minhaj and Reese Witherspoon
Karen Ballard/Apple TV+Glamour: Bradley has a new look this season. What was behind the decision to dye her hair blonde, which I’m guessing is now your natural hair?
Reese Witherspoon: Yeah, it's my hair. We talked about it with Kerry Ehrin, our writer, and Mimi Leder, our director, about how when Bradley gets the top anchor job, she's just doing anything she can to make people happy at the network. So she dyes her hair, she's doing TikTok dances, she's hosting celebrity events for them. She's just trying to get along, and it's so not her personality. It's actually kind of funny.
Did you like giving up the wig?
You know, to be honest…it was a complication that, during the pandemic, would have made my life very, very complicated because of how many people have to come and build [the wigs]. It's a whole technical industry. We actually made a game-day decision that was easier for everybody involved.
So basically COVID killed the wig.
That's kind of true! [Laughs.]
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Viewers learn in the first episode that Alex (Jennifer Aniston) is writing a memoir. Is that something you’ve ever had a desire to do?
I don't know. I mean, I love reading memoirs. I love Jane Fonda's. I love Sally Field's. I think it's important to learn from other women in your industry—what they've been through, because we need to remember they broke through a lot of glass ceilings. But I don't know if I would do that. I don't know. I just haven't been through all the chapters in my life yet, so I'm definitely not ready.
Based on your Glamour Women of the Year speech, as well as others you’ve given, I’m just saying I’d be first in line for that.
Well, thank you. Good to know!
So after The Morning Show’s explosive season-one finale, what excited you about Bradley’s story going forward?
When [head writer] Kerry Ehrin and I started talking about how she was reconceiving season two due to the pandemic, we talked about Bradley exploring her sexuality. I've had several friends in their 40s who felt suddenly free enough of their childhood or whatever constraints they had to really explore their sexuality. So that was a little conversation we had, and I thought Kerry really handled that beautifully. There's great complexity around finding your identity when you're 45 years old, so that was a lot of that conversation. Kerry also wanted to talk about Bradley's relationship with her brother and his struggle with addiction. I thought that was so powerful; in fact, so much of the crew was coming up during those scenes and saying it really reminded them of a dynamic they have with their own siblings.
You and Julianna Margulies share a lot of powerful scenes this season. Had you met her before?
We met a few times socially, but never had worked together. We have so many mutual friends, but this was just an immediate, deep dive into friendship. I can't believe I haven't known her all my life. She's just very intelligent, very thoughtful, very human and compassionate. Watching her create that character and getting to work so closely with her was a dream.
What can you say about Bradley and Laura’s (Margulies) dynamic?
It's one of those great relationships where you meet somebody who's been in your business longer than you, and you're desperate for all of their information and all of their wisdom. That's how it starts out, and then it becomes something a little more complex. As they navigate that, it changes again. It's really interesting, the journey that it goes on.
Production had been underway for only a few weeks before the pandemic shut it down for a few months. What were the challenges for you, especially as a producer and actor?
As a producer, you want to balance two things: health and safety, and also people's need to get back to work for their families or their lives. On a human level, it's hard to not smile at people and be at such a distance all the time. I grew up on movie sets and television sets and having those small moments of kindness and connectivity all day is really important. So how we navigate that is complicated.
It’s very complicated. So, looking ahead to hopefully more “normal” times, when might we get news of a possible season three of The Morning Show?
We're definitely talking about it. We're all encouraged, we all love working together, and it's a great show. I think we just want to see how audiences receive it, see what they like, and go from there.
Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Condé Nast
