In the Apple's upcoming drama series 'The Morning Show', actors Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon play journalists from different backgrounds, who face similar battles.
To nail the representation of the journalists inside this high-paced world, Aniston and Witherspoon both made sure they took a note from their characters and did proper research, reported Entertainment Weekly.
Aniston's Alex Levy is the long-time anchor of a news show, while Witherspoon's Bradley Jackson is a local reporter. They cross paths when Bradley goes viral after getting into an argument with a civilian at a coal mine protest.
Aniston opened up about how she prepared for the role and said, "I was at Good Morning America at 5 am to do some shadow work."
"What a crazy world! From 5 am to 7 am it's like a ghost town, and then slowly all the lights start turning on and all the sounds start getting louder and louder and louder, and then all of a sudden it's this mad, insane, well-oiled machine and everyone's somehow calm," she added speaking of how the news sets worked.
Witherspoon also went all out to prep for her role by spending a lot of time with news producers and journalists.
Witherspoon said, "I spent a lot of time with news producers who have been doing this all their lives, and obviously a lot of journalists."
"Every time I was on shows or could talk to somebody, I would ask them lots of questions, like: Why did you do this? Where did you come from? What was your local market? How did you ascend? What were your curveballs? What are you passionate about? What did you get a degree in? How'd you get here?" she added.
Aniston shared that a conversation with TV personality and journalist Gayle King and a dinner with American journalist Diane Sawyer helped her to gear up for her role.
"It was really just about wanting to understand what that life is like and why they continue for this long to wake up at 3:30 am," the 'Friends' actor said.
"How do you have a personal life? How do you go to the theatre? How do you do anything? When do you sleep, and how do you look so good? It was fascinating," she added.
Apart from the morning rituals and smaller details, like pairing Red Bull with coffee, Aniston and Witherspoon both took away a bigger lesson for their characters and the show at large.
"There's such inequality and an imbalance of power," Aniston said, with Witherspoon adding, "I was astounded by how honest a lot of female anchors were with myself and Jen. I think most people would find it shocking that women in that position, of what we perceive as power, are looked at as expendable."
Witherspoon also pointed about something very "demoralising."
"One thing that I thought was really demoralising was how much they're analysed. Their wardrobe, their faces, their smile, their laugh are all tested, and they are put on notice if they are not appealing to an audience. Women who've worked so hard to become incredible journalists and to ascend to a position of what seemed like power are relatively powerless," she said.
Apart from Aniston and Witherspoon, the series also stars actor Steve Carell. 'The Morning Show' will premiere on Apple TV+ on November 1. The show is about the high-stakes world of morning news and the people behind it.
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