Interview With "The Morning Show" Writer Bill Kennedy

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[00:01:17] Identify a problem.

[00:01:18] Creating an audio ad is time-consuming.

[00:01:21] Offer a solution.

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[00:01:36] You are listening to the Next Best Picture podcast and this is Giovanni Lago's interview

[00:01:41] with the writer for season three, episode seven of The Morning Show, Strict Security,

[00:01:47] Bill Kennedy.

[00:01:48] I wanted to make a difference.

[00:01:54] I'm all over this network.

[00:01:55] I need to have a say in the future of this place.

[00:01:58] What you are asking is unprecedented.

[00:02:03] I am unprecedented.

[00:02:04] You want that seat at the grown-up table, but it's not your turn, Alex.

[00:02:11] Don't forget to shut the door on your way out.

[00:02:13] Three, two, one.

[00:02:18] We're off the air.

[00:02:21] What's happening?

[00:02:23] Someone's in the system.

[00:02:27] Get that music turned off!

[00:02:29] Hello everyone, my name is Giovanni Lago from the Next Best Series podcast and I'm joined

[00:02:32] by Bill Kennedy, one of the writers of Apple TV Plus' The Morning Show.

[00:02:36] Thank you so much for joining.

[00:02:38] Thank you for having me.

[00:02:39] Before I even jump into the intricacies of the episode that you wrote as a writer, what

[00:02:44] draws the writer's mindset to the newsroom?

[00:02:48] There's so many political functions that are running in and out and just the drama of it

[00:02:53] all.

[00:02:55] What's the biggest thing that you find in terms of all the writers that is like, this

[00:02:56] is why we need to dive into this?

[00:02:58] Well, I think in terms of a workplace drama setting, you can't do better because the audience

[00:03:07] can really feel the drama of the workplace because they understand how the news can shape

[00:03:17] and change your day.

[00:03:19] And I think one of the great things about The Morning Show, and I think why it's such

[00:03:23] a great workplace drama, is because everyone on the show has their stuff that's going on.

[00:03:30] They've got their career stuff and their personal stuff that's going on, but they're also covering

[00:03:35] the news.

[00:03:36] And part of their job is to be emotional and feel the feelings for the entire country.

[00:03:43] So whatever is going on in their lives, their job requires that the emotions of what's actually

[00:03:51] going on in the country writ large comes in and hits them in the face.

[00:03:55] So if they're having a bad day, their day gets worse when they have to report on tragedy

[00:04:02] or bad news.

[00:04:03] So I think like audience can really connect with that because our days can get shaken

[00:04:08] up by bad news.

[00:04:09] We all had our own lives going on and then COVID came in.

[00:04:12] The drama with your spouse or your parents or your siblings or your friends or whatever's

[00:04:19] going on in your life, that was still going on, but there was also this other huge thing.

[00:04:26] So I think that's why a newsroom is such a great setting for a workplace drama television show.

[00:04:32] I mean, I totally get that.

[00:04:33] I actually work at a local news station and I have a previous...

[00:04:36] I worked at a morning show.

[00:04:37] And funny enough, everyone was like, oh, The Morning Show, The Morning Show.

[00:04:41] They enjoy it.

[00:04:42] I mean, you really touched on the topics that come up.

[00:04:46] COVID is what and The Morning Show tries to stay relevant in things that are happening

[00:04:50] in the country, whether it's January 6th or in the episode you wrote, Strict Scrutiny,

[00:04:54] the political report about Roe v. Wade being leaked and the potential overturning of that.

[00:05:00] So what was it like diving into that material and how heavy it is and the implications it'll

[00:05:04] have for the rest of the season?

[00:05:05] We're often when we're breaking the show, we're sort of breaking it while these real

[00:05:12] events are happening and then we're going to shoot it six months later.

[00:05:16] So when we initially had the idea for the episode, we did not know yet that the Roe

[00:05:24] leak was going to happen.

[00:05:27] And then it happened and also have one of the initial ideas was to...

[00:05:31] It'd be so fun to send the TMS crew to the Met Gala.

[00:05:36] We ultimately couldn't do the Met Gala, but the Roe leak did break on the night of the

[00:05:41] Met Gala.

[00:05:42] So that just felt like such great grist for, here's this big, glossy event attended by

[00:05:51] all these glossy, important people and how does this news come in and shake what's going

[00:05:57] on in the bathroom?

[00:06:00] There's all those iconic selfies of every model you know in the Met Gala bathroom.

[00:06:06] What happened when Roe broke?

[00:06:10] That is, I think a perfect example of what we were just talking about, which is like

[00:06:13] all the characters had their own stories going on.

[00:06:17] They had their own stuff.

[00:06:19] Alex was dealing with a new relationship and Corey was dealing with his oldest relationship.

[00:06:25] The Roe decision comes in and sort of shakes that room to their core and they all have

[00:06:29] to sort of put aside the personal drama and deal with it.

[00:06:33] But the personal drama is affecting the way they report on the news and the news is affecting

[00:06:38] their personal drama.

[00:06:39] I like that dynamic you mentioned of Corey's oldest relationship towards this new, fresh

[00:06:45] relationship for Alex.

[00:06:46] So in terms of Corey, we're introduced to his mother this episode.

[00:06:49] He kind of strings along Bradley to come to Connecticut and meet the mom in a sort of

[00:06:54] unconventional manner.

[00:06:55] It's very funny.

[00:06:56] And you sort of get more insight into Corey as an individual, what makes him tick.

[00:07:01] You know, Billy Crudup is just phenomenal as always.

[00:07:04] What was it like exploring furthermore into Corey's backstory?

[00:07:07] Well, I mean, Corey, the first two seasons of the show is such a mystery.

[00:07:12] You don't really know that much about him or his origin story.

[00:07:17] So in sort of getting into season three, we were all pretty excited about exploring who

[00:07:22] this guy is because he sort of has this air about him like he's playing three dimensional

[00:07:29] chess and this whole world is this game for him that he so desperately wants to win.

[00:07:35] And he felt a lot like Gatsby to us.

[00:07:38] So that is sort of an undercurrent a little bit in the show, like his big giant glass

[00:07:44] house out in the Hamptons that he buys and being out there sort of, you know, that's

[00:07:49] where he meets the Jon Hamm character.

[00:07:51] Like that's her whole season sort of explodes from there.

[00:07:54] That's his West, his house in West Egg.

[00:07:56] The party he wants to throw up from our fronts is his Gatsby party that he's throwing to impress

[00:08:02] Bradley.

[00:08:04] So there was that and then just like understanding, well, like if we ever did find out who Jay

[00:08:09] Gatsby was and where he came from, because he is such a mystery in the book.

[00:08:14] Who is that person?

[00:08:16] And the show had already established in, I believe it was season one that Corey grew up

[00:08:21] with a single mother who was involved in politics and worked on political campaigns.

[00:08:28] So that already was a great seed for who this person was.

[00:08:32] So who is this person who raised Corey and how did he become the person he is?

[00:08:37] Someone who is so incredibly driven.

[00:08:40] There is no one in his life, right?

[00:08:42] I think that's why he sticks to Bradley a little bit is because she's a person he relates

[00:08:47] to and everyone else is sort of a chess piece to him.

[00:08:50] So you're trying to figure out like who is this single mom who was a politico and what

[00:08:56] was his childhood like and how did it make him the driven person that he is today?

[00:09:26] It's also funny seeing how by the end, they have that beautiful moment where they're singing

[00:09:37] and then his mom's like, this is not really it.

[00:09:40] You're a fraud and you're like your dad and like the facade starts wearing off when he's

[00:09:44] driving and then it also leads into what I want to talk about his scene with Stella where

[00:09:49] she confesses that Paul is offering her his job and seeing their dynamic and how Stella

[00:09:56] over this season has kind of become more like Corey.

[00:10:00] There's an example when she was drinking with those dudes from Eclipse and trying to sign

[00:10:05] them and you know, seeing that back and forth and seeing this weirdly pair together and

[00:10:10] how they kind of need each other and in a way there's like this mentor mentee relationship.

[00:10:15] I would love to talk about more of that like confrontation scene towards the end of the

[00:10:19] episode.

[00:10:20] I think Corey and Stella do have real mentor mentee affection for each other, you know,

[00:10:27] and I think that's because Corey recognizes that Stella is brilliant.

[00:10:31] And I think Stella recognizes something in Corey that she doesn't understand, which is

[00:10:35] this like ability to play this game that's so often it's played by white men in very

[00:10:41] powerful positions at an extremely high level.

[00:10:44] So I think they both recognize this thing in each other and that's what makes them good

[00:10:48] allies is that they're both bringing something different to the table.

[00:10:53] Corey comes out of this crazy extended lunch dinner, early dinner thing with his mom that

[00:11:01] sort of shook him to his core but he's able to sort of tamp it down again in the car with

[00:11:07] Bradley and tell himself that he's the perfect animal and it doesn't matter if his mom is

[00:11:12] right about him and you know, maybe she even is but that just means he's that successful,

[00:11:18] right?

[00:11:19] But then he gets this news that his sort of landmark deal, the thing that is going to

[00:11:26] define him as a business person is going to result in him losing everything.

[00:11:32] Whereas the Corey we know and we've seen for the previous two seasons probably could approach

[00:11:38] that news with a certain level of that like fun gamesmanship that we see.

[00:11:45] That's the straw that breaks the camel's back, right?

[00:11:47] Like he's just he hasn't recovered emotionally from this thing that happened to his mom and

[00:11:52] then he gets this bad news and instead of making the political play or calmly regrouping

[00:11:59] and looking at the three dimensional chessboard, he flips out on Leonard.

[00:12:04] That's a tactical mistake.

[00:12:06] Like why would you ever antagonize the one person that might actually be able to help

[00:12:13] you stay CEO of the company?

[00:12:16] But he does it because he's so sort of emotionally thrown.

[00:12:19] Whenever you have a character like Corey, like you have to find a way to mess them up

[00:12:25] because if you don't, they start to feel not human anymore.

[00:12:29] I think the best shows when they do have a protagonist who seems to be playing three dimensional

[00:12:35] chess, there's always someone who can sort of affect them on an emotional level and mess

[00:12:39] with their judgment.

[00:12:40] I wrote for House of Cards for a long time and Claire Underwood was that for Frank Underwood.

[00:12:46] You know another one funny enough, Jon Hamm, you think I think Don Draper and Peggy and

[00:12:50] their relationship together.

[00:12:52] So you know, thinking of Jon Hamm, who's just fantastic addition to the show, we have to

[00:12:58] talk about of course the ending where this whole damage control of the relationship between

[00:13:02] Alex and Paul is leaking and they're trying to keep it under wraps and Chip comes in for

[00:13:08] a question and spots them and then Tell Me Live starts playing.

[00:13:12] It's funny needle drop.

[00:13:13] I just want to talk about you know into that revelation how it comically mirrors you know

[00:13:18] earlier this season when Alex ran into Chip and the assistant and find out they're thick

[00:13:22] together.

[00:13:23] We were very interested in giving Alex Levio a story this season obviously and it was really

[00:13:29] like who could she possibly be in love with because there's maybe a hundred men in the

[00:13:34] world that are like sort of at her level.

[00:13:38] You know that have the wealth and the power and influence that Alex Levy has.

[00:13:43] Having a relationship with any of those men, with any of those men who are her equal is

[00:13:47] incredibly complicated and I think it was a fun way of continuing to explore the themes

[00:13:53] of the first two seasons which was you know me too and workplace sexual impropriety and

[00:14:00] romance in the workplace and all of those things.

[00:14:03] We're very excited about exploring that and then just the fun of the fact that like this

[00:14:09] thing has to be a secret and what do you do when you're so heavily scrutinized that like

[00:14:14] you can't even hold hands with your partner at a charity ball.

[00:14:18] The stakes of it are so high for Alex because you know it is someone she's working with.

[00:14:23] It is sort of the new boss and how is that going to reflect on her because the truth

[00:14:28] of the matter is that it's not going to matter for Jon Hamm's character.

[00:14:32] He'll be able to walk away but for her it will be a blemish and it's incredibly frightening

[00:14:39] to have to justify to the real world, to the rest of the world that this relationship is

[00:14:45] real and not a move on her part.

[00:14:49] Real quick I am curious are you guys like currently prepping for writing season four?

[00:14:55] I know that like the strikes took up a long amount of time but now that everything seems

[00:14:59] to be back and going you guys already planning it out?

[00:15:02] Do you guys already have some drafts out and are seeing like what's currently going on

[00:15:05] and taking inspiration?

[00:15:06] I know obviously with former president being on trial you know that's something that could

[00:15:11] easily be pulled or all these protests.

[00:15:14] I'm just curious what's going on in the minds of the writing crew and you yourself for the

[00:15:18] morning show?

[00:15:19] I actually work on another show called Tell Me Lies.

[00:15:24] My schedule sort of overlapped in a way where I wasn't able to come on full time to the

[00:15:28] morning show for this next season.

[00:15:31] Oh yeah it was such a bummer.

[00:15:33] I am writing an episode for this season for like in the latter half of the season that

[00:15:39] I'm working on now and I think it's going to be really, I've read a lot of the scripts

[00:15:43] and can't really say much about it but I think it's going to be a really exciting ride

[00:15:48] again.

[00:15:49] I mean the thing about this show is we are just like we get to, we are fueled by these

[00:15:53] incredible all movie stars who do great work and who have things that they want to say

[00:15:59] about the world that we live in and themselves as artists and that makes the show such a joy

[00:16:07] to work on I think is because it's really a show that's operating at the very highest

[00:16:13] levels with very, very smart actors and very, very smart producers.

[00:16:19] And of course our EP showrunner Charlotte Stout who was my boss and is amazing and an

[00:16:27] incredible person to work for is shepherding this next season as well.

[00:16:31] Thank you so much for joining.

[00:16:34] Very interesting season of The Morning Show.

[00:16:36] I'm sure we're going to be talking about it all the way to the Emmys this year.

[00:16:39] So thank you so much for your time.

[00:16:41] Thank you.

[00:16:42] Thank you.

[00:16:43] It's great to meet you.

[00:16:44] Great to meet you too.

[00:16:45] Hey everyone, thank you so much for listening to Giovanni Lago's interview with the writer

[00:16:48] for season three, episode seven of The Morning Show, Strict Security, Bill Kennedy here on

[00:16:53] the Next Best Picture podcast.

[00:16:55] The Morning Show is up for your consideration in all eligible Emmy categories, including

[00:17:00] outstanding drama series and outstanding writing for a drama series.

[00:17:04] All episodes are now available to stream on Apple TV+.

[00:17:08] You have been listening to the Next Best Picture podcast.

[00:17:10] We're proud to be part of the Evergreen Podcast Network and you can subscribe to us anywhere

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[00:17:28] Thank you all so much for listening as always, and we will see you all next time.

[00:18:15] Anatomy of an ad.

[00:18:16] Subconsciously trigger emotions through music.

[00:18:19] Perfect.

[00:18:20] Define an opportunity.

[00:18:21] Imagine talking to millions of people across the US like I am now.

[00:18:25] Identify a problem.

[00:18:27] Creating an audio ad is time consuming.

[00:18:30] Offer a solution.

[00:18:31] Utilize cutting edge AI.

[00:18:33] Imagine creating all that in under 30 seconds.

[00:18:36] Well, we did to create this ad.

[00:18:38] To learn more about AI in the audio industry, download the white paper from audiostack.ai.