It’s rare for a series to be as brazen about its stance on political issues as The Morning Show. Yet, after its debut #MeToo season, the Apple TV+ series has only expanded its horizons to examine contemporary women’s rights both inside and outside of the workplace. 

The show spends the majority of its third season, led once again by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, spotlighting the alarming regression in women’s healthcare rights in recent years. 

From Texas’s abortion ban to overturning the landmark Roe v Wade ruling, the US supreme court has stripped women of their legal right to make decisions about their bodies. The latest 10-part outing swiftly debunked some of the real-life impacts of these monumental back steps for women.

The hyperrealism of the series lends itself to off-screen conversations, as it flits from mocking escapades like the billionaire ‘space race’ to revisiting the turbulent (and terrifying) outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

In episode seven, mid-way through a glitzy UBA party, Politico leaks that the Roe v Wade law has been overturned. The landmark law was established in 1973 to allow safe, legal abortions for women across the US. When this was struck down in 2022, abortion bans were allowed to come into effect and now one in three women live in states where abortion is no longer accessible. 

Earlier in the season, the show dove into the limited options available to women who want an abortion now, such as travelling for hours to a different state to receive this medical care.

However, after the national ruling, Alex jokes to her producer Chip (Mark Duplass) that she might now need “a red robe and a bonnet”, a reference to the handmaiden outfits in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

In the acclaimed book, these women are forced to bear children for the Commanders, the white, privileged men, and are stripped of their autonomy, right to own property, hold money or even decide what they do with their own bodies.

Chip continues the parallel and suggests they take it one step further and she renames herself Ofchip, as she belongs to him (“of Chip”). “Too soon,” they agree, but the passing joke leaves an impact. 

Alex feels that contemporary USA resembles the repressive, dystopian white supremacist state of Gilead where women’s every decision about their lives and bodies are controlled by men. 

It’s a nod to the majority-male US supreme court justices who acted to overturn the monumental law, leaving the question of why women aren’t given full control of the decision process when making laws that directly affect them.

The show’s scathing critique of these new legislations is one of the most compelling aspects of a somewhat disjointed third season. 

It sends ripple effects, as Alex’s privacy is invaded when a tabloid publishes an intimate photo, and she battles for control over the right to do what she wants with her body, including choosing who she sleeps with. Even if it is with the two-faced misogynist of this season, Paul Marks.

In response to the Roe v Wade leak, new anchor Chris (Nicole Beharie) scrawls over the mirror in red lipstick to ‘Abort the Court’, before taking a selfie with her controversial public statement. Though her safety is compromised by the strong-worded message, Chris’s stance goes viral as it resonates with so many women who share her visceral anger at the court’s ruling.

Chris also faces racial discrimination at UBA, as board member Sybil says Chris was hired due to how it would “look” for the network - the show would improve its diversity. 

The Morning Show is hyper-focused on communicating how backwards modern America has become for women, and it is one of the few shows on TV that is not afraid to condemn the government.

Gender equality campaigner and activist Gina Martin expressed how vital it is to see this representation on-screen of the regression in women’s rights. 

“I think it’s important because we must not become apathetic. Just because language has changed and mainstream discourse has become more visible doesn’t mean material conditions, safety or our fundamental rights have actually improved,” Martin said. 

“I hope [viewers] will take away the importance of solidarity, asking for support and using your voice when it comes to what you’ve lived through.” 

Justice is a strong theme throughout the series as the journalists hold themselves to a strict moral code – or at least try to, as seen in Bradley Jackson’s (Witherspoon) scandalous storyline. All the while, the team at UBA holds the same accountability and responsibility towards the government which has failed to protect and uphold women’s rights. 

This is, of course, only a snapshot of the extent of the shift in women’s rights in the US. Women’s Rights Matter said that while it’s important to see these topics on screen, it’s important to be mindful that there isn’t the capacity in an hour to outline all of the changes in women’s rights in full “such as loss of language, dignity, privacy, safety”. 

It’s one of the most up-to-date TV programmes about contemporary politics and news (unsurprisingly), but it’s the fervour with which it condemns the US government for its repressive decisions about women’s rights that makes this show stand out from the competition.  

Images: Apple TV