Billy Crudup and Gugu Mbatha-Raw Join Apple's Upcoming Morning News Drama

[MacRumors]

Apple's morning show drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston is in the casting stage, and Billy Crudup and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are the show's latest additions, reports Variety.

Crudup will play Cory Ellison, a "forward-thinking president of the network news division," while Mbatha-Raw will play Hannah Shoenfield, a "whip-smart and charming" booker of talent.

Image via Shutterstock​

Mbatha-Raw is known for "Black Mirror," "A Wrinkle in Time," "Irreplaceable You," and "The Cloverfield Paradox," while Crudup is known for his roles in "Spotlight," "Jackie," "Alien: Covenant," and "Justice League."

The as of yet unnamed morning show drama will also feature Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and, as announced earlier this week, Steve Carell, best known for "The Office."

The upcoming show is based on Brian Stelter's non-fiction book "Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV." It will explore the drama-filled lives of the men and women who star on morning talk shows.

Apple has already signed on to air two 10-episode seasons of the show, which is being produced by Witherspoon and Aniston.

Apple has more than a dozen original television shows in the works, the first of which could debut in March 2019 through a rumored video service that Apple is planning to launch. At least some of the content included in the upcoming video service could be free to watch through the Apple TV app.

Article Link: Billy Crudup and Gugu Mbatha-Raw Join Apple's Upcoming Morning News Drama

 

[SeattleMoose]

I'm sure this will be a smash...right up there with Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

 

[vagos]

"It will explore the drama-filled lives of the men and women who star on morning talk shows."

Sounds very very boring...

 

[DaveOP]

"It will explore the drama-filled lives of the men and women who star on morning talk shows."

Sounds very very boring...

Never watched The Newsroom on HBO?

 

[Michael Scrip]

I'm sure this will be a smash... right up there with Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

I think I understand the point you're trying to make... I'm not really a fan of "reality" television either.

But you could have picked an example that hasn't been on TV for the last 11 years...

 

[ruka.snow]

I wonder how many gigabytes of RAM you can get with these models?

 

[dontworry]

Not sure what Apple is thinking with this show. Are people really interested in a show about a show? Does anybody care how "cutthroat" morning shows are? Seems really out of touch for normal everyday folks.

 

[deebinem]

Will Billy Crudup be walking around with his "blue" hanging out?

 

[deeddawg]

Now if MR would only just post up the scripts, we could read them now and save a bunch of time later.

 

[AngerDanger]

I wonder how many gigabytes of RAM you can get with these models?

Eight for Billy, but it's soldered. Still can't find the spec sheet for Gugu.

 

[kironin]

Never watched The Newsroom on HBO?

I don't see it saying anywhere that it is "created and principally written by Aaron Sorkin" , because it's his writing that made his shows The Newsroom or The West Wing at all watchable. This kind of show will rise or fall on the writing.

 

[wigby]

Not sure what Apple is thinking with this show. Are people really interested in a show about a show? Does anybody care how "cutthroat" morning shows are? Seems really out of touch for normal everyday folks.

If it's well written and performed, does the concept really matter at all? So long as the concept isn't overly derivative and played out, there will always be room for good stories that bear a striking similarity to one another or even just mundane.

 

[Lesser Evets]

Won't be any politics in that! .../s

 

[FrenchRoasted]

Stick to your knitting Apple.

 

[stevie grant]

Article Link: Billy Crudup and Gugu Mbatha-Raw Join Apple's Upcoming Morning News Drama

I can't wait to not watch all of this family friendly Apple original programming!

 

[EdT]

Who’s going to play the plucky comic relief?

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Never watched The Newsroom on HBO?

This. The newsroom is one of my all time favorite shows.

 

[GenesisST]

Will Billy Crudup be walking around with his "blue" hanging out?

Thanks a lot for the mental picture!
[doublepost=1540495151][/doublepost]

Eight for Billy, but it's soldered. Still can't find the spec sheet for Gugu.

Did you look on Mr Skin?

 

[ssl0408]

Jennifer Aniston alone will kill this show. I have zero interest in seeing her try to “act.” She’ll be playing herself as usual.

 

[machpost]

Crudup. Use Crudup in a sentence.

 

[Moonlight]

Not sure what Apple is thinking with this show. Are people really interested in a show about a show? Does anybody care how "cutthroat" morning shows are? Seems really out of touch for normal everyday folks.

Lets extrapolate this to absurdity to see if your argument holds up:

Not sure what HBO is thinking with this show. Are people really interested in a show about the mafia? Does anybody care how "cutthroat" people in the mafia are? Seems really out of touch for normal everyday folks.

Not sure what Netflix is thinking with this show. Are people really interested in a show about the upside down? Does anybody care how "cutthroat" interdimensional demons are? Seems really out of touch for normal everyday folks.

 

[robbyx]

Jennifer Aniston alone will kill this show. I have zero interest in seeing her try to “act.” She’ll be playing herself as usual.

I agree. I’ve never understood her appeal. No matter what she does, it’s always Jennifer Aniston, never the character, on the screen.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

Can't wait for the day that the people in this thread become binge watching zombies on the way to making Apple it's next trillions. I don't watch Tv of any kind anyway so am indifferent other than it being a new business for Apple.

 

[Rychiar]

wtf is a gugu? she get named after the first sound she made

 

[deebinem]

wtf is a gugu? she get named after the first sound she made

"Her first name is the shortened version of "Gugulethu", a contraction of igugu lethu, which means "our treasure" in Zulu"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gugu_Mbatha-Raw
[doublepost=1540502436][/doublepost]

I don't watch Tv of any kind anyway so am indifferent other than it being a new business for Apple.

Says the shareholder with Dr. Phil as their avatar...