Hernan Soto
09/16/2021 17:26
Clarín.com
Shows
TV
Updated 09/16/2021 5:26 PM
At 52,
Jennifer Aniston
is one of the most recognized actresses in the world.
The fame that her character of Rachel Green gave her in
Friends
placed her on a podium that only the number one figures make up and made her
the luxury figure in any movie or series
where she is involved.
Aniston is synonymous with success and it is well deserved.
Recently there were two productions that put it on everyone's lips again. The first is
Friends, the reunion,
a special that brought together the protagonists of the acclaimed series 17 years after the last episode. The fans and followers of the sitcom went crazy when they saw the blonde - considered the "eternal girlfriend of America" - surrounded again by her fellow cast members.
The other is a fiction,
The Morning Show
, which premieres its second season this Friday on Apple TV +, and whose
ten episodes will be available one by week
. This is possibly one of the most praised series and with the most "premium" cast of those that were generated in recent years and that positions it as one of the favorites within the platform, along with the multi-award winning
Ted Lasso
.
It is enough to understand a little about what
The Morning Show is about
to realize that success is not accidental: the story revolves around a morning news program hosted by
Alex Levy
(Aniston) and
Mitch Kessler
(Steve Carell), a duo charismatic and effective. From the moment we see that
Mitch was reported for sexual harassment and fired from the channel
. A national scandal.
Thus, amid the repercussions, the internal investigations, Alex's crisis after losing her "television husband" and the morning's rating –which was already falling–,
Bradley Jackson
(Reese Witherspoon), a rookie reporter
, appears on the scene.
that, by turns of destiny, gets an opportunity to relaunch his career and sit down to lead the program with Alex.
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, the lead duo of The Morning Show.
With that trigger, the first season of
The Morning Show
- which premiered in 2019 - addresses current issues such as the
#MeToo movement
and the accusations against
Harvey Weinstein,
as well as the abuses of power in the media and the price that is owed pay for fame. Now, with the second season, this modality is reinforced, even treating
the Covid pandemic
.
Via Zoom,
Clarín was able to have a meeting with Jennifer Aniston
to deepen both the plot of this second season of
The Morning Show
as well as the effects of the pandemic, the price of fame and the importance of telling a story that reflects the current reality through a show where she (like Witherspoon)
is also an executive producer
.
Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are not only the protagonists of the story, but also two of the executive producers.
The return of
The Morning Show
- What brings us this second season?
-Well, for starters we will introduce more characters.
Basically this second season begins right in the moments after Bradley and Alex went on the air and their transmission was cut off, so we
have a very energetic start
.
And then, as you can imagine, it takes a lot of twists and turns to be able to deal with the repercussions that the first season left us.
"So then you will see the different struggles and the marginalized; what the cancellation culture is like and how everyone walks with their own guilt about what they allowed to happen and what they didn't. That's why there will be many twists, many of which I definitely can't speak but they will make the story spicier, "he anticipates.
Jennifer Aniston, in dialogue with Clarín.
–Also being the executive producer, how has working with the scriptwriters been, since they managed to create a fairly diverse team?
-Without a doubt.
It was something important to Reese (Witherspoon) and to me already from season one, because of the fact that we don't approach things in the form of black or white.
The beauty of writing is simply the straightforward honesty
.
Say what people say behind closed doors, where you can't say it out loud because they would be immediately marginalized.
That is why we address the gray areas.
The Morning Show
: a fiction that talks about what happens today
- Something interesting about the program is that they precisely reflect today's society. What is the biggest challenge in making a series that touches on such current issues?
- Exactly that, that
everything happens in real time and that makes it very exciting
.
It's fun creating a series about what's going on these days, as we watch the world learn its new normal.
We try to portray that as honestly as possible because that is what we are experiencing these days.
So it's a lot of responsibility.
The Morning Show is a morning news show that is rocked by a sex scandal with one of its hosts.
- What was it like to deal with the entire pandemic personally and in the series?
"It
really knocked me down, it was difficult and it was very challenging
."
We had already filmed the first part of the show before the pandemic and then everything was closed.
So
the series was rewritten to incorporate Covid
.
So we put together the program dealing with all the protocols that we had, with
endless Zooms with our team of epidemiologists
and we were all there because it was the main thing.
- And were all committed to those changes?
-All the team.
And the families of each one, when they went home.
So it was a very, very strict protocol.
And then, as you can imagine, it was very difficult because I wanted to see the faces of the team members, because I love them.
But hey ... it was strange.
So we were in our masks, even during rehearsals.
Luckily
all of this will stop being normal in no time
.
Jennifer Aniston on The Morning Show.
This second season will address the pandemic.
-A whole new challenge ...
-Definitely.
We weren't without challenges because we've also been giving less time to work during the day, there were a lot of rules to abide by, but we got through it and we survived it, and I think we put on a really good show.
Raising awareness about Covid vaccination
It is well known that
Aniston is a social commitment in various causes
.
One of those he added to his list was to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and
promote vaccination
.
She has even previously revealed that she
decided to distance herself from several of her friends due to the fact that she was against receiving her anti-covid vaccine
.
Now, thanks to the series, your message will be even clearer.
"It was good to be filming this show during a pandemic.
I'm glad we weren't doing a sci-fi series or a western
that was completely out of what's going on right now and that we could at least be immersed in something, trying to make a difference or leave a mark, "he tells us.
"It was not just like we recorded something where we were
in a spaceship trying to find an alternate universe where COVID does not exist
. None of that, we are women and men who have to go through it," adds Jennifer.
Jennifer Aniston raised awareness of Covid care on her Instagram account.
The price of success and fame
–In the trailer, your character says that success and fame have a cost, how much do you agree or disagree with that phrase?
–I agree 100%.
I mean, I think there is a price to pay, but you can also be the driver of what that cost is eventually.
For her role as Alex in the first season, Aniston received the SAG Award for Best Television Actress in a Drama.
-And even more dedicating yourself to acting ...
–As an artist, you expose yourself and you know what people do.
It's like it becomes a sport for people where they decide how they feel about a person each week, about what they said and if something is out of context.
It's so much more than just
'Let's perform for you'
to keep you entertained.
Now there is, I suppose, the ability to attack everywhere.
- In that sense, what is it like to tackle such difficult issues in a show?
–People really appreciate when you touch on a subject that is taboo and you say what cannot be said, the unthinkable or what is behind closed doors.
It's an
'Oh my gosh.
How dare you '
and it's a huge relief to the audience because right away they say
' Oh that's me, I feel like this'
.
So yeah, we think about those things because, again, it's not all black and white.
Aniston alongside Billy Crudup, one of her castmates on The Morning Show.
- As for the fact that the show and the characters are as realistic as possible, what do you like the most about playing Alex?
"What I
love about Alex is that absolute ability to be professional one moment and then uncontrollably lose his mind
right after."
She is like a pendulum, a human pendulum.
It's a really fun thing to explore and dissect as a character.
Working with Reese Witherspoon
Jennifer Aniston with Reese Witherspoon in one of the first episodes of the second season of The Morning Show.
During the first season, both Witherspoon and Carell have had to share arduous scenes with Aniston.
It was those ten episodes that allowed the characters to grow and have more individual plot lines during this second part.
"In this season, our characters have had different stories and directions, so every time we met we asked ourselves
'What is happening in your world?'
And the truth is that we had an incredible time together, but it was not as much as we wanted. Also due to protocol issues where we were assigned to a certain group of people, "Jennifer explains.
The chemistry between the two goes beyond the screen
.
"We have known each other for so many years and we respect so much the work that we did throughout our careers that the fact that we can do this together
feels very natural and we are very grateful,
" closes Aniston.
Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon shared the scene on Friends.
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