The Morning Show (2019–…): Season 2, Episode 9 - Episode #2.9 - full transcript
Should we talk?
Are you in trouble?
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have come to your office.
I shouldn't have done that.
I just wasn't in my right mind, you know?
What you were doing,
it just hurt me so much.
Well, then,
I guess I should apologize to you?
Where are my manners?
I'm sorry.
I'm an idiot.
I wanted to hurt you.
I wanted to see you hurt
the way that you hurt me.
Because I'm pathetic.
I know I don't deserve another chance,
but please give me one anyway.
I'll go to rehab.
I'll swallow whatever little bit of pride
that I have left.
I will let you pay... I will stay.
I won't let Mom pull me out.
I will fix it.
Please.
Look, there's nothing to be nervous about.
It's fine.
Just gotta sit there and take your lumps.
I know what I need to say.
Please let me do the talking.
Hey, can you pull us around back?
- This is fine. This is fine. This is fine.
- It's a zoo out here.
Alex, Alex, right here.
How do you feel about Mitch's death?
When was the last time
you spoke with Mitch?
- Alex! Alex!
- Alex!
Alex! Alex!
Alex, I'm very sorry for your loss.
I know you and Mitch
had a complicated relationship.
It wasn't complicated. They were partners.
One of them was a sexual predator
who was fired,
and one of them suffered the consequences.
And she just visited him? In Italy?
It's a private matter, whatever it is.
And you never would've known
if your employees hadn't committed fraud
and hacked into her credit card and email.
It's fine. It's fi...
Alex has time off
written into her contract.
It's unorthodox to have taken it so early,
but it's kosher.
Doug, either you let us talk,
or you're going out in the hall.
Alex, you're family.
Well, you're closer than family, really,
because we chose to be related.
And we'd never pay our family
25 million per.
That means we love you, no matter what.
If there is any backlash,
we will support you,
and we will get you through this.
Good.
I'm giving it back.
We're not asking for it back.
Wait, what are you giving back?
The money. I'm giving back the money.
Coming back here was a big mistake,
and I can see that now.
This isn't a decision you should make
while you're still...
My mind is made up, Doug. Okay?
I mean, keep your commission.
Absolutely understand that, but
March 16th will be my last day at TMS.
What about prime time?
What am I missing?
Maggie Brener's book comes out
on the 17th.
And there's going to be
some damning information in there on me.
Do you feel comfortable sharing?
She doesn't. And there's a chance
that it never sees the light of day.
YDA shelved their interview
with Maggie, so…
Doug, Stella,
would you give Alex and I
a minute alone, please?
Okay.
Look, Alex, you didn't...
Doug. Come on. Outside.
Thank you.
I'm gonna be canceled…
Cory, for things that I did.
Well, unless I hear that you hurled
racial epithets or homophobic slurs,
I'm not voiding your contract. Dude, no.
So, why don't you go
get the back surgery out of the way?
We'll let Laura fill in for you,
and then you make
this triumphant return to prime time.
I slept with Mitch.
Okay. Well, we have no idea
how this book's gonna play out.
He is a sexual predator.
Your feminist hero slept with the enemy.
Did it on purpose,
not coerced,
while married.
And she doesn't regret it one bit.
That's who I am.
I don't want the money.
I'm done. I'm just done.
You can give it to charity,
but you can't force me to take it back.
Oh, God, Cory.
You ever played pinball, Alex? Pinball.
There are those bumpers on there.
Their only purpose is
to knock the crap out of your ball
and put you off your game.
Now, the more punishment you take,
the more points you can rack up,
but you can't pay attention to them.
It's just noise.
You gotta steel your nerves,
keep your eye on the ball
because the game,
it's actually down at the flippers.
And the flippers, they can send that ball
flying up the ramp so fast,
it'll make your head spin
and that's where
you score the real points.
You just have to
let the flippers do the work.
Thank you
for the very weird pep talk, Cory.
Okay, but sometimes,
and just call it your dumb, silly luck,
you realize that ball
is heading straight down the drain.
It's completely out of the reach
of the flippers,
and you think, "All right, well, I guess
that's the end of the road." Right?
"It's my last ball,
and I'm plumb out of quarters."
That's the moment
you conjure the strength of a mother
whose baby is trapped beneath a Pontiac,
and you tilt the fuck outta
that machine because you can.
I am not taking the money back.
I put my quarters in, and nobody's
gonna forget that I pulled the plunger.
And I got balls left to play.
You'll always have balls
left to play, Cory.
It's who you are.
I just wanna finish out my days
at The Morning Show,
and as I said, I'll be leaving
the day before the book comes out.
So just take care.
Take care of the show and yourself.
Do what you need to do.
Welcome back, Alex.
Thanks, Jimbo.
Okay.
Oh, God.
Yep?
Hello.
Hey.
- Can I come in for a second?
- Yeah, of course.
I'm sorry I left so abruptly.
- Thanks for covering.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's okay.
- Yeah.
- How are you?
I'm good. I'll be back Monday.
Are you sure
you don't need a little more time?
No. You know, they advertised you and me,
and I think we should
give them you and me.
Okay.
I just... I'm not here on Monday.
I…
I have to drop off my brother at rehab.
No.
I am so sorry
you have to deal with that again.
Yeah. Thanks.
Okay, so that means
it'll be me and Daniel.
Well, Laura offered
to fill in for me on Monday,
so maybe you wanna consider
coming back Tuesday instead?
No, I'll be there.
- I'll be there. I'll see you Tuesday.
- Okay.
And maybe we could go get a drink
or something next week?
I just... I feel like when you came back,
I had all these barriers up,
and it just wasn't fair.
I would really love that. I would.
But you might wanna distance yourself
from me a little.
Distance?
It's for your own...
Yeah, just trust me.
Are you okay?
I'm gonna be fine. Thanks.
- Have a good weekend.
- Okay.
Okay.
Ms. Kessler, I'm sorry for your loss.
That's very nice. Thank you.
- People do know I'm coming, right?
- They do.
Some people will be there,
and some people won't.
I have to do this, but it does feel weird.
Hey, at least you're not wearing a mask.
I feel like Michael Jackson.
You have an excuse for being cautious.
Is Mia avoiding me?
She just had somewhere else to be.
Hello, everyone,
can I have your attention?
Thank you for letting me come in
and talk to you.
For those of you who don't know me,
my name is Paige Jacobs, formerly Kessler.
I know this is odd. An imposition.
And I spent the last day
planning a memorial for someone I hate,
calling the people
I thought might actually attend.
Yeah.
But my youngest asked me this morning
if all of Dad's friends would be there.
Anyway, I'm here because I am a mother.
Mitch's body is still in Italy,
so if that makes it easier.
It'll be a week from Monday.
I apologize if I offended anyone
by being here. Thank you.
I know my way out.
Why aren't we talking to Biden?
We should be talking to the winner.
He did the Sunday show,
so we got Greg Schultz.
Greg Schultz.
Alex, welcome back.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Quick heads-up.
Trying to get ahead of
this coronavirus thing,
so we're going to put studios
in everybody's places.
Studios in our homes?
Yeah.
It's just in case the virus gets bad,
- and it's not gonna be intrusive.
- Oh, God.
Well, I just don't think it's necessary.
But... Excuse me.
Sure.
- Hey.
- Hey there.
So, I…
I didn't expect to see you today.
I hadn't heard from you.
I wonder how that feels.
Look, I'm gonna stick around
until you find someone new to produce you.
Okay.
Or until you get canceled.
You know, whatever happens first.
- Hey, Alex.
- Hi.
I just wanna make sure
before we head out there.
We're professionals, right?
Of course.
- Great. I will see you out there.
- Okay.
Oh, God.
All right. Here we go.
Yes indeed.
I have a story that happened this weekend.
So, if you don't mind just teeing me up?
Definitely. Of course.
Okay, people.
In five, four, three…
Roll 12.
We just won,
and we've won big because of you.
Good morning. Breaking news last night.
After Joe Biden's decisive victory in
the South Carolina primary this weekend,
former South Bend, Indiana,
Mayor Pete Buttigieg,
dropped out of the race
for the Democratic nomination…
Standby to roll, A. Roll A.
…that I'm delighted to endorse
and support Joe Biden for president.
Breaking overnight,
the second death linked to coronavirus
on US soil has been confirmed.
This doesn't even seem real,
this coronavirus.
- It's out of control.
- I mean...
You know, in '89, Ebola hit US soil,
and we never knew about it.
It was in Richard Preston's book.
- Yeah.
- It's unbelievable.
Can you imagine if we have to
live through that all over again?
- …with Alex Levy…
- Camera two, get ready to make your move.
- …and special guest host, Laura Peterson.
- And cue Alex.
Thank you all for joining us
this Monday morning.
And thank you, Laura,
for joining us again.
Finally getting my turn
to sit next to you.
Well, it's a pleasure for me too.
A busy news weekend.
We're coming up empty
on those COVID-19 tests.
What are you getting COVID tests for?
Do you watch the news?
And here to tell us what we can be doing
to help control the spread of coronavirus
is UBA's chief medical correspondent
Dr. Gwen Zeegers-Bottum.
- Hi.
- Hi.
So the Surgeon General is right.
Some people are surprised to find out
how long they should be
washing their hands.
So, let's do a demonstration.
- Grab a little bit of soap.
- Okay.
Get in there and really scrub. It's...
You wanna get in the crevices.
So the CDC recommends
we wash our hands for about 20 seconds.
For 20 seconds?
And that's about the same length
as singing "Happy Birthday" twice.
That is... Laura looks shocked.
Well, I mean, I am.
That's a really long time.
It's a lo...
How long have you been washing your hands?
- Thirty years, at least.
- Well, then you're...
you're good.
Hell has frozen over.
Yeah. Well, why don't we make up
our own handwashing song,
- and then we'll be royalty-free?
- Gosh. Okay, hit it.
- Okay.
- You start.
Washing our hands on The Morning Show
Clean, clean hands is the way to go
When Dr. Gwen says to scrub
You don't ever say "no"
Yes!
So now let's get on with the show
- One more time.
- Oh, my gosh.
Washing our hands on The Morning Show
Clean, clean hands is the way to go
When Dr. Gwen says scrub
-Don't say "no"
-Don't you ever, ever say "no"
Now let's get on with the show
Well done. Let's keep our day jobs.
What do you think about this?
I get out of treatment,
we go to Disney World.
- That's for kids, Hal.
- Yeah, but we never got to be kids.
I was just thinking about it in the car.
You remember the one vacation
that we ever tried to take?
Yeah, it was a nightmare.
Mom and Dad got wasted at Epcot.
Yeah, but we'd do it right.
I mean, I won't be drinking.
I can't get away like that. You know that.
It was really hard for me
to get today off.
- And I got Super Tuesday coming up and...
- I understand.
It doesn't have to be that exactly.
We'll just take, like, a long weekend,
you know?
Cooperstown's around here.
We could go to the beach.
Okay, it would just give me something
to look forward to.
Hal, can you just stop?
I love you, but I'm not gonna be able to
see you when you get out.
I'm not gonna be able to talk to you
when you get out.
I just can't. I can't go backwards.
It was hard enough for me
to get where I'm at, and I just... I can't.
And I can't even fix my own problems.
And I want good things for you
and for Mom, but I just...
I just don't think
it's a good idea to talk.
No, you can't...
You can't do that.
You can't leave me here.
You said you wanted to get better.
This place is the best.
I did all the fucking research.
Go in and get better.
No, what is the fucking point
of going to rehab
if my family's not even gonna be here
when I get out?
What is the point of getting clean?
Fuck you!
- Hal, I'm leaving. Don't follow me!
- I am not staying here!
No, hey, hey. Hey!
- I'm not fucking going in!
- Look...
- God.
- I'm not fucking going inside.
I can't make you go to rehab.
I hope you do.
I want you to get healthy,
but I can't make you do anything.
You are a grown man.
I have paid for this fucking place. Just...
Just figure it out.
I'm leaving, and you can't come with me.
So, what,
you're just gonna fucking strand me?
- I'm not gonna strand you.
- Your fucking brother!
What do you want?
You want money? I have money.
- No...
- Take it. Here's a few hundred dollars.
I don't care about fucking money.
Just go home or something.
Hey, how about I take this fucking money,
and I use it to buy drugs and OD.
You'll never have to fucking see me again
- because I'll be dead!
- Stop threatening me!
Stop it! This is your life!
Go in, don't go in. I don't kn...
Just…
This is your life.
Figure out what you wanna do with it.
- The real at-risk group is the elderly.
- Sorry.
And I want you to call me
if that back starts acting up again.
I will. I will. Thank you so much, Gwen.
- Do you mind?
- No. Be my guest.
So…
So, are you going to the Mitch thing?
Do you remember that night
when a bunch of us went to see
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk?
It was you, and it was me,
and, Joe, Sydney…
- Maggie...
- No, yeah. I remember.
That was fun.
Yeah. It was.
Why don't you like me? What did I do?
You have no idea?
No. No.
All I know is one day,
you and I were friends,
and then the next day, you pretended
like you didn't even know me.
Really? 'Cause one day
I suddenly didn't like you anymore?
Do you remember what was happening
around that time?
Yes. I do. And it was really hard for you.
And you needed your space.
I needed my space? Did I tell you that?
No.
But we weren't really that close.
Well, we were close enough to go and see
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.
I mean, you came to my house for dinner
a bunch that summer.
Well, I was friends with your friends.
And I had just moved to New York.
I just knew that I had liked you.
I was successful.
That was pretty much
your only prerequisite.
Wow. Do you really believe that?
Well, we weren't really friends anymore
after things went south for me, were we?
So all I know is that you moseyed in
on my friends, and you like to talk.
And voilà,
the world knows all my private business.
Yeah.
I guess you're right. I did talk about it.
It was gossip.
Everybody talked about it.
Boy, gossip seemed
so much less vicious back then.
Well, that's because
nobody was gossiping about you yet.
And I imagine
that you had no ill intent, but…
we are our actions.
Yeah.
I wish we had
straightened that out sooner.
What would you have said?
If I asked you back then
if you were gossiping?
I probably would have denied it.
Yeah.
Well, I really enjoyed
doing the show with you today.
Really did.
And it would've been fun
to have been friends
over the last few years.
I'm really sorry I screwed that up.
Hey.
I said shit about you too.
Well, thank you for that.
And in five, four, three…
It's Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020,
and what a Super Tuesday it is.
Now, my first guest
is a giant of television,
a visionary, a humanitarian,
and like all network executives,
a pinhead,
but he's our pinhead.
So please welcome UBA CEO
and the man who locked the door,
Cory Ellison.
That's right.
Well…
Swing it, daddy. Cory, welcome.
Just shaking a leg for you.
- Cory, I'm gonna jump right into this.
- Okay.
Now, why a streaming service, and why now?
- Why now? Well, now is when I live.
- Yeah.
- And why a streaming service at UBA?
- Yeah.
Because I believe in what we do, Peter,
and the power of content compels me.
Wow. Well, Reverend,
can I ask you this question, then?
Why is it that some people
refuse to get on board,
- like this nitwit right here?
- Well…
Is it just sour grapes, do you think?
Everybody's entitled to their own opinion.
- That's a shame.
- Yeah, but I do believe...
Do you know the story
The Princess and the Pea?
- Of course I do.
- Yeah.
Yeah, that's the title
of the Donald Trump Russian sex tape.
Right?
This is a different one
that I'm thinking of.
It's like all of these columnists
think there's someone out there
hiding peas across the land.
And if only they can be
the one to spot the pea
and prove that they're so sensitive,
that it bruised them
and kept them up all night,
then they can make
the world believe they're royalty.
Only, they don't know where the peas are,
so they just act bruised by everything
and hope they guess right one time.
Well, you just took the words
right out of my mouth.
Cory, are you at all concerned
about this Maggie Brener book?
From what I've read,
it's unfortunate, to put it mildly.
But as a network, I'm not concerned.
In fact…
I'd like to invite Maggie on UBA
or UBANC for an interview.
We'd be happy to have her anytime.
You heard it here, folks.
Think that's a scoop.
And I don't even think
we're allowed to do those.
We're gonna continue
to be in a lot of trouble,
and there's gonna be a lot of hurt.
Oh, my God. Meredith.
Two times in two months, Meredith?
I mean... What, are you stalking me now?
Hey. Yeah, funny.
How you been? You be...
Yanko.
What?
I mean,
I can't believe I'm running into you here.
What? I'm the one who told you
about this place.
So, what are you...
I mean, what are you guys up to?
We're about to head uptown.
You know, it's okay.
I can meet up with you later.
Unless you're busy?
…for less than ten dollars.
All right, so you're gonna receive
12 Whitetail Cutlery.
It's been in our line for decades.
I actually first started selling them
when I was doing shows.
Hey.
Do you want me to ask why you're not okay?
No. Not really.
I saw you on Bullard.
You were really good.
Thank you for noticing.
So you know how I offered
to have Maggie on.
Yeah. She accepted?
Will you do it?
Interview her Monday night?
The book's coming out,
and I know
I said I'm not concerned about it,
but I am.
And I know Alex is too.
We haven't read it yet,
but you'd get an advance copy.
Why me?
Because, Bradley, I know you'll be fair.
Okay. I can do it.
Thank you. I'll set it up.
Bye.
- Especially here.
- What time is it?
- I don't know.
- I should go.
Wow. I guess it got late.
- I leave town next week.
- Come on.
But do you maybe
want to get together again?
- I don't know.
- It would have to be Monday.
No. I can't Monday. I can do Tuesday.
- No, that's the only day I can do.
- No.
- Can you not reschedule?
- No, I really can't.
Come on. What's so important?
I'm going to a memorial service.
You're not going to
Mitch Kessler's memorial, are you?
I am.
I am. I worked with him a long time.
He raped my friend.
- Okay. I'm sorry, all right?
- He raped Hannah.
And you're memorializing him?
I knew this was gonna be a loaded subject.
That's why I didn't wanna bring him up.
Okay?
How does not telling me
make it any better?
No, it doesn't, but I... Where you going?
I can explain why it's important
if you give me a minute.
He killed my friend!
- He didn't kill her. She OD'd.
- I'm glad he's dead.
I should only hope that Fred Micklen
and his 119.2 million aren't far behind.
He might have to give all that back
'cause Hannah's dad's suing him
and the network.
I know. Who do you think's paying for it?
Hannah's dad?
What? What are you saying?
I was so horrible to her
the night she died.
- I had to do something.
- Claire.
You can't blame yourself
for what happened.
- Don't tell me what to do. Thank you.
- What are you doing?
What are you doing? Where you going?
Claire? Claire, come on!
Buzz us if you need anything.
And if you need to take a break,
we'll have someone walk you outside.
Okay, great. Thank you.
"Hurricane Alex
wasn't just the stuff of legend.
It was the stuff of campfire horror story.
Mitch Kessler and Alex Levy
were inseparable.
Levy had a blind spot for him.
If Kessler did it, it couldn't be wrong.
Nobody could have expected what Levy saw
when she opened his dressing room door."
Oh, my God.
"And it was in that Chilean hotel room
that Kessler and Levy consummated
their on-air and off-air sexual tension.
Everybody is flawed, but Levy is damaged."
Do you know
if they're still doing Mitch's memorial?
As far as I know.
You know, I don't think it's a good idea
for you to be in a crowded place
right now.
And I don't think you owe it to Mitch.
It's not your job to protect me anymore.
Mitch never stopped loving baseball.
And I'd like to think
that's he's with his mom and dad now…
stealing home.
Let's all celebrate.
Be happy remembering Mitch.
God bless you, Mitchy.
With love, Uncle Mike.
You know, I know everyone wants to pretend
that death isn't the most
profoundly sad thing to befall a life.
And everyone wants to laugh
and dance and sing and have fun, and...
'Cause Mitch would've wanted it that way.
This is a celebration of life, isn't it?
I have to tell you…
that it turns my stomach.
Because if any of you had cared
remotely what Mitch wanted,
do you know when the time
would've been to share it?
I don't know.
How about when he was still alive?
- That's enough!
- A heckler.
Why are you so scared
of someone speaking his mind?
Now,
listen, Mitch was not a perfect person.
He wasn't a great driver, for example.
Oh, boy. I know. Too soon.
You know who would've laughed at that?
Young Mitchell would've laughed at that.
Maybe the world has to
stop playing games with people's lives.
Maybe they have to stop judging people
for ordering something
from a different page of the sexual menu.
Stop treating people
like single-use plastic,
because you may never see them again.
But there is a mountain of dead reprobates
somewhere in the Orient.
And, someday, each and every one
of our death certificates will read,
"Cause of death: cancel culture."
God.
I'm so sorry this happened to you, Mitch.
I'm so sorry…
that we never got to make our peace.
You were a good friend to me…
for a long time.
A long time.
Fuck 'em!
Hi.
Paola. I'm so glad you made it.
- Thank you. Thank you for the flight.
- Of course.
It feels sort of funny to be here
at his funeral when he isn't.
Crazy world,
but I'm glad there is one friendly face.
Actually, Mitch...
I promised Mitch
that I would introduce you
to the right people in the business
when you're ready.
Well, I've thrown myself into my work
since Mitch died.
But I'm not ready yet.
It's been a very emotional time,
and I'll let you know
when I come up for air.
Okay. Well, I just don't know
how long people are gonna be
returning my phone calls.
So you might wanna come up for air
a little bit quicker.
Okay. Thank you.
- Excuse me for a second, okay?
- Of course. Of course.
Excuse me.
I'm so sorry to interrupt.
I wasn't gonna come, but
I just kept feeling that I had to
and to say a few words about Mitch
and what he meant to me.
Paige, please bear with me.
Some...
Sorry.
Some people are just never satisfied.
And…
by satisfied, I mean fulfilled.
I include myself in that group.
You should...
And it's always a "should."
It always starts with a "should."
You should always be striving for more.
You should always strive
to get to that next rung of the ladder.
Should always just keep wanting more.
But if you just spend all of your time
wanting more, striving for more,
you don't spend any of your time…
living.
Mitch made unforgivable choices.
And…
Yes. Yeah.
I went to see Mitch in Italy.
I saw him the day he died.
And I wanted you to know that
he was really starting
to understand the effects of his actions.
He was remorseful.
He wanted to do better.
He wanted to be better.
And I know that's not enough.
And it will never, ever be enough. Ever.
But I just wanted you to know that.
And I also wanted him
to be remembered for that too.
Mitch had a beautiful family
with two beautiful boys
and a wife he knew he did not deserve.
Paige.
I'm just so sorry for all of it.
Well, you tell me.
That day I interviewed you last year,
I also went to a fundraiser at Alex Levy's
where she told me that she had coached you
on how best
to get to Ashley Brown's truth.
She was positioning herself
as sort of a paragon of feminism.
You're the truth-teller. Was that true?
Not exactly.
There you go.
Are you watching this? Alex?
Alex? You've gotta call me back.
Do you know how I got this job?
I have some sense of it.
Yeah, I think you do.
But you didn't put it in the book.
Well, you can't include everything.
I was actually kinda disappointed.
I wonder if you wanna break it here.
It's a pretty interesting story,
don't you think?
Please, feel free. In your own words.
Okay. In my vaguest recollection,
you were not even of the remotest
consideration to replace Mitch.
- And then what happened?
- And then Alex Levy,
in a game of cat and mouse
that she often believes she's playing,
announced you completely out of nowhere
to be her coanchor.
And it absolutely shocked everybody
at the network,
but Alex had backed them all
into a corner,
and there was nothing they could do
to get rid of you. So…
See, that's an interesting story.
And it's true.
So, why didn't you print it?
Okay. If you wanna do this.
You did lie when I interviewed you.
You didn't say any of what I just said,
which you are now admitting to be true.
No, you're right. I guess I lied.
And I didn't want people
knowing my private business.
- Yeah, well…
- Doesn't make me look very good right now.
But I do think
I've been doing a pretty good job,
and I wouldn't have had that opportunity
if it wasn't for her.
I wonder why so much
of your book is dedicated
to Alex and Mitch Kessler's
consensual relationship.
I mean, sure, it's an extramarital affair.
I see that.
But, at this point,
that feels sort of quaint.
And there are a myriad terrible things
that Mitch has done that you say in here,
and those seem like fair game.
But why rope Alex into it?
I mean, did you have
something personal against Alex Levy?
No, no, no. No, I don't.
In fact, I…
I held some things back
because they seemed unkind.
Really? Wow. I mean,
- I hear you saying that, but...
- Okay, you wanna push me?
I'll play.
Just last month, I was in Las Vegas,
where I know you were too.
- Good job on the debate, by the way.
- Thank you.
And I was sitting in my hotel room
late at night,
this is the night before the debate,
just minding my own business,
when suddenly,
your coanchor began knocking on my door,
losing her mind.
Alex?
- She was losing her mind?
- Losing her mind.
I say that with no judgment.
It was a fact.
She wanted to know
if I had an extra copy of my book.
I said I did not.
Well, did she say why?
She wanted to know if I had included
the part about
her sleeping with Mitch Kessler.
I told her I had.
And what did she want you to do?
To take it out.
So, a woman that you have known
for a very long time
came to you in major distress
over a mistake
that she made how many years ago?
Ten, but she's a journalist. So…
Okay. Well, it was a mistake
that happened ten years ago.
And she was in major distress,
and she asked you to take it out,
and you published it anyway?
Who's the worst person
you ever slept with, Maggie?
I'm just curious.
How terrible of a person are you?
Bradley,
my book is about a corrupt network
hiding sexual misconduct.
Just a litany of inappropriate behavior.
And, yes, there are plenty of stories
that also show you the real Alex Levy.
I agree. And you do hold
the network accountable,
but it's interesting
that Alex is the cover of this book.
And this Alex Levy is
the woman who gave me my career.
Pretty nice of her, isn't it?
But she didn't do it for you, Bradley.
She did it for her.
Well, you don't get to where she is
by making other people's lunch.
I know you know that.
I mean, you're sitting here
because you are publicizing
a very high-profile book
with stories from five, ten, 15 years ago.
But the one story you didn't publish
was the story of a changed woman,
who came to you and begged for mercy,
and you declined.
Instead,
you put her on the cover of your book.
Now, you do know
that Alex and I broke the story
about Fred Micklen
right here on this network.
That we risked our careers
just to get the truth out there.
Yeah, I know you know
because we scooped you, didn't we?
Rightly so.
There's a lot of stories
about Alex Levy in this book,
but I think that's the old Alex Levy.
And I think that people change.
I think people grow.
I know I'm evolving. I wonder if you are.
I'm being told
that it's time for a commercial.
But we will be back
with more Maggie Brener.
What on earth?
You gotta be kidding me.
Thank God.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
You're an interesting girl, Bradley.
What's so interesting about me?
Well, you know, a couple of months ago
when we first met,
all you talked about was
how much you didn't like Alex
and that she was unfair.
No. I didn't say I didn't like Alex.
Well, close enough.
But the point is,
tonight you had the chance to bury her,
but instead, you went
so far out of your way to defend her.
And in the process,
you buried the person who wrote the book
that had everything in it
you wanted exposed.
How does any of that make sense?
Well, I do believe everything I said.
I just... I really don't feel
like Maggie was being fair.
And how I feel about Alex is
of minor relevance.
Well, it was pretty goddamn impressive.
You are impressive in a lot of ways.
Thank you. That's better than interesting.
You know, with my heart condition
and COVID,
I'm gonna go to my place
in Montana for a month or two,
whenever this is over.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, sure. That makes sense.
But I'm gonna miss you. A lot.
You should think about
coming out to stay with me.
But I'm on TV five days a week.
So, give it up. For me.
I don't like it when my woman works.
Are you serious?
No, I'm not serious.
I have a little studio on the ranch.
No. Not that.
Am I your woman?
Well, I'm not gonna lie to you.
You do scare me a little.
Okay.
But, yeah.
Something like that.
- Wow, really? That's timing.
- I'll be right back.
Okay. I'll be in the bedroom.
- Hey, Harry. What can I do for you?
- Someone dropped this off earlier.
Thanks.
I'll get you something, just a minute.
When did they drop this off?
I'm not sure. It was before my shift.
Maybe five or six hours ago.
Can you find out? It's really important.
- Of course.
- Thank you.
Oh, God.
No.
No.
No.
Fuck.
Fuck.
I mean, what can you say,
other than, "Wow"?
Bradley Jackson
did a hell of a job convincing us
that Alex Levy was a changed person
and that we shouldn't
hold her past against her.
But this just happened.
I went to see Mitch in Italy.
I saw him the day that he died.
- The day that he died?
- Oh, God.
I thought she wasn't
in a relationship with him anymore.
That was supposed to be ten years ago.
Not to mention she endangered
her coworkers with a deadly virus.
It brings up some very
uncomfortable questions.
Why was she involved with
a known sexual abuser?
And how did Kessler really die?
First Jeffrey Epstein...
Oh, God.
What? What the fuck?
There's no room inside the hospital.
We are making tents outside the hospital
to care for patients and…
Oh, God.
Doug, what the fuck? What's happening?
Good to hear your voice.
You fell and hit your head
during the night.
Chip found you.
Minor concussion.
And sorry about the other thing.
Yeah. I got canceled.
Well, yeah. But…
They haven't told you?
What? Told me what?
I should let the doctor tell you.
No, no. Come on, Doug.
You're scaring me. Come on.
They tested you in the emergency room,
and you tested positive for COVID.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Are you in trouble?
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have come to your office.
I shouldn't have done that.
I just wasn't in my right mind, you know?
What you were doing,
it just hurt me so much.
Well, then,
I guess I should apologize to you?
Where are my manners?
I'm sorry.
I'm an idiot.
I wanted to hurt you.
I wanted to see you hurt
the way that you hurt me.
Because I'm pathetic.
I know I don't deserve another chance,
but please give me one anyway.
I'll go to rehab.
I'll swallow whatever little bit of pride
that I have left.
I will let you pay... I will stay.
I won't let Mom pull me out.
I will fix it.
Please.
Look, there's nothing to be nervous about.
It's fine.
Just gotta sit there and take your lumps.
I know what I need to say.
Please let me do the talking.
Hey, can you pull us around back?
- This is fine. This is fine. This is fine.
- It's a zoo out here.
Alex, Alex, right here.
How do you feel about Mitch's death?
When was the last time
you spoke with Mitch?
- Alex! Alex!
- Alex!
Alex! Alex!
Alex, I'm very sorry for your loss.
I know you and Mitch
had a complicated relationship.
It wasn't complicated. They were partners.
One of them was a sexual predator
who was fired,
and one of them suffered the consequences.
And she just visited him? In Italy?
It's a private matter, whatever it is.
And you never would've known
if your employees hadn't committed fraud
and hacked into her credit card and email.
It's fine. It's fi...
Alex has time off
written into her contract.
It's unorthodox to have taken it so early,
but it's kosher.
Doug, either you let us talk,
or you're going out in the hall.
Alex, you're family.
Well, you're closer than family, really,
because we chose to be related.
And we'd never pay our family
25 million per.
That means we love you, no matter what.
If there is any backlash,
we will support you,
and we will get you through this.
Good.
I'm giving it back.
We're not asking for it back.
Wait, what are you giving back?
The money. I'm giving back the money.
Coming back here was a big mistake,
and I can see that now.
This isn't a decision you should make
while you're still...
My mind is made up, Doug. Okay?
I mean, keep your commission.
Absolutely understand that, but
March 16th will be my last day at TMS.
What about prime time?
What am I missing?
Maggie Brener's book comes out
on the 17th.
And there's going to be
some damning information in there on me.
Do you feel comfortable sharing?
She doesn't. And there's a chance
that it never sees the light of day.
YDA shelved their interview
with Maggie, so…
Doug, Stella,
would you give Alex and I
a minute alone, please?
Okay.
Look, Alex, you didn't...
Doug. Come on. Outside.
Thank you.
I'm gonna be canceled…
Cory, for things that I did.
Well, unless I hear that you hurled
racial epithets or homophobic slurs,
I'm not voiding your contract. Dude, no.
So, why don't you go
get the back surgery out of the way?
We'll let Laura fill in for you,
and then you make
this triumphant return to prime time.
I slept with Mitch.
Okay. Well, we have no idea
how this book's gonna play out.
He is a sexual predator.
Your feminist hero slept with the enemy.
Did it on purpose,
not coerced,
while married.
And she doesn't regret it one bit.
That's who I am.
I don't want the money.
I'm done. I'm just done.
You can give it to charity,
but you can't force me to take it back.
Oh, God, Cory.
You ever played pinball, Alex? Pinball.
There are those bumpers on there.
Their only purpose is
to knock the crap out of your ball
and put you off your game.
Now, the more punishment you take,
the more points you can rack up,
but you can't pay attention to them.
It's just noise.
You gotta steel your nerves,
keep your eye on the ball
because the game,
it's actually down at the flippers.
And the flippers, they can send that ball
flying up the ramp so fast,
it'll make your head spin
and that's where
you score the real points.
You just have to
let the flippers do the work.
Thank you
for the very weird pep talk, Cory.
Okay, but sometimes,
and just call it your dumb, silly luck,
you realize that ball
is heading straight down the drain.
It's completely out of the reach
of the flippers,
and you think, "All right, well, I guess
that's the end of the road." Right?
"It's my last ball,
and I'm plumb out of quarters."
That's the moment
you conjure the strength of a mother
whose baby is trapped beneath a Pontiac,
and you tilt the fuck outta
that machine because you can.
I am not taking the money back.
I put my quarters in, and nobody's
gonna forget that I pulled the plunger.
And I got balls left to play.
You'll always have balls
left to play, Cory.
It's who you are.
I just wanna finish out my days
at The Morning Show,
and as I said, I'll be leaving
the day before the book comes out.
So just take care.
Take care of the show and yourself.
Do what you need to do.
Welcome back, Alex.
Thanks, Jimbo.
Okay.
Oh, God.
Yep?
Hello.
Hey.
- Can I come in for a second?
- Yeah, of course.
I'm sorry I left so abruptly.
- Thanks for covering.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's okay.
- Yeah.
- How are you?
I'm good. I'll be back Monday.
Are you sure
you don't need a little more time?
No. You know, they advertised you and me,
and I think we should
give them you and me.
Okay.
I just... I'm not here on Monday.
I…
I have to drop off my brother at rehab.
No.
I am so sorry
you have to deal with that again.
Yeah. Thanks.
Okay, so that means
it'll be me and Daniel.
Well, Laura offered
to fill in for me on Monday,
so maybe you wanna consider
coming back Tuesday instead?
No, I'll be there.
- I'll be there. I'll see you Tuesday.
- Okay.
And maybe we could go get a drink
or something next week?
I just... I feel like when you came back,
I had all these barriers up,
and it just wasn't fair.
I would really love that. I would.
But you might wanna distance yourself
from me a little.
Distance?
It's for your own...
Yeah, just trust me.
Are you okay?
I'm gonna be fine. Thanks.
- Have a good weekend.
- Okay.
Okay.
Ms. Kessler, I'm sorry for your loss.
That's very nice. Thank you.
- People do know I'm coming, right?
- They do.
Some people will be there,
and some people won't.
I have to do this, but it does feel weird.
Hey, at least you're not wearing a mask.
I feel like Michael Jackson.
You have an excuse for being cautious.
Is Mia avoiding me?
She just had somewhere else to be.
Hello, everyone,
can I have your attention?
Thank you for letting me come in
and talk to you.
For those of you who don't know me,
my name is Paige Jacobs, formerly Kessler.
I know this is odd. An imposition.
And I spent the last day
planning a memorial for someone I hate,
calling the people
I thought might actually attend.
Yeah.
But my youngest asked me this morning
if all of Dad's friends would be there.
Anyway, I'm here because I am a mother.
Mitch's body is still in Italy,
so if that makes it easier.
It'll be a week from Monday.
I apologize if I offended anyone
by being here. Thank you.
I know my way out.
Why aren't we talking to Biden?
We should be talking to the winner.
He did the Sunday show,
so we got Greg Schultz.
Greg Schultz.
Alex, welcome back.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Quick heads-up.
Trying to get ahead of
this coronavirus thing,
so we're going to put studios
in everybody's places.
Studios in our homes?
Yeah.
It's just in case the virus gets bad,
- and it's not gonna be intrusive.
- Oh, God.
Well, I just don't think it's necessary.
But... Excuse me.
Sure.
- Hey.
- Hey there.
So, I…
I didn't expect to see you today.
I hadn't heard from you.
I wonder how that feels.
Look, I'm gonna stick around
until you find someone new to produce you.
Okay.
Or until you get canceled.
You know, whatever happens first.
- Hey, Alex.
- Hi.
I just wanna make sure
before we head out there.
We're professionals, right?
Of course.
- Great. I will see you out there.
- Okay.
Oh, God.
All right. Here we go.
Yes indeed.
I have a story that happened this weekend.
So, if you don't mind just teeing me up?
Definitely. Of course.
Okay, people.
In five, four, three…
Roll 12.
We just won,
and we've won big because of you.
Good morning. Breaking news last night.
After Joe Biden's decisive victory in
the South Carolina primary this weekend,
former South Bend, Indiana,
Mayor Pete Buttigieg,
dropped out of the race
for the Democratic nomination…
Standby to roll, A. Roll A.
…that I'm delighted to endorse
and support Joe Biden for president.
Breaking overnight,
the second death linked to coronavirus
on US soil has been confirmed.
This doesn't even seem real,
this coronavirus.
- It's out of control.
- I mean...
You know, in '89, Ebola hit US soil,
and we never knew about it.
It was in Richard Preston's book.
- Yeah.
- It's unbelievable.
Can you imagine if we have to
live through that all over again?
- …with Alex Levy…
- Camera two, get ready to make your move.
- …and special guest host, Laura Peterson.
- And cue Alex.
Thank you all for joining us
this Monday morning.
And thank you, Laura,
for joining us again.
Finally getting my turn
to sit next to you.
Well, it's a pleasure for me too.
A busy news weekend.
We're coming up empty
on those COVID-19 tests.
What are you getting COVID tests for?
Do you watch the news?
And here to tell us what we can be doing
to help control the spread of coronavirus
is UBA's chief medical correspondent
Dr. Gwen Zeegers-Bottum.
- Hi.
- Hi.
So the Surgeon General is right.
Some people are surprised to find out
how long they should be
washing their hands.
So, let's do a demonstration.
- Grab a little bit of soap.
- Okay.
Get in there and really scrub. It's...
You wanna get in the crevices.
So the CDC recommends
we wash our hands for about 20 seconds.
For 20 seconds?
And that's about the same length
as singing "Happy Birthday" twice.
That is... Laura looks shocked.
Well, I mean, I am.
That's a really long time.
It's a lo...
How long have you been washing your hands?
- Thirty years, at least.
- Well, then you're...
you're good.
Hell has frozen over.
Yeah. Well, why don't we make up
our own handwashing song,
- and then we'll be royalty-free?
- Gosh. Okay, hit it.
- Okay.
- You start.
Washing our hands on The Morning Show
Clean, clean hands is the way to go
When Dr. Gwen says to scrub
You don't ever say "no"
Yes!
So now let's get on with the show
- One more time.
- Oh, my gosh.
Washing our hands on The Morning Show
Clean, clean hands is the way to go
When Dr. Gwen says scrub
-Don't say "no"
-Don't you ever, ever say "no"
Now let's get on with the show
Well done. Let's keep our day jobs.
What do you think about this?
I get out of treatment,
we go to Disney World.
- That's for kids, Hal.
- Yeah, but we never got to be kids.
I was just thinking about it in the car.
You remember the one vacation
that we ever tried to take?
Yeah, it was a nightmare.
Mom and Dad got wasted at Epcot.
Yeah, but we'd do it right.
I mean, I won't be drinking.
I can't get away like that. You know that.
It was really hard for me
to get today off.
- And I got Super Tuesday coming up and...
- I understand.
It doesn't have to be that exactly.
We'll just take, like, a long weekend,
you know?
Cooperstown's around here.
We could go to the beach.
Okay, it would just give me something
to look forward to.
Hal, can you just stop?
I love you, but I'm not gonna be able to
see you when you get out.
I'm not gonna be able to talk to you
when you get out.
I just can't. I can't go backwards.
It was hard enough for me
to get where I'm at, and I just... I can't.
And I can't even fix my own problems.
And I want good things for you
and for Mom, but I just...
I just don't think
it's a good idea to talk.
No, you can't...
You can't do that.
You can't leave me here.
You said you wanted to get better.
This place is the best.
I did all the fucking research.
Go in and get better.
No, what is the fucking point
of going to rehab
if my family's not even gonna be here
when I get out?
What is the point of getting clean?
Fuck you!
- Hal, I'm leaving. Don't follow me!
- I am not staying here!
No, hey, hey. Hey!
- I'm not fucking going in!
- Look...
- God.
- I'm not fucking going inside.
I can't make you go to rehab.
I hope you do.
I want you to get healthy,
but I can't make you do anything.
You are a grown man.
I have paid for this fucking place. Just...
Just figure it out.
I'm leaving, and you can't come with me.
So, what,
you're just gonna fucking strand me?
- I'm not gonna strand you.
- Your fucking brother!
What do you want?
You want money? I have money.
- No...
- Take it. Here's a few hundred dollars.
I don't care about fucking money.
Just go home or something.
Hey, how about I take this fucking money,
and I use it to buy drugs and OD.
You'll never have to fucking see me again
- because I'll be dead!
- Stop threatening me!
Stop it! This is your life!
Go in, don't go in. I don't kn...
Just…
This is your life.
Figure out what you wanna do with it.
- The real at-risk group is the elderly.
- Sorry.
And I want you to call me
if that back starts acting up again.
I will. I will. Thank you so much, Gwen.
- Do you mind?
- No. Be my guest.
So…
So, are you going to the Mitch thing?
Do you remember that night
when a bunch of us went to see
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk?
It was you, and it was me,
and, Joe, Sydney…
- Maggie...
- No, yeah. I remember.
That was fun.
Yeah. It was.
Why don't you like me? What did I do?
You have no idea?
No. No.
All I know is one day,
you and I were friends,
and then the next day, you pretended
like you didn't even know me.
Really? 'Cause one day
I suddenly didn't like you anymore?
Do you remember what was happening
around that time?
Yes. I do. And it was really hard for you.
And you needed your space.
I needed my space? Did I tell you that?
No.
But we weren't really that close.
Well, we were close enough to go and see
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.
I mean, you came to my house for dinner
a bunch that summer.
Well, I was friends with your friends.
And I had just moved to New York.
I just knew that I had liked you.
I was successful.
That was pretty much
your only prerequisite.
Wow. Do you really believe that?
Well, we weren't really friends anymore
after things went south for me, were we?
So all I know is that you moseyed in
on my friends, and you like to talk.
And voilà,
the world knows all my private business.
Yeah.
I guess you're right. I did talk about it.
It was gossip.
Everybody talked about it.
Boy, gossip seemed
so much less vicious back then.
Well, that's because
nobody was gossiping about you yet.
And I imagine
that you had no ill intent, but…
we are our actions.
Yeah.
I wish we had
straightened that out sooner.
What would you have said?
If I asked you back then
if you were gossiping?
I probably would have denied it.
Yeah.
Well, I really enjoyed
doing the show with you today.
Really did.
And it would've been fun
to have been friends
over the last few years.
I'm really sorry I screwed that up.
Hey.
I said shit about you too.
Well, thank you for that.
And in five, four, three…
It's Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020,
and what a Super Tuesday it is.
Now, my first guest
is a giant of television,
a visionary, a humanitarian,
and like all network executives,
a pinhead,
but he's our pinhead.
So please welcome UBA CEO
and the man who locked the door,
Cory Ellison.
That's right.
Well…
Swing it, daddy. Cory, welcome.
Just shaking a leg for you.
- Cory, I'm gonna jump right into this.
- Okay.
Now, why a streaming service, and why now?
- Why now? Well, now is when I live.
- Yeah.
- And why a streaming service at UBA?
- Yeah.
Because I believe in what we do, Peter,
and the power of content compels me.
Wow. Well, Reverend,
can I ask you this question, then?
Why is it that some people
refuse to get on board,
- like this nitwit right here?
- Well…
Is it just sour grapes, do you think?
Everybody's entitled to their own opinion.
- That's a shame.
- Yeah, but I do believe...
Do you know the story
The Princess and the Pea?
- Of course I do.
- Yeah.
Yeah, that's the title
of the Donald Trump Russian sex tape.
Right?
This is a different one
that I'm thinking of.
It's like all of these columnists
think there's someone out there
hiding peas across the land.
And if only they can be
the one to spot the pea
and prove that they're so sensitive,
that it bruised them
and kept them up all night,
then they can make
the world believe they're royalty.
Only, they don't know where the peas are,
so they just act bruised by everything
and hope they guess right one time.
Well, you just took the words
right out of my mouth.
Cory, are you at all concerned
about this Maggie Brener book?
From what I've read,
it's unfortunate, to put it mildly.
But as a network, I'm not concerned.
In fact…
I'd like to invite Maggie on UBA
or UBANC for an interview.
We'd be happy to have her anytime.
You heard it here, folks.
Think that's a scoop.
And I don't even think
we're allowed to do those.
We're gonna continue
to be in a lot of trouble,
and there's gonna be a lot of hurt.
Oh, my God. Meredith.
Two times in two months, Meredith?
I mean... What, are you stalking me now?
Hey. Yeah, funny.
How you been? You be...
Yanko.
What?
I mean,
I can't believe I'm running into you here.
What? I'm the one who told you
about this place.
So, what are you...
I mean, what are you guys up to?
We're about to head uptown.
You know, it's okay.
I can meet up with you later.
Unless you're busy?
…for less than ten dollars.
All right, so you're gonna receive
12 Whitetail Cutlery.
It's been in our line for decades.
I actually first started selling them
when I was doing shows.
Hey.
Do you want me to ask why you're not okay?
No. Not really.
I saw you on Bullard.
You were really good.
Thank you for noticing.
So you know how I offered
to have Maggie on.
Yeah. She accepted?
Will you do it?
Interview her Monday night?
The book's coming out,
and I know
I said I'm not concerned about it,
but I am.
And I know Alex is too.
We haven't read it yet,
but you'd get an advance copy.
Why me?
Because, Bradley, I know you'll be fair.
Okay. I can do it.
Thank you. I'll set it up.
Bye.
- Especially here.
- What time is it?
- I don't know.
- I should go.
Wow. I guess it got late.
- I leave town next week.
- Come on.
But do you maybe
want to get together again?
- I don't know.
- It would have to be Monday.
No. I can't Monday. I can do Tuesday.
- No, that's the only day I can do.
- No.
- Can you not reschedule?
- No, I really can't.
Come on. What's so important?
I'm going to a memorial service.
You're not going to
Mitch Kessler's memorial, are you?
I am.
I am. I worked with him a long time.
He raped my friend.
- Okay. I'm sorry, all right?
- He raped Hannah.
And you're memorializing him?
I knew this was gonna be a loaded subject.
That's why I didn't wanna bring him up.
Okay?
How does not telling me
make it any better?
No, it doesn't, but I... Where you going?
I can explain why it's important
if you give me a minute.
He killed my friend!
- He didn't kill her. She OD'd.
- I'm glad he's dead.
I should only hope that Fred Micklen
and his 119.2 million aren't far behind.
He might have to give all that back
'cause Hannah's dad's suing him
and the network.
I know. Who do you think's paying for it?
Hannah's dad?
What? What are you saying?
I was so horrible to her
the night she died.
- I had to do something.
- Claire.
You can't blame yourself
for what happened.
- Don't tell me what to do. Thank you.
- What are you doing?
What are you doing? Where you going?
Claire? Claire, come on!
Buzz us if you need anything.
And if you need to take a break,
we'll have someone walk you outside.
Okay, great. Thank you.
"Hurricane Alex
wasn't just the stuff of legend.
It was the stuff of campfire horror story.
Mitch Kessler and Alex Levy
were inseparable.
Levy had a blind spot for him.
If Kessler did it, it couldn't be wrong.
Nobody could have expected what Levy saw
when she opened his dressing room door."
Oh, my God.
"And it was in that Chilean hotel room
that Kessler and Levy consummated
their on-air and off-air sexual tension.
Everybody is flawed, but Levy is damaged."
Do you know
if they're still doing Mitch's memorial?
As far as I know.
You know, I don't think it's a good idea
for you to be in a crowded place
right now.
And I don't think you owe it to Mitch.
It's not your job to protect me anymore.
Mitch never stopped loving baseball.
And I'd like to think
that's he's with his mom and dad now…
stealing home.
Let's all celebrate.
Be happy remembering Mitch.
God bless you, Mitchy.
With love, Uncle Mike.
You know, I know everyone wants to pretend
that death isn't the most
profoundly sad thing to befall a life.
And everyone wants to laugh
and dance and sing and have fun, and...
'Cause Mitch would've wanted it that way.
This is a celebration of life, isn't it?
I have to tell you…
that it turns my stomach.
Because if any of you had cared
remotely what Mitch wanted,
do you know when the time
would've been to share it?
I don't know.
How about when he was still alive?
- That's enough!
- A heckler.
Why are you so scared
of someone speaking his mind?
Now,
listen, Mitch was not a perfect person.
He wasn't a great driver, for example.
Oh, boy. I know. Too soon.
You know who would've laughed at that?
Young Mitchell would've laughed at that.
Maybe the world has to
stop playing games with people's lives.
Maybe they have to stop judging people
for ordering something
from a different page of the sexual menu.
Stop treating people
like single-use plastic,
because you may never see them again.
But there is a mountain of dead reprobates
somewhere in the Orient.
And, someday, each and every one
of our death certificates will read,
"Cause of death: cancel culture."
God.
I'm so sorry this happened to you, Mitch.
I'm so sorry…
that we never got to make our peace.
You were a good friend to me…
for a long time.
A long time.
Fuck 'em!
Hi.
Paola. I'm so glad you made it.
- Thank you. Thank you for the flight.
- Of course.
It feels sort of funny to be here
at his funeral when he isn't.
Crazy world,
but I'm glad there is one friendly face.
Actually, Mitch...
I promised Mitch
that I would introduce you
to the right people in the business
when you're ready.
Well, I've thrown myself into my work
since Mitch died.
But I'm not ready yet.
It's been a very emotional time,
and I'll let you know
when I come up for air.
Okay. Well, I just don't know
how long people are gonna be
returning my phone calls.
So you might wanna come up for air
a little bit quicker.
Okay. Thank you.
- Excuse me for a second, okay?
- Of course. Of course.
Excuse me.
I'm so sorry to interrupt.
I wasn't gonna come, but
I just kept feeling that I had to
and to say a few words about Mitch
and what he meant to me.
Paige, please bear with me.
Some...
Sorry.
Some people are just never satisfied.
And…
by satisfied, I mean fulfilled.
I include myself in that group.
You should...
And it's always a "should."
It always starts with a "should."
You should always be striving for more.
You should always strive
to get to that next rung of the ladder.
Should always just keep wanting more.
But if you just spend all of your time
wanting more, striving for more,
you don't spend any of your time…
living.
Mitch made unforgivable choices.
And…
Yes. Yeah.
I went to see Mitch in Italy.
I saw him the day he died.
And I wanted you to know that
he was really starting
to understand the effects of his actions.
He was remorseful.
He wanted to do better.
He wanted to be better.
And I know that's not enough.
And it will never, ever be enough. Ever.
But I just wanted you to know that.
And I also wanted him
to be remembered for that too.
Mitch had a beautiful family
with two beautiful boys
and a wife he knew he did not deserve.
Paige.
I'm just so sorry for all of it.
Well, you tell me.
That day I interviewed you last year,
I also went to a fundraiser at Alex Levy's
where she told me that she had coached you
on how best
to get to Ashley Brown's truth.
She was positioning herself
as sort of a paragon of feminism.
You're the truth-teller. Was that true?
Not exactly.
There you go.
Are you watching this? Alex?
Alex? You've gotta call me back.
Do you know how I got this job?
I have some sense of it.
Yeah, I think you do.
But you didn't put it in the book.
Well, you can't include everything.
I was actually kinda disappointed.
I wonder if you wanna break it here.
It's a pretty interesting story,
don't you think?
Please, feel free. In your own words.
Okay. In my vaguest recollection,
you were not even of the remotest
consideration to replace Mitch.
- And then what happened?
- And then Alex Levy,
in a game of cat and mouse
that she often believes she's playing,
announced you completely out of nowhere
to be her coanchor.
And it absolutely shocked everybody
at the network,
but Alex had backed them all
into a corner,
and there was nothing they could do
to get rid of you. So…
See, that's an interesting story.
And it's true.
So, why didn't you print it?
Okay. If you wanna do this.
You did lie when I interviewed you.
You didn't say any of what I just said,
which you are now admitting to be true.
No, you're right. I guess I lied.
And I didn't want people
knowing my private business.
- Yeah, well…
- Doesn't make me look very good right now.
But I do think
I've been doing a pretty good job,
and I wouldn't have had that opportunity
if it wasn't for her.
I wonder why so much
of your book is dedicated
to Alex and Mitch Kessler's
consensual relationship.
I mean, sure, it's an extramarital affair.
I see that.
But, at this point,
that feels sort of quaint.
And there are a myriad terrible things
that Mitch has done that you say in here,
and those seem like fair game.
But why rope Alex into it?
I mean, did you have
something personal against Alex Levy?
No, no, no. No, I don't.
In fact, I…
I held some things back
because they seemed unkind.
Really? Wow. I mean,
- I hear you saying that, but...
- Okay, you wanna push me?
I'll play.
Just last month, I was in Las Vegas,
where I know you were too.
- Good job on the debate, by the way.
- Thank you.
And I was sitting in my hotel room
late at night,
this is the night before the debate,
just minding my own business,
when suddenly,
your coanchor began knocking on my door,
losing her mind.
Alex?
- She was losing her mind?
- Losing her mind.
I say that with no judgment.
It was a fact.
She wanted to know
if I had an extra copy of my book.
I said I did not.
Well, did she say why?
She wanted to know if I had included
the part about
her sleeping with Mitch Kessler.
I told her I had.
And what did she want you to do?
To take it out.
So, a woman that you have known
for a very long time
came to you in major distress
over a mistake
that she made how many years ago?
Ten, but she's a journalist. So…
Okay. Well, it was a mistake
that happened ten years ago.
And she was in major distress,
and she asked you to take it out,
and you published it anyway?
Who's the worst person
you ever slept with, Maggie?
I'm just curious.
How terrible of a person are you?
Bradley,
my book is about a corrupt network
hiding sexual misconduct.
Just a litany of inappropriate behavior.
And, yes, there are plenty of stories
that also show you the real Alex Levy.
I agree. And you do hold
the network accountable,
but it's interesting
that Alex is the cover of this book.
And this Alex Levy is
the woman who gave me my career.
Pretty nice of her, isn't it?
But she didn't do it for you, Bradley.
She did it for her.
Well, you don't get to where she is
by making other people's lunch.
I know you know that.
I mean, you're sitting here
because you are publicizing
a very high-profile book
with stories from five, ten, 15 years ago.
But the one story you didn't publish
was the story of a changed woman,
who came to you and begged for mercy,
and you declined.
Instead,
you put her on the cover of your book.
Now, you do know
that Alex and I broke the story
about Fred Micklen
right here on this network.
That we risked our careers
just to get the truth out there.
Yeah, I know you know
because we scooped you, didn't we?
Rightly so.
There's a lot of stories
about Alex Levy in this book,
but I think that's the old Alex Levy.
And I think that people change.
I think people grow.
I know I'm evolving. I wonder if you are.
I'm being told
that it's time for a commercial.
But we will be back
with more Maggie Brener.
What on earth?
You gotta be kidding me.
Thank God.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
You're an interesting girl, Bradley.
What's so interesting about me?
Well, you know, a couple of months ago
when we first met,
all you talked about was
how much you didn't like Alex
and that she was unfair.
No. I didn't say I didn't like Alex.
Well, close enough.
But the point is,
tonight you had the chance to bury her,
but instead, you went
so far out of your way to defend her.
And in the process,
you buried the person who wrote the book
that had everything in it
you wanted exposed.
How does any of that make sense?
Well, I do believe everything I said.
I just... I really don't feel
like Maggie was being fair.
And how I feel about Alex is
of minor relevance.
Well, it was pretty goddamn impressive.
You are impressive in a lot of ways.
Thank you. That's better than interesting.
You know, with my heart condition
and COVID,
I'm gonna go to my place
in Montana for a month or two,
whenever this is over.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, sure. That makes sense.
But I'm gonna miss you. A lot.
You should think about
coming out to stay with me.
But I'm on TV five days a week.
So, give it up. For me.
I don't like it when my woman works.
Are you serious?
No, I'm not serious.
I have a little studio on the ranch.
No. Not that.
Am I your woman?
Well, I'm not gonna lie to you.
You do scare me a little.
Okay.
But, yeah.
Something like that.
- Wow, really? That's timing.
- I'll be right back.
Okay. I'll be in the bedroom.
- Hey, Harry. What can I do for you?
- Someone dropped this off earlier.
Thanks.
I'll get you something, just a minute.
When did they drop this off?
I'm not sure. It was before my shift.
Maybe five or six hours ago.
Can you find out? It's really important.
- Of course.
- Thank you.
Oh, God.
No.
No.
No.
Fuck.
Fuck.
I mean, what can you say,
other than, "Wow"?
Bradley Jackson
did a hell of a job convincing us
that Alex Levy was a changed person
and that we shouldn't
hold her past against her.
But this just happened.
I went to see Mitch in Italy.
I saw him the day that he died.
- The day that he died?
- Oh, God.
I thought she wasn't
in a relationship with him anymore.
That was supposed to be ten years ago.
Not to mention she endangered
her coworkers with a deadly virus.
It brings up some very
uncomfortable questions.
Why was she involved with
a known sexual abuser?
And how did Kessler really die?
First Jeffrey Epstein...
Oh, God.
What? What the fuck?
There's no room inside the hospital.
We are making tents outside the hospital
to care for patients and…
Oh, God.
Doug, what the fuck? What's happening?
Good to hear your voice.
You fell and hit your head
during the night.
Chip found you.
Minor concussion.
And sorry about the other thing.
Yeah. I got canceled.
Well, yeah. But…
They haven't told you?
What? Told me what?
I should let the doctor tell you.
No, no. Come on, Doug.
You're scaring me. Come on.
They tested you in the emergency room,
and you tested positive for COVID.
Fuck.
Fuck.