The Morning Show (2019) s03e08 Episode Script

1
["NEMESIS" PLAYING]
[MUSIC ENDS]
["LOOK AT ME NOW" PLAYING]
[EXHALES SHAKILY]
[PEDESTRIAN] Hey!
Baby killer!
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
[MIA] Well, they picked the grand
jury, so I'm gonna send Yanko
Holy shit.
- Are you okay?
- I guess my post hit a nerve.
And I really liked this coat.
[ALEX SIGHS]
[KNOCKING]
[ASSISTANT] Five minutes, Alex.
Thanks.
[SIGHING] Oh, God.
[NARRATOR] This week
on Alex Unfiltered
Big Data, fake news and the
truth about his top-secret tech.
Nothing's off the table as Hyperion
CEO Paul Marks talks with Alex Levy
about taking UBA into the future.
Join us for this exclusive interview,
Thursday at 8:00, only on UBA+.
I bet nothing's off the table.
I'm more interested in what's
happening under the table.
Do you think they were sleeping
together when they shot this?
I can't believe after Mitch,
she's still pulling this shit.
Okay, I don't think it's
exactly the same thing.
- Did you see the picture?
- [RENA] No.
It's embarrassing.
She's turning us into a joke.
[JOEL] Hey, hey, I've got a joke.
How many narcissists does it
take to screw in a lightbulb?
- Ugh.
- How many?
Just one, but they need
the whole world watching.
- [LAUGHS]
- [ALEX] Really, Joel?
Sorry.
All right. You guys, listen up.
Um, I just have to say
that no matter what goes
on in my personal life,
nothing here in our day-to-day
at TMS is gonna change.
So we don't have time
for bullshit or gossip.
- This SCOTUS story is too important.
- Agreed.
We had a great show today, but
we have to bring it all week.
- [RENA] Mm-hmm.
- [CHIP] Let's get to it.
Who's got copies of the draft opinion?
Does anybody have any
info on the leaker?
Are they all just pointing fingers?
- What's happening?
- I can make copies. I'll I'll do that.
Yeah, that'd be a better use
of your time, Joel. [SCOFFS]
Um, I want Kirsten
Gillibrand on Alex Unfiltered.
They're only gonna give us five
minutes and asked to be on TMS.
They did?
And they will only give us five minutes?
- Honestly. Chip?
- Yeah, I-I'll look into it. Yeah.
[ALEX] Any word from Anita Hill?
I reached out again this morning,
but it's still early, so
All right. Well, call again.
- I'll call too.
- Absolutely.
Look, we're going all in on this, okay?
Hey, um, before you go, everyone's
still good for Thursday, right?
We'll meet in the teacup?
Great. Okay, guys,
back to work. Let's go.
And how is she doing?
We told her to take the day,
just go home, but you know Chris.
[CORY SIGHS]
So, do you think this
is a one-off thing,
or is this, uh, gonna be a problem?
Not sure yet. I'll keep an eye on it.
- Did Alex talk to you since last night?
- [CHUCKLES] No.
- What about Paul?
- He's in Texas right now.
He's coming back on
Thursday for the photo shoot.
Yeah, he's making moves.
Yeah. Seems like everybody is.
Were you ever gonna tell me
that you're the Stanford student?
Would you have done
anything differently?
You know that's why
he offered you my job.
He was worried that you're a problem.
And so he took care of it.
[SIGHS]
I think something's
going on at Hyperion,
something that Paul wants to keep quiet.
Can you be more specific?
- No.
- [SIGHS] Okay.
If Paul wants to sleep
with Alex, so be it.
If he wants to sell their nudes as NFTs,
as long as she consents, I don't care.
His stunts don't matter.
His moves don't matter.
His money matters.
So we are going to close
this deal, no matter what,
and UBA's future is going to be secure.
And I got a $150 million buyout,
so I judge it as too
expensive to fire me.
- Is there anything else?
- No.
[EMPLOYEES CHATTERING]
[LINE RINGING]
Hi. You've reached
Kate. Leave a message.
- [SIGHS] Shit.
- [CALL ENDS]
- [AMANDA] Good morning.
- Good morning.
Just checking on this
employment agreement.
Yeah. Looks good.
My agents are gonna
get back to you shortly.
Great. Wanna get the team in
place before the shareholder vote.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Of course.
I left a message for the head
of legal at Planned Parenthood,
- uh, Linda Right. Okay.
- Constantine. Yeah, I'll follow up. Also, uh,
- Anita Hill's office finally reached out.
- Oh, good.
They said check back with
them in, like, two weeks.
Two weeks?
Look, before you say anything
[SIGHS] I made some calls,
and, um
Anita Hill's doing an in-depth
with Laura Peterson. [SIGHS]
You have got to be kidding me.
It's NBN. The producers are playing
dirty, and I'm just not getting through.
Yeah, well, that's not good
enough. This is your job, Chip.
If NBN is trying to convince
people not to touch me,
it is your job to un-convince them.
I get it, Alex. But I just
[INHALES SHARPLY]
Is that gonna be a problem?
- No.
- Great.
- I will handle it.
- Thank you.
Look, I I wanted to ask
you [STAMMERS, SIGHS]
You didn't respond to Doug's email.
- I was cc'd on it.
- I know. Fucking Doug.
Did you read the statement he drafted?
I thought it was pretty straightforward.
- I mean
- It's not happening.
I am not putting out a
statement about Paul this week.
I get it, Alex. It sucks, okay?
But this is Paul Marks. It's
not some rando from Raya.
We're closing the deal next week, okay?
Th This is a story you have
to get ahead of. You know this.
Chip, this is what they
do. This is what they do.
No. I cannot be the story that
distracts from the actual news.
All right? I will deal with Doug.
You just handle Linda Constantine, okay?
Yeah. Yeah. All right, I'm on it.
Thank you.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- Oh, God. What the fuck?
[BRADLEY] Mmm. NBN just has
better bagels than we do.
They're not from work. I
picked them up on the way.
Oh, that's so sweet.
[CHUCKLES] You thought I
was just standing there,
all mic'ed up, shoving
cream cheese in my bag?
That's what I do every day. I
get all my best snacks at work.
- [CHUCKLES]
- [LAUGHS]
I actually had to duck
out right after we wrapped.
The world's on fire, and all Audra
can talk about is Alex and Paul.
- [GROANS]
- I mean, I agree.
Alex is really crossing a line.
Look, I want her to be happy,
but I I don't even
know what to say to her.
You know, he was sniffing around us too.
I mean, God knows we need the money.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Hmm. Well, maybe you'll
come work at UBA again,
and you can get a little
office next to mine,
and we can make out
in the supply closet.
Mmm. That sounds perfect.
Mmm.
- Okay, I have to go to work.
- [CHUCKLING] Okay.
As much as I'd like to eat bagels.
Where is my robe?
- I don't know how you function.
- I know. I gotta get a closet.
- I don't know, something like that.
- What's this?
Cory's mom gave me that.
When were you with Cory's mom?
Yesterday. It was a work thing.
Honestly, it was very weird.
Yeah.
My boss has never
introduced me to her mom.
Count your blessings. [CHUCKLES]
[LAYLA] You were amazing this morning.
Highest-rated Tuesday in two months.
I didn't love the face full of paint,
but it's not gonna stop
me from going on air.
About that. Um,
we need to talk to you about your
segments going forward, Chris.
Now that I'm a walking,
talking political liability.
[SIGHS] We may need to pull
back on your SCOTUS coverage.
Just for the next couple of weeks.
I'm sorry, you're doing what?
Layla, I thought we said we
were gonna slow-walk this one.
There's slow-walking, and
then there's sugarcoating.
And it might be good to lay off
your socials until this dies down.
[SIGHS] So I say what the
majority of people are thinking,
- and you're punishing me for it?
- No, no, no. We're not punishing you.
We can't guarantee your
safety. Your physical safety.
While you were on air today,
there were some additional threats.
- Oh. Okay.
- [MIA] Right.
There's someone we'd like you to meet.
Preston?
- [MIA] Hey, Preston.
- [LAYLA] Preston's gonna be looking after you.
Pick you up, take you door-to-door,
anything else you need.
Nice to meet you.
You know I already have a driver.
Preston will be escorting you
from the lobby to your car,
from the car into your home.
Until all this blows over.
You gotta be kidding me.
- [STELLA] Hey.
- Hey.
- Am I interrupting?
- No, not at all. Come on in.
Have a seat.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
I have an old friend who works for Paul.
Used to.
She just got fired, but I don't
think it's because she fucked up.
- Okay.
- She came to see me,
and I think she was trying to tell
me something about his company.
And I I didn't
I shut her down.
- And now she won't return my calls.
- Oh.
Wait, do you do you think
she wants to be a whistleblower?
I don't know. But I
need you to find out.
- Okay.
- And for obvious reasons, I can't ask Alex.
Yeah. Of course, of course.
She might talk to you.
You have a certain profile.
You're not afraid to
take down powerful men.
Look, Kate was my best friend.
And when I saw her [STAMMERS]
I don't know what's going on.
- She seemed fragile and manic
- Okay.
- and desperate
- Yeah. I hear you, Stella. I know. Okay.
I hear your concerns.
Uh, I'm just worried
because the last time I pushed
a woman to talk about her trauma,
she ended her life.
Hannah Schoenfeld didn't
kill herself because of you.
Well, I can't I can't do that.
Not again.
What happened to Hannah was terrible.
Period.
But in the end, you did the right thing.
You held those men accountable.
Call Kate. Please.
- [CELL PHONE RINGING]
- [SIGHS]
- Hey.
- [AMANDA] Stella's on board.
I'll chase the paperwork.
- Good.
- Now all we need is a long-range rocket
that goes where we tell it to.
Well, if this test goes
well, we're on our way.
How much shit is Alex taking?
Hey, I came on board with you
because I want to do
something bigger than myself,
bigger than humanity.
"The world is too fucking
small." That's what you said.
You want to get your bird wet? Fine.
But when you lose focus,
the mission suffers.
Well, I think my focus is just fine.
Good. I was beginning to worry.
[PAUL SIGHS]
You've been smiling a lot.
It unnerves me.
You take care of your end,
I'll take care of mine.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
So, when I I finally
went home, my wife had left.
She had taken everything that was
hers, and the house was, uh, blank.
I don't even know how long she'd
been gone. It could have been weeks.
I had to take a pretty
hard look at myself.
The way I treated other people.
The cost of what I was doing.
There. Pause it there.
Right there. Sorry.
- What?
- [STAMMERS] Oh, nothing.
I was just thinking how great
it'll be for the grandchildren,
having the moment that
they fell in love on tape.
Cory, you're very funny, but
what the hell am I supposed to do?
You You wanna You wanna
pull the the reaction shot?
Turn Alex into a robot?
Come on. Everybody's gonna
know we fucked with the edit.
[CHUCKLING] Well, they'll
know someone fucked.
[CHUCKLES]
You know, Alex should be
here. She has final cut.
Okay. Yeah, I'll talk to her.
Just please remember that you and me
and every other warm-blooded Alex
Levy fan watching this interview knows
that they end up in bed together.
You cut that casting couch dig
and the abandoned husband routine,
and we have ratings gold.
It's true, Chip. You know that.
Asshole.
[LINE RINGING]
[KATE] Hello?
Hey, uh, is this Kate Danton?
Who is this?
This is Bradley Jackson
from UBA Evening News.
I'm wondering if you'd want
to talk about Paul Marks.
Wrong number.
[CALL ENDS]
[SIGHS] Shit.
[BUZZER SOUNDS]
[CREW CHATTERING]
So, how are things going with Bradley?
Is it #Ladley 2.0?
[CHUCKLES]
- They're good. Yeah.
- Yeah, but is it, like, honeymoony,
or did it feel like you were
picking up where you left off?
Well [SIGHS] we left off by
breaking up, so it's definitely easier.
[CHUCKLES]
I mean, the only problem is that
I'm out the door before she's awake,
and then by the time I'm coming
home, she's heading out the door,
- so
- Yeah.
Though apparently,
she spent an entire day with
Cory Ellison and his mother.
Oh, my God, I knew they had a thing.
They didn't have a
thing. There was no thing.
- Bradley would have told me.
- Yeah, but you said that he was into her.
And he is oddly compelling
in a kind of Patrick Bateman
in a vinyl raincoat kind of way.
[SCOFFS]
Laura. She is not going to tell
you if they've ever been together.
She's just not.
And, honestly, when was the
last time you spent an entire day
with the mother of someone
you weren't sleeping with?
You should read her emails.
Audra, come on. I'm not
going through her phone.
And you won't have to. Everything's
online 'cause of the hack.
It takes some serious digging, but
you can find it all on one website.
I'm gonna send you a link.
[CREW MEMBER] Okay, let's do a mic test.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[UBA CREW MEMBER] Okay. Last
segment, guys. Let's bring it in.
[YANKO] We're good? Thank you.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Do I have to ask, or do
you just wanna tell me?
Someone spray-painted Saint
Patrick's Cathedral with the words
from my SCOTUS post
right on the front door.
[STAMMERS] These people.
Who defaces a church?
[STAMMERS] Well, you wanted
to send a message, so
- Yanko.
- What?
I didn't ask for this.
Chris, you have two million followers.
- What do you think they're all gonna do?
- [SCOFFS]
Just sit back and clap politely
when you tell the Supreme Court
- to abort itself? I'm just saying.
- Okay, nope. Nope.
- I literally cannot with this today.
- I'm just saying. You know?
And what about all those
people who want to adopt? Huh?
Do you have any idea how hard it is to
- make it through that screening process?
- Yanko.
- Well, do you [STAMMERS]
- Stop.
Five, four, three
And welcome back. And
in just a few moments,
I'm gonna be talking to Hope Ballard,
a former clerk to Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
She's gonna give us an inside take
on how the court might be reacting
to this historic leak. And Chris?
And right now, I'll be chatting with
the winners of UBA's breakout hit,
Wedding Cake Wars.
- Congratulations, Todd and Andrew.
- Thank you.
What do you want her
to do? Apologize on air?
She's gonna have to start
reporting on Roe at some point.
What?
This massive story breaks,
and she makes it about her?
What did Chris think was gonna
happen when she made that post?
I don't think she was
making it about her.
She said what a lot of us are feeling.
[UBA CREW MEMBER 2] Go one.
- What the André. Mother
- [STAMMERS] What's wrong?
Can you cover for me?
I'll be right back.
[DOOR OPENS]
I'm sure everyone back home
is is super proud of you.
We need to go to commercial so that I
can have some alone time with this cake.
We'll be right back.
What the fuck? What the fucking fuck?
You're in New York? On fucking YDA?
You can reach out to my agent
if you want me on your show.
Really? Really?
Or you could send a
gift basket to my hotel.
"Dear André. Thank you for all of
your hard work behind enemy lines."
That That'd be nice.
You're fucking unbelievable.
You do not text. You do not call.
You fucking disappeared.
I thought you were dead.
[SIGHS] I was trying to keep
my ass out of a fucking gulag.
Getting pictures for you, Mia.
Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare.
- Well, it's the truth, isn't it?
- You wanted to go. You always wanna go.
You choose work over everything else
because you are a
middle-aged adrenaline junkie
who would rather bounce between wars
[INHALES SHAKILY]
than commit to a zip code.
[FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING]
Alex Levy. Just who I was looking for.
Oh, and you found me in my
office. Way to go, Columbo.
- [CHUCKLES] Good.
- [ALEX CHUCKLES]
- How are things? [SIGHS]
- [SIGHS]
If you're gonna tell me that I
should've kept it in my pants, then
[CHUCKLES] No, no, no.
I'm here to talk to
you about your hit show.
So, Chip and I, we just, uh,
recut your interview with Paul
in light of the recent revelations.
I want you to have a look
at it when you have a chance.
Yeah. Um, I don't need to
take a look. I'm bumping it.
Yeah, about that, we
We've been running promos
all weekend, so it's really
Yeah. Well, I'm pivoting.
We just booked the head of
legal at Planned Parenthood.
So [CLICKS TONGUE] she
will be my guest this week.
Hmm.
We have a shareholder vote on the deal,
and your little make-out
session with the prom king
is creating a massive
perception problem.
So, pulling the interview
that you insisted on and that
we have hyped relentlessly
Sorry. No, we can't.
Mm-hmm.
Cory, we are covering
the most important story for
American women in 50 years.
- Believe me, I get it.
- Uh-huh.
My mother has instilled
in me the belief that, uh,
what a woman chooses to do with
her body, that is her business.
Yeah. Which is exactly why
gossip about my private
life should be off the table.
Come on, Cory.
- Understood. [CLICKS TONGUE] Fine.
- Mm-hmm.
We will run the interview next week.
And I will need to take
a look at that edit.
[STAMMERS, CHUCKLES] Alex, you
know, I don't have to do this.
[STAMMERS] I'm trying to play nice here.
[CLICKS TONGUE] Aw.
Well, listen, the deal
will be closing very soon,
so you'll be answering
to new management.
- [CORY SIGHS] Oh.
- [SIGHS]
You never cease to surprise me, Alex.
You are on the verge
of getting everything
you ever wanted out of this place.
Power in your own right.
And you choose instead to be
the girlfriend, the plus-one.
- [SCOFFS]
- And that's not me talking.
That is, sadly, the, uh,
patriarchal cesspool that we live in.
But now, I can promise you
every decision you make at UBA,
it'll be pulled apart and
scrutinized by the public.
Not to mention everybody
in this building.
Ain't love grand?
Mmm. Don't forget to shut
the door on your way out.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Boop.
Asshole.
[KNOCKING]
[RJ] Mel said you ordered this. I
thought you didn't like this place.
- I don't.
- Hmm. Sorry. Somebody messed up.
This order says it's for Kate D.
Oh, w wait a second. Yeah.
- Okay. Enjoy.
- Okay. Thanks.
[KATE] Don't turn around.
Kate?
I will talk on the
record, but only to you.
Okay. Can I Can I
record this conversation?
Tomorrow night, eight o'clock.
The Theater at City Tech in Brooklyn.
Just you.
I'll tell you everything
I know about Hyperion.
Okay.
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
[PHONE BUZZES]
Hey.
- [PAUL] Why are you up?
- Well, what are you doing up?
Mmm, I've got an engine
test in a few hours.
Everything okay there?
I just wanted you to know that
I had to pull our interview
so I could focus on SCOTUS.
Okay. [SIGHS]
- You don't think that dodges the issue?
- Yeah. Too late.
That issue is already everywhere.
Everybody's just fucking whispering
and gossiping, and it's just maddening.
It's so maddening.
I'm sorry.
I'm assuming none of that's
happening where you are?
No. No, it isn't.
Look [STAMMERS, SIGHS]
if you're having second
thoughts about this
[STAMMERS] if you wanna
pump the brakes, we can
No, no, no, of course I don't.
[SIGHS]
I just, you know
Yeah, I know. Me too.
Levy, you need to sleep.
Someone's gotta tell
the people about all
- the shitty things happening in the world.
- [SCOFFS]
I know. Trigger laws wait for no one.
[SIGHS]
- I gotta go.
- Okay.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- So, how many people hate my guts today?
- [LAYLA] Fifty-seven.
- That's it?
- Well, fan mail ain't what it used to be.
[SIGHS]
This one was nice at least.
She asked for a signed photo.
[CHRIS] Hmm.
"Dear Chris, you
inspire me to do my best.
This year I'm going to be the
anchor in the 4-by-100 relay.
Maybe someday Team USA."
That's sweet. [SIGHS]
Planned Parenthood dropped
out? What the fuck, Chip?
- I know. I'm sorry. Linda apologized.
- [SIGHS]
You were supposed to take care of NBN.
- I don't understand what's happening.
- I tried.
Everybody's going after
the same interview subjects.
- I mean, it's brutal out there.
- Jesus, God.
But look, I got some alts, okay?
- What about Tara Spitz?
- [SIGHS]
The rep from Missouri?
- Yeah. State's got a trigger ban.
- [SIGHS] No, no.
She's a She's an opportunist,
and all she cares about is airtime
for her reelection campaign.
Okay, there's James Scanlon,
- constitutional professor from Princeton.
- Okay.
Interesting idea about an
interview about women's bodies.
- Let's try to book a woman, please.
- Fine. Jess Bennett, okay?
She's a cofounder of that
online magazine The Break.
They just broke that huge story
about Rebekah Mercer
backstabbing the CEO of Parler.
- I mean, it's
- Come on, Chip.
This is about overturning
Roe, the legacy of the court.
The Break is glorified gossip.
- Respectfully, she's gonna have a take.
- Mm-hmm.
She did a post during the
whole Merrick Garland fiasco
predicting that that could
lead to the end of Roe.
She was the first one to call it.
Okay. All right, that's interesting.
Mm-hmm. She can kind of read the
tea leaves on this stuff, okay?
Plus, it won't be the same,
like, you know, center-left,
institutional apologist bullshit
that everybody else is gonna run.
God. I prepped for Planned Parenthood.
I know, I know. But look, we
got an hour until we shoot, okay?
I've read a ton of the stuff. I got you.
Wear an earpiece. It's gonna be fine.
All right, fine. Fine.
- Just get me everything you have on her.
- All right. I'm on it.
This week's Supreme Court
leak raised a number of issues.
Among them, the issue of minority rule.
In theory, democracy
is one person, one vote.
But in the case of the Supreme
Court, nine unelected individuals
control deeply private
aspects of American life.
Jess, you wrote a piece, back in 2016,
predicting that Roe would be overturned
way before anybody else saw this coming.
Well, I just looked at the
clues, and I did the math.
Mm-hmm. And it would
seem like this ruling
could also threaten other liberties,
such as gay marriage, for example.
Absolutely. Uh, this is
really just the beginning.
And there is no doubt
that these nine unelected individuals
have disproportionate power.
Though, I would argue that when
we're talking about minority rule,
the real problem that we're facing
is from billionaires and dark money.
I mean, in terms of social control,
these people have this
outsized influence in media
- that frankly scares the shit out of me.
- Mmm.
I think the fourth estate
is in serious trouble.
Ask about Bezos.
Uh, is the fourth estate in trouble?
I mean, Jeff Bezos bought
The Washington Post,
- and by all accounts, he's stayed hands-off.
- [JESS] Sure, for now.
But Wall Street has made
these guys impossibly rich,
and the bull market's
about to jump off a cliff.
So, what happens when the music stops?
Okay. Um, going back
to the Supreme Court
- [JESS] Right. Populated by judges
- Um
who are selected by politicians
who are controlled by lobbyists
who are funded by billionaires.
It's a direct line.
You can't talk about these
things inside of a vacuum.
And what happens when the infrastructure
of public discourse is
owned by private enterprises?
Take UBA for example. Paul Marks
hasn't even bought this place yet
Jess, we're talking about Roe.
- No, we're talking about unchecked power.
- [SCOFFS]
I'm talking about how women confront
power in the era of minority rule.
I'm sorry. But if a reporter
hooks up with a billionaire
who is buying her media company,
people are going to ask questions.
Like, "Is she actually capable
of speaking truth to power?"
You know that I'm not
the news this week.
Nor is UBA or Paul Marks.
We're here to talk about millions
of women who are losing
control over their bodies.
Sure. But you did just prove my point.
The story is whatever you
decide it is. You and Paul Marks.
[SCOFFS]
To be frank, I did not want to talk
about my private life this week.
I did not want to distract
from the actual news.
- Mmm.
- [BREATHES DEEPLY]
So, can we, before this news
cycle moves on to the next horror,
just for five minutes,
focus on women's rights?
Okay.
What happened to "I'll be in your ear"?
You just stood there with your dick in
your hand like you didn't give a shit.
It looks like you handled it, okay?
- So I
- [SCOFFS] Handled it?
I'm not supposed to handle
it. That's not my job.
She obviously came here to fuck with me
and get more clicks for her blog.
You didn't catch up on
that in the preinterview?
I don't know. I think she
raised some issues that, frankly,
- honestly, people are curious about.
- Uh-huh.
I find it a little hard to believe
you couldn't see that coming.
- Oh, you're un-fucking-believable. [SIGHS]
- Hey. D Don't put this on me.
- You set yourself up for this, okay?
- Okay.
- Oh, I did? Okay. [CHUCKLES]
- Yes.
You refused to put out a statement,
and you fucking pulled the interview.
An interview that you
edited behind my back.
Yeah, you wouldn't listen to anybody.
Send in Doug. I come in. Cory comes in.
You refuse to speak to any of us.
- Oh, right, the three wise men.
- Okay.
- I'm sorry. My bad. Got it.
- Oh, God.
You know what? Two years I've
spent of my life building this show,
and turns out all it takes is
one negligent producer to just
You would not have a show
if it wasn't for me, okay?
- Alex Unfiltered was my idea.
- [SCOFFS]
- Okay.
- I rebrand you.
I do it over and over again.
You're fucking lucky that I do.
- 'Cause guess what.
- Mmm.
Anything good that comes along,
you just light a little fire
- and explode it right away.
- Oh, I see. Sure, I do.
Sleeping with the boss only
works until it doesn't, Alex.
- Mitch was not my boss!
- Yeah, well, he was everybody else's.
Oh, okay. Said the
guy who I walked in on
- fucking my assistant in my very own home.
- Oh, God.
Well, great. You fixed that. You
don't have to deal with that anymore.
You fucked it up too. Congratulations.
[WHIMPERS, BREATHES DEEPLY]
Okay, I [STAMMERING]
I can't do this anymore.
You're fired.
[STAMMERS] Come
Alex, come on. You w
- Alex
- Get out.
[SIGHS] Mmm.
[SIGHS]
Just so you know, um
You know, I never had COVID.
I came into your apartment, I
saw you crumpled up on the floor,
and, um [SCOFFS]
I did what I always do.
You know, I rescued you.
I guess you don't need that anymore.
And neither do I. Yeah.
[BREATHES SHAKILY] Oh. [SIGHS]
You're gonna be late for
the fucking photo shoot.
- They can wait.
- [AMANDA] Jesus, fuck.
How much booze have you had?
- [PAUL] Not enough.
- I heard it was bad.
- It was a fucking disaster. [SNIFFLES]
- I mean
We're not gonna make the
launch. Not at this rate. [SIGHS]
I heard you lost it in
front of a lot of people.
It was the fucking bleed.
We should've caught it months ago,
but we were all focused on
the hydrogen leak. [SNIFFLES]
NASA's gonna pull out.
If I fail at this, all anyone's
gonna talk about is my privilege.
My fucking privilege.
As if I'm from some trust
fund with some safety net.
[SIGHS]
If I fuck this up, then what's waiting?
Come on.
[CAR DOOR LOCK BEEPS]
- [CAR DOOR CLOSES]
- [AMANDA] There's a Duane Reade
five minutes from here.
We're gonna need gum, Gatorade,
Red Bull and deodorant.
Let's go.
Fuck it. Okay.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
- Thank you.
- [MAKEUP ARTIST] Of course.
He walks among us.
Cory. [SIGHS] Sorry I'm late.
Hi.
- [MAKEUP ARTIST] Hi.
- [SIGHS]
Thank you.
[STADIUM CROWD CHEERING]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[CHEERING FADES]
[SIGHS]
[PHOTOGRAPHER] Good.
Shoulder to shoulder.
[SIGHS] I didn't know there
was a pregame for this.
You just need to loosen up,
or was there a lover's quarrel?
How about, uh, don't concern
yourself with my personal life.
- Mmm. [CHUCKLES]
- Can you guys both face me?
Hey, you wanna fuck the
talent, go right ahead.
But rolling up here like this?
- Don't fuck the deal.
- Or what? You'll leave? [CHUCKLES]
- Okay, guys, give me one sec.
- Yeah, why don't you take a couple?
You know what, Cory? You're a small man.
I didn't really notice it at first,
but after the last few months of
staring at the top of your head,
I kinda can't unsee it now.
Yeah, boy.
The hooch makes him hateful.
Or maybe it's the air up there.
It must be a little
thin, 'cause hypoxia,
- it can mess with your brain function.
- Oh, yeah.
[SIGHS]
You think this is gonna
be easy, don't you?
You green-light a couple shows,
you come to a couple premieres,
and then you fuck back off
to your little desert lair.
UBA is not a hobby.
You're not making sourdough
starter in a mason jar.
It's bankers breathing down your neck.
It's ad boys pulling a hundred million
in Viagra ads from your NFL playoff game
because Pfizer just lost
the patent for hard-ons.
And when the Wall Street vultures
start circling, and they will,
you will need my counsel.
And, uh, I don't know.
With that attitude of yours,
I don't know where I'll be.
- [SCOFFS]
- And when it all goes south,
I don't see Alex sticking by.
Hmm. That's interesting.
You You talk a lot about Alex,
but she doesn't really ever mention you.
[GRUNTS]
["FORGET" PLAYING]
What the fuck?
Jesus.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Oh, my God.
Fucking hell.
[PANTING]
[SONG CONTINUES]
[SIGHS]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[BRADLEY] At 12:53 p.m., the
outer perimeter is breached.
Imagine, complete chaos within the
walls of this monument to democracy.
No one knows where to go or what to do.
[SIGHS]
You're back. That's a relief.
Yeah. Well, we still have a
few months before the launch.
We just need more cash.
Gonna run some numbers. I
think I see a way out of this.
There's something else.
When we let Kate Danton go,
she told everyone she
was headed to Palo Alto.
- And?
- And she flew to New York instead.
I called her today,
and she didn't answer.
Do you think she could be a problem?
I don't know. Maybe.
[SIGHS]
[PHONE RINGING, BUZZING]
- Hey.
- [LAURA] Bradley, hey.
Um, listen, I might be a little late
tonight because we have a thing at TMS.
Actually, I'm at my place.
I'm not feeling so great.
Oh, no. [STAMMERS] Do
you think it's COVID?
No, I don't think so. I tested negative.
But I'm gonna sleep here, just in case.
Oh. O Okay, well, let me
know if I can bring you anything.
Yeah, I will.
Um, I just need some time.
Okay.
Laura?
I love you. Y You know
that, right? [CHUCKLES]
I love you too.
Okay. [SIGHS] Feel better.
[SIGHS]
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
- [CREW MEMBER 2] Hey, Yanko. How are you?
- Hey. What's up?
Hey. You're here late.
Yeah. Um, just taking a minute.
Oh, my God. What happened?
Did you hurt yourself?
[GROANS, CHUCKLES]
I went for a run to clear my head,
and I managed to fuck up my leg.
- Oh.
- Mmm.
Yeah, I've never DNF'ed.
- [CHRIS GRUNTS]
- DNF'ed?
It means "did not finish."
It's stupid, but it wasn't a
It wasn't a race or
anything that Yeah.
You miss being out there?
Yeah.
But I do not belong
on that track anymore.
No matter how much I
train, it's not coming back.
Yeah.
I dream of the final
lap, the final turn.
Passing on the outside.
- I never get caught. [CHUCKLES]
- [CHUCKLES]
Hey, look, about yesterday.
What What I said. [STAMMERS]
It's none of my business.
It's no And I'm I wanna
apologize. I was way out of line.
Yes. You were.
But there are a lot of things
we're never gonna agree on.
I know. I know. But you're my
colleague, and I screwed up.
You know? And you got so
much going on as it is, and
Did you really try to adopt a kid?
You know, you can always babysit
mine if you really wanna try it on.
It might change your mind.
[BOTH CHUCKLING]
Hey, we're all gonna get
together in a few minutes.
You wanna come join?
I didn't think that that
was something I should go to.
Not at all. Come on.
We'd love to have you.
You're part of the family.
Yeah.
[KNOCKING]
Is this a bad time?
[SIGHS] Yeah, actually.
[INHALES DEEPLY] I'm sorry. [SIGHS]
For not calling.
For going on YDA. I I
know how much you hate them.
You can go on YDA.
You can go on Eagle News.
You don't owe me anything.
I I'm just glad you're safe.
Even though I'm a middle-aged
adrenaline junkie who, uh [CHUCKLES]
- Can't commit to a zip code. Yeah.
- That was it.
That was a good one.
[CHUCKLES]
It was a good one.
Do you know what I was thinking
when I was laid up in that hospital?
- No.
- I was thinking about how much
of a shit I was to you about Mitch.
How maybe I deserved to get hit.
And [SIGHS, SCOFFS]
I thought a lot about
being at your place with you.
Why are you here, André?
I miss you.
[BREATHES SHAKILY] Huh.
So, what, you wanna try again?
Yeah, maybe.
You're not changing for me.
I'm not changing for you.
This is who we are.
[SIGHS] I always do this.
I always give myself
to people like you.
Men who say the right things
and then, you know, they
pull away when you need them.
[BREATHES SHAKILY]
I can't do it anymore.
Mia.
We can't do this here.
This is where I work.
Then we'll go somewhere else. Talk.
No, I can't. I have a thing.
Okay.
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
Where you wanna go?
It doesn't matter.
Just come with me.
[MIA] Mmm.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[GROANS] Ugh. Fucking hell. Thank God.
Hi.
Hey there. [SIGHS]
- You okay?
- [CHUCKLES]
Oh, boy. Looks like you
had as good a week as I had.
- Something like that.
- Mmm.
Come here.
Yeah. It was a total shit show.
Oh, shit.
We'll be lucky if we make
the summer launch. [SIGHS]
Honestly. It's just not looking good.
- [SIGHS]
- Oh, God. I'm so sorry.
- [GROANS]
- Tell me about you.
Well, my colleagues don't
think that I can do my job
and be with you at the same time.
That's ridiculous.
They've been absolutely awful.
[SIGHS]
And I fired Chip.
- Oh. Wow.
- Mm-hmm.
I know. [INHALES SHARPLY]
And I've just been sitting here
thinking, you know, maybe it's time.
Maybe it's just time I
finally leave this place.
I don't have anyone over there anymore,
and it just doesn't
feel like a home anymore.
I don't know. I just don't
think it's worth saving.
I'm sorry. This is not
what you wanted to hear.
No, no, no.
What if we went in a
different direction?
- What do you mean?
- Well, I've been thinking about UBA
as this long-term investment.
Pays off in ten, 15,
20 years down the line.
But [INHALES SHARPLY] it
doesn't really make any sense anymore.
- You know, you're not happy.
- Mm-hmm.
And I'm gonna need to start throwing
a ton of money at Hyperion very soon.
What if we sell?
- Sell? UBA?
- [SIGHS]
Right after the deal goes through.
[STAMMERS] The whole thing.
- We There's no more sports division.
- [SIGHS]
No more UBA+. You sell
off the scripted content.
You sell off the movie franchises,
the NFL contracts. All of it.
Then we start over from the ground up.
We build something new on
our terms centered on news.
[ALEX] Mm-hmm.
Exactly the way we want.
You're serious.
You have been wanting to
run things for a long time.
[ALEX] Mm-hmm.
Maybe you start right now.
Mm-hmm.
["DANCING IN THE DARK" PLAYING]
[AMANDA] This needs to be
off-book. Nothing in writing.
No paper trail before the deal closes.
We need to know the actual
value of UBA's assets.
The content library,
the licenses, all of it.
Well, it sounds like
you're planning a fire sale.
You want to put the
old girl out to pasture?
I'd be happy to help.
[SONG CONTINUES]
[CHATTERING]
- [CHIP] Donny.
- Hey, Chip.
- How are you?
- [CHIP] Good to see you, guys.
Hey.
[DONNY] Yeah.
Hey, guys.
- Thanks for coming.
- Hey, Chip.
- [BREATHING SHAKILY]
- How you doing? You doing okay?
[WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY]
- Hey.
- Hey. [SIGHS]
You okay?
Uh [SIGHS] I don't know.
Uh [CHUCKLES] Alex just fired me.
- What?
- [SIGHS]
Are you serious?
It's a long story.
Well [STAMMERS] what happened?
Paul Marks happened.
- Oh, my God.
- [SIGHS]
All right. [SIGHS]
Um
Look, I I might call you about
something that I need your help with.
Uh, yeah, sure.
I mean, my schedule's
wide open, so [CHUCKLES]
- Okay, look, I'm sorry.
- [SIGHS]
Thanks.
- [JULIA] Is Mia coming?
- Uh, I don't know.
I checked her office, but I guess not.
There you go.
Thanks, honey.
[BREATHES DEEPLY, CLICKS TONGUE]
Um, first, I just want to thank
everyone for taking the time
out of this crazy
week t-to come tonight.
I think one of the hardest things
about this pandemic, for me,
was not being able to honor the
anniversary all together in person.
[BREATHES SHAKILY]
So I'm really grateful
that we could gather this year.
To Hannah.
[OTHERS] To Hannah.
To Hannah.
[SONG CONTINUES]