'Morning Show' reviews: Critics say Apple's newsroom drama is 'brutally dull,' a 'snore'

This just in! Reviews for "The Morning Show," that is. 

The star-studded Apple TV+ series featuring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell follows a newsroom that is rocked by a sexual misconduct scandal, similar to the real-life drama involving former "Today" co-anchor Matt Lauer. 

Most critics, however, say the show's muddled storyline is lacking, despite the star power. "Morning Show" has a Metacritic rating of 57 out of 100 and is listed as 57% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg says the cast couldn't mask the series' failed attempt to "find its focus, tone and attitude toward its main characters." He called the first episode "brutally dull" and concluded the "meandering second episode" wasn't much better.

Only in the third episode does the series get "more satisfying and confident," but is it too late? Fienberg asks, "Did the behemoths at Apple really get into the crowded original TV marketplace to become the latest perpetrator of 'It eventually gets better!' patience-testing?" 

Jennifer Aniston returns to TV in Apple's 'Morning Show' trailer with Carrell and Witherspoon

IndieWire's Ben Travers writes "stars do not make a TV show – a fact that becomes clearer with each episode, as fleeting speeches about the state of TV news and the hypocrisy of the #MeToo scandal fail to coalesce into a meaningful story."

"But hey, it looks beautiful," Travers adds.

He compares the series to the 2015 film "The Big Short," "except nothing is said straight-to-camera and nearly everything is boring."

Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall says the Apple series is "a well-polished snore, a prime example of how throwing money at a problem…isn’t inherently the best way to solve it." (The series had a reported $15 million-per-episode budget.)

More: Jennifer Aniston studied Matt Lauer's last 'Today' appearance for 'Morning Show' inspiration

Other critics called out the series' lack of diversity, as it focuses on anchors Alex Levy (Aniston) and Bradley Jackson (Witherspoon), both middle-aged white women. 

New York Post's Robert Rorke describes the series as a "racially tone-deaf dive into the shark tank of television news."

"Look at the top network morning shows and you will see the faces of Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb, Gayle King and Robin Roberts. In a damning piece of Hollywood myopia, we have two elite white actresses sharing anchor duties," he says. "Several minority characters are passed over for the position, and this narrative blunder exacerbates the overall dated look and feel of 'The Morning Show.'"

The reviews weren't all negative.

The AV Club's Alex McLevy says the show "has the addictive rush of great old-school TV dramas" despite a slow start. It's "funny, biting, and with just the right dose of trashy zing, this is high-gloss soap – 'Broadcast News' meets 'L.A. Law.'"

McLevy adds that "the only thing keeping Aniston from being the best part of this series is (Billy) Crudup," who plays network executive Cory Ellison.

The first three episodes of "The Morning Show" premiere on Apple TV+ Friday, while the remaining seven episodes will be released weekly.  

Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff

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