Diksha Sundriyal
Apple TV+’s ‘The Morning Show’ follows the drama surrounding the eponymous news show with Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy and Reese Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson at its centre. The second season introduces an accomplished journalist named Laura Peterson, who enters the picture with the intent of interviewing Alex about her former colleague, Mitch Kessler, and ends up falling for Bradley. Their romantic relationship reaches a breaking point in the third season, but despite their breakup, Laura remains an integral part of the show’s storyline. In fact, the Season 3 finale shows the merger of the Morning Show’s network, UBA, and Laura’s news network, NBN. This would have put her in a more consolidating role in the series, which is what makes her absence from Season 4 even more surprising. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Season 3 Merger Sheds Light on Laura’s Absence from Season 4
The fourth season of ‘The Morning Show’ picks up two years after the events of the third season. By this time, a lot of changes have taken place within the network. To begin with, UBA is now UBN, which indicates its merger with NBN, but also shows that UBA has managed to be the dominant force in the deal. Halfway through the episode, when Mia shows up at Bradley’s door to offer her the job in the show again, she mentions that “NBN News spun off” and “Laura’s gone.”
This proves that the management of UBA managed to have the upper hand in the merger, despite their situation when the deal took place. They have not only managed to keep most of their staff, but they have also brought in NBN’s talent to enrich their new journey. This means that most of NBN’s management is gone, with a new board taking over UBN, which is why, perhaps, Laura is also out of the picture. No specific reason behind Laura’s departure is mentioned, but it’s clear that she is somewhere else doing her own thing.
Julianna Margulies Decided Not to Return for The Morning Show Season 4
The reason that Laura is absent from Season 4 has to do with the direction that the plot took for the next chapter in the story of ‘The Morning Show.’ Reportedly, Julianna Margulies had been offered a return to the show, but her role would be limited to just one episode. The actress decided not to go forward with it, and her departure from the series, at least for the fourth season, was announced in June 2024. The announcement came around the same time that Margulies found herself at the centre of a controversy following her remarks in a podcast where she reportedly made derogatory comments about the Black and LGBTQ community in the context of the situation in Gaza.
She later issued an apology for her remarks, saying that she did not intend for her “words to sow further division” and called “racism, homophobia, sexism, or any prejudice against anyone’s personal beliefs or identity” abhorrent. While the fans wondered if this controversy was a reason for her removal from Season 4, the creators of the show clarified that the decision to keep Laura out of Season 4 was made prior to Margulies’ comments in the podcast, which had no influence on her character’s fate in the show. Laura’s absence from Season 4 does not mean that we have seen the last of her. Reportedly, Margulies was asked about her interest in returning for the fifth season, which was renewed ahead of the Season 4 premiere.
Previously, the show’s creators also expressed their desire to explore Laura’s role further in the series, focusing on her storyline independent of Bradley. Margulies, too, has a soft spot for the character, whom she described as a smart, confident, and accomplished character, which was incredibly fun to play. She has talked about her love for Laura and the privilege of playing such a deeply layered character, which has received a lot of love from the LGBTQ community, suggesting that she might be interested in coming back to play Laura if the writers do her justice. Perhaps, in the fifth season, the writers will create more space to delve into her storyline, potentially marking Margulies’ return to ‘The Morning Show.’
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