The Morning Show, You’re Killing Me With This Iran Story Line

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Be warned: the following contains spoilers for the second episode of season four of *The Morning Show*, titled “The Revolution Will Be Televised,” which aired on Apple TV+ on September 24th.

Though *The Morning Show* focuses on news and the people who deliver it, the show isn’t concerned with being realistic. Over its first three seasons, current events were consistently exaggerated for dramatic or comedic effect. Mitch Kessler, the disgraced former host, constantly plotted a comeback before his dramatic exit, while Bradley Jackson unexpectedly encountered her brother during the January 6th Capitol riot and then covered up his involvement. Even the show’s visual metaphors were heavy-handed – a spaceship belonging to the villainous Paul Marks was overtly phallic, mirroring his personality. It’s hard to take the show seriously, but even compared to its usual over-the-top approach, the fourth season’s storyline centered around Iran feels particularly problematic. It’s a xenophobic and tasteless plot that makes previous outlandish moments seem subtle by comparison.

The new season of *The Morning Show* begins with Alex Levy facing professional challenges. Following a merger, Alex now has financial responsibility at UBN, including an $8 billion investment in Olympic coverage and artificial intelligence for the newsroom. This adds pressure to a crucial interview she’s conducting with Iranian fencer Roya Nazeri. Everyone is anxious about the sensitivity of interviewing someone from a government considered hostile, and the new head of sports, Ben, finds the Iranian delegation’s insistence on sticking to the script unsettling. However, Alex is confident, having covered more difficult situations before. Her main concern is ensuring the interview isn’t seen as supportive of Iran’s morality police, who are represented by Roya’s stern, conservatively dressed security team. The show quickly establishes a clear distinction: the security team embodies a negative portrayal of Iranian religious figures, focused on controlling women, while Roya, with her relatable desire to meet Timothée Chalamet, is presented as more westernized and therefore, more sympathetic. This immediately creates a simplistic ‘good versus bad’ dynamic.

The season kicks into high gear with a thrilling escape. Roya’s father, Arsham, secretly tells Alex he wants to defect, and after a moment of hesitation, she helps them. Alex abruptly ends the interview by pulling the fire alarm, allowing Roya and Arsham to flee through strobe-lit hallways while a siren blares. Iranian guards quickly give chase, leading to a car accident. The show uses slow motion to emphasize the relief Roya and Arsham feel once they’re safely in Alex’s SUV. Alex’s actions immediately cause an international uproar. UBN executives and the U.S. government accuse her of working with the family, especially since Arsham is involved with Iran’s nuclear program and there’s existing video of Alex discussing defection plans. This is the most intense situation *The Morning Show* has ever faced, even surpassing the newsroom hostage crisis. The show establishes Iran as the main antagonist, though the portrayal feels somewhat simplistic.

While the Iranian government certainly has its issues, the show *The Morning Show* unfairly portrays Iran and Iranians as inherently suspicious and dangerous. It presents unverified claims as facts, painting anyone connected to the country as either deceitful or malicious. This extends to depicting Iran as a cartoonishly evil force, and is especially evident in how the show dismissively refers to the serious and ongoing violence in Gaza as a simple “Iran-Israel standoff.” The show’s lack of objectivity is further highlighted by a shockingly inaccurate depiction of reporting from Gaza, showing a clear unwillingness to engage with the complexities of the situation and a disregard for journalistic accuracy.

Honestly, I was hoping *The Morning Show* would offer a critical look at how American media covers Palestine, or maybe even question America’s involvement in global conflicts. Imagine if it had been a show willing to challenge the status quo! But no. Instead, all the tension surrounding international issues just becomes a plot device for Alex Levy to discover deepfake pornography of herself online. It’s frustrating! In the second episode, she’s confronted with footage seemingly showing her in a compromising situation, and she immediately claims it’s a deepfake, pointing to the network’s own AI technology as proof. She cries ‘witch hunt,’ and then… discovers 1.7 million results of AI-generated porn. It’s just… a lot. Then, seeing a protest sign about being ‘gaslit,’ she suddenly *gets* what that means because she feels like she’s being manipulated too. The whole thing is so absurd! They basically used this tired old trope about Iran just to help Alex understand a buzzword and finally acknowledge that climate change is a serious problem. It feels incredibly manipulative and, frankly, a little insulting that such important issues are treated this way.

Okay, so *The Morning Show*… it’s actually kind of gripping, especially how Alex’s bosses freak out over her trying to help Roya and Arsham. It’s hitting on some really important stuff about how news is becoming all about money – UBN’s merger, their push into AI, even the Olympics coverage – and how that’s turning journalists into puppets for billionaires instead of people focused on truth or doing what’s right. The show also really drives home the danger of blindly adopting tech we don’t fully understand. Honestly, all good points, but delivered in a way that feels… messy. It’s fun, I’ll admit, to see Alex, who used to rail against cancel culture and cherry-pick feminism, suddenly become a climate activist and basically a tech-hater. But it feels *wrong* that this transformation happens because of a deepfake planted by Iranian hackers, used to cover up a family’s betrayal. It feels like the show leans into nationalist panic for a character arc that could have been achieved in a million other, more thoughtful ways. They could have had Brodie, the podcast guy (who seriously gives off Joe Rogan vibes), bring up the AI-generated porn of her during one of their tense conversations. Or the UBN executives could have found out from their AI partners that deepfakes of their talent are on the rise, making it a business problem. Anything would have been better than falling into such a tired, Islamophobic trope!

It’s not new for shows to portray Iran negatively – we’ve seen it in many productions like *Top Gun: Maverick*, *Lioness*, *The Diplomat*, and *The Agency*. However, *The Morning Show* does this in a particularly uninspired and predictable way, relying on tired stereotypes and then quickly dropping the storyline. While the show does acknowledge Narges Mohammadi, a human-rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner, it feels exploitative, as Alex uses the interview to put Roya on the defensive about her country’s actions. *The Morning Show* isn’t equipped to offer insightful political commentary, and it doesn’t seem willing to truly engage with real-world issues. Alex’s comment about knowing the difference between Iran and Iraq is a small positive, but it’s about all the show can reliably deliver.

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2025-09-26 19:59