Steve Carell has done TV, earning multiple Emmy nominations for his work on “The Office.” The actor has also played a TV anchor on a morning show as the loveable, but dumb, Brick Tamland in the ‘Anchorman’ films. Now, he’s putting his experience in both of those projects to good use as he makes his return to TV in a new show about a TV morning show.
THR is reporting that Carell is joining Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon in the cast of the upcoming, untitled Apple TV series about a group of TV anchors on a morning show. Carell is set to play Mitch Kessler, a morning show anchor that is struggling to stay relevant in the ever-changing industry. Aniston and Witherspoon are performing double-duty on the series, as both will be producers on the upcoming drama.
While based on an original concept by former HBO executive, now-producer Michael Ellenberg, the story for the untitled drama will also partly incorporate experiences detailed in Brian Stelter’s book “Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV.” The series has been in development for a while, as Apple snatched the series up quickly as one of the first shows to launch the tech company’s upcoming streaming service.
There’s no release date set for the highly-anticipated drama, as Apple is still keeping mum on the launch of the streaming service. However, reports have surfaced that paint a not-so-great picture of the upcoming service, as it appears that Apple is trending more towards a “general audiences” rating for most of its projects. How that affects a show like this, with superstars like Carell, Aniston, and Witherspoon attached is undetermined.
We also know that director Mimi Leder is on board to executive produce and helm the episodes. And despite not one frame of the series ready for primetime, Apple has already picked up the drama for a two-season, 20-episode commitment. So, it appears that Carell, Aniston, and Witherspoon will be tied up in this project for a bit of time.