Apple TV+’s hit series The Morning Show gained a new cast member in its latest season. Nicole Beharie (Sleepy Hollow), who portrayed the anchor Chris Hunter, gave viewers a performance that represented a strong, yet calm and collected character with a rich personality who kept it cool during a moment of potential emotion and panic. Recently, The Hollywood Reporter got the inside scoop as to how Beharie prepared for the role, and more importantly, who she talked to.
The anchor that Beharie reached out to in preparation was CBS Sunday Morning’s Gayle King. She told The Hollywood Reporter that King “told me a story about a moment when she felt like the world was on her shoulders and where her identity as a Black woman in this space was heavier than she would like it to be.” With this, it was revealed that Beharie was anxious about fitting into the show itself. Still, King just replied to her, “We don’t have time for that. You are the answer to many people’s dreams, and basically, no one’s really, truly interested in your plight, in a way.” which propelled Beharie towards her fantastic character portrayal.
During one scene in particular, Beharie’s character Hunter is having an on-air discussion about the heavy topic of racist comments that were made during the process of her hiring by the character Cybil Richards (played by Holland Taylor (Two And A Half Men) that made their way out to the press. In this discussion, the key scene is described by the Hollywood Reporter as “dramatic tennis” as the two characters are having a small wits battle throughout the entire difficult conversation.
Beharie goes on to explain to the Reporter that she took a lot of media and inspiration as to how she should portray her character having a difficult conversation such as the one described above from any sources she could get her hands on. “There are so many interviews [of] people navigating difficult conversations with highly intelligent people, and they’re easily disregarded because of skin color. You watch them, and you see the micro-flinching. I didn’t go into it thinking it was going to be a ‘gotcha.’ Chris is upset and hurt about it, but she realizes that change doesn’t happen without her stepping up. Doing this interview is a big deal, and it has to be done with care because it’s giving the person the opportunity to make it right — even if they don’t take it.”
She then went on to talk about the experiences that she drew through that audiences could relate to. “I have heard from quite a few journalists, people of color, Black people, women, white women, men — all kinds of people that have had to repress whatever they’re going through,” she explained. “There’s something about her coming out and having a discussion about something that’s so personal. The one thing that was important to me, though, was to make it not just about her. It was emblematic of a dynamic happening in the culture and in other workplace environments — basically everywhere.”
The Morning Show is streaming on Apple TV+.