What ‘The Morning Show’ and ‘The Girls on the Bus’ Learned From Fox News to Craft Right-Wing Media
variety.comHunter Ingram After “The Morning Show” began its third season last fall, showrunner Charlotte Stoudt received a text message from “a very well-known anchor on a national news network” with some constructive criticism.
This unnamed person had seen Episode 3, in which June Diane Raphael makes her debut as the anchor of Eagle News, a fictional conservative news network that is seen reporting on an internal scandal at UBA, the network that employs Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon’s characters.
With a smile on her face, Raphael’s anchor reads incriminating emails sent by the UBA board president (Holland Taylor). While she’s enjoying this news more than an objective reporter probably should, she doesn’t say anything inaccurate.
That’s what Stoudt’s mystery texter took issue with: “She’s not telling enough lies,” they texted her. “It was a great moment,” Stoudt tells Variety. “I never thought anyone would accuse me of being too nice to Fox News.” While Eagle News isn’t exactly Fox News, Stoudt appreciates the reaction, good or bad, because there is an art to creating fake news — not the kind that is ruining the minds of voters every day, but rather the fictional news networks on TV series.
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