Poll
‘The Morning Show’s Bradley & Cory: Should They or Shouldn’t They Get Together?
It’s the age-old question: Can two people who work together in a high-pressure job make it work as a couple outside the office?
Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), the now-former anchor of the UBA Evening News, and her boss, network president Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup), have been dancing around this question in designer shoes for three seasons of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show. She has a bruising personality, and he lays on the charm so thick it looks like a vein might burst in his forehead.
They are not the easiest people to be around in this world of high-stakes media empires and transactional fame, but they have repeatedly gravitated to each other — sometimes reluctantly — ever since Bradley was plucked from local news obscurity to be a wild card in the morning news wars.
But as the show heads toward its fourth season, should these two finally act on the undeniable charge that is between them? We weigh the pros and cons facing them in Season 4 and beyond. Be sure to vote and make your case in the comments below! Plus, check out our other Should They / Shouldn’t They pairs.
CON: They can’t seem to get on the same page about their feelings.
Season 1 may have been the last time these two actually seemed to be marching to the beat of the same drum. It was early in their (work) relationship when Bradley desperately needed a friend, and Cory was there to lend a hand on everything from advice about navigating the treacherous waters of media to picking out a new wardrobe. But by the end of Season 2, after Bradley fell headfirst into a surprise relationship with fellow anchor Laura (Julianna Margulies), Cory seems alone on Infatuation Island. He even made a hail-mary pitch at the end of the season when, while looking for her missing brother, he told Bradley he loved her. But she was in the middle of fearing the worst for her brother and processing being publicly outed as a lesbian — by Cory, no less! Read the room, dude.
PRO: When they join forces, they get sh*t done.
This is both a compliment and a criticism, but Bradley and Cory are both ruthless enough that, as a team, they are kind of unstoppable. Tensions flare between them, and they have been at each other’s throats more than once, but when they set a common goal — like bringing down the system that hid the misconduct of Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) — they are remarkably successful at disrupting the Powers That Be. Maybe it’s the fiery “will they/won’t they” tension that makes them such a good team.
CON: Workplace romances can be tricky business.
While Bradley has never respected their boss/subordinate dynamic as much as Cory probably wishes she would, there is still an org chart somewhere in UBA’s offices that lists her a rung or two below him. That has to be kept in mind considering the many ways in which they have metaphorically scratched each other’s back in the past. To an outside observer, it could look like favoritism, and the last thing UBA needs is another scandal that comes in any shade close to the misconduct orchestrated by Mitch. However, would anyone really be that shocked to find out the network head is hooking up with one of his anchors?
PRO: She already got a rare glimpse inside his personal life and didn’t run away.
In Season 3, Bradley joins Cory to visit his mother (Lindsay Duncan) in Connecticut and gets a first-hand look at the delicate and somewhat contentious relationship that seems to have formed him into the guarded man he is today. The moment mother and son share at the piano as Bradley watches may be the most raw and exposed we have ever seen Cory, and it made Bradley smile. That’s not nothing! Of course, the moment sours quickly, and his mother warns Bradley that Cory is a bad person. Not the ideal meet-the-parents situation. But Bradley didn’t run screaming from the house, and in fact, seems to consider herself closer to Cory now that she’s gotten a candid peek behind the curtain.
CON: She’s a mess, and he likes that.
Cory has never been subtle about how much he likes a challenge, and to some degree, he credits himself for Bradley’s ascension. Now, most of that credit belongs to her restlessness with authority and genuine talent as a journalist. But Cory has spent three seasons putting out fires for the network, while kind of stoking the hot mess that is Bradley’s own life. She may detest some of his actions, but she always returns to him in a moment of need, even more so than she retreats to Alex (Jennifer Aniston).
PRO/CON: He has protected her and her family without a second thought.
We let this one straddle the line between good and bad because while Cory has always been a constant savior for Bradley in her darkest moments, he undoubtedly expects something in return. Take her brother Hal (Joe Tippett) and his involvement in the January 6 insurrection — and her subsequent covering up footage of him assaulting a cop. Cory swooped in when she came calling, as he always does, and helped her bury it. But in Season 3, he became increasingly fixated on how much he put on the line for her. He’s not wrong in that sense, considering tech billionaire Paul (Jon Hamm) threatens to use Cory’s involvement in the coverup to clear Paul’s path to buying and dismantling UBA. But Cory also sees what he did for Bradley as a reason why she owes him, and Cory likes to collect IOUs for a rainy day. So yes, he is a dependable ally to have on speed dial. However, his actions to protect Bradley, and by extension her family, aren’t altruistic.
PRO: They have chemistry to burn.
This is less about Cory and Bradley and more praise for Crudup and Witherspoon’s performances. As Bradley has been thrust into this cutthroat world of media, these two have never had less than stellar chemistry. It has made for entertaining TV and helped earn Crudup two Emmy Awards. So if we are asking should they or shouldn’t they take their relationship to the next level, the case could be made that it would make a compelling watch, regardless of whether they can actually make it work.
