The producers of 'The Morning Show', the panned flagship show for Apple TV+, blamed critical reviews on Apple hate

Apple

Jennifer Aniston in "The Morning Show."

• "The Morning Show" executive producers Mimi Leder and Kerry Ehrin told attendees at Recode's Code Media conference that lots of the bad reviews they saw were aimed more at Apple than at the show itself.
• Starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, and Reese Witherspoon, "The Morning Show" was the first show to debut on Apple's new streaming service Apple TV +, to mixed reviews.
• Leder and Ehrin also said Apple allowed them plenty of creative freedom but that it was secretive with viewing figures.
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The executive producers behind "The Morning Show" - Apple's star-studded debut show on its TV streaming-service Apple+ TV - have blamed its early negative reviews on Apple-bashing critics.

Speaking at Recode's Code Media conference Mimi Leder and Kerry Ehrin told NBC's Dylan Byers that lots of the negative reviews they saw seemed to have come from people who had gone into the show determined to hate it.

"When those reviews came in, I didn't know what show they were watching. And I just kind of thought they were nuts," said Leder, who was also director on the show. "I just felt there were a lot of Apple haters and wanting Apple to fail," she said.

"The reviews very much felt like an attack on Apple," Leder added. Ehrin concurred that a lot of reviews she saw "felt very attack-ish," although she also said she saw "a lot of well-tuned Apple jokes."

"The Morning Show" had a reported $300 million budget and stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as rival news anchors, as well as Steve Carell. But critics panned the show's early episodes, describing the series' beginning as "brutally dull."

The producers said that in general Apple was a good network to work for, and allowed them plenty of creative freedom. "It really wasn't any different for us than working with HBO," said Leder.

When asked by an audience member about the viewing figures for "The Morning Show" however, the producers said they hadn't been given exact numbers. "They've told us nothing. They're very secretive," said Leder. "I do know the demographics were very good. I can't give you a number, but they're very happy about them," Ehrin added.

Ehrin said she prefers not to know audience figures, whereas Leder said "I would love to know that stuff."

You can watch the full interview here: