02x08 - Confirmations

[bunniefuu]

["Nemesis" playing]

[music ends]

["Sixteen Tons" playing]

[panting, grunting]

Five, four, three...

[man] Hey, hey! Cory Ellison.

Hey, you got any thoughts on
the Maggie Brener's excerpt?

Mitch Kessler displayed a
troubling pattern of behavior

that led to his f*ring
almost a year ago.

And a lot has changed
in a year. Uh, new TMS.

Okay. Hey, do you think Mitch Kessler
has a thing for the sisters?

Really can't say.

Okay. Well, what about Bradley?

You think Bradley Jackson
has a thing for the ladies?

- Morning.
- Morning, sir.

[elevator bell dings]

- Morning.
- [Stella] Morning. You're in early.

UBA+ is worldwide, Stella.
There's no such thing as early or late.

I got a, uh, call with Shanghai
Studios about licensing.

- Wow.
- Mm-hmm.

You're awfully upbeat given the
ungodly hour and the bad press.

Stella, I wanna talk about something
you said to me yesterday

that really bothered me.

What did I say?

You asked me if I was okay.

Mm-hmm.

It doesn't matter if I'm okay.

This is the -meter freestyle.

Absorbing other people's feelings,

that's a two-ton anchor
around your neck.

Go ahead. Care about the world,
tithe, fall in love. Whatever.

On your own time. Here, feelings,
they drain your lifeblood.

They, um, turn your eyes gray.

How I'm doing cannot be your problem.

Caring about other people,
it limits your ability

to make self-serving decisions.

And what is good for you
is good for the company.

- Yeah. Mm-hmm.
- 'Cause it owns you.

And it owns me. And we own it.
And we are all one.

- Circle of life.
- Let the circle be unbroken.

Exactly. [chuckles]

f*cking exactly. Yes. Yes!

Oh, come by my office with Gerald

and Linda after my call.
We need to strategize

about how to make these
TMS bombshells work for us.

- Got it.
- Good.

[elevator bell dings]

[Cory] Awesome!

- Chip.
- Cory.

Good call on Laura.
Ratings were great yesterday.

Yeah, it really spiked
when the Vault piece hit.

- Yeah. Crazy timing.
- Yeah.

Uh, just, uh, tell Alex to get her rest.

- Yeah, I will.
- Okay.

Uh, about to talk to her right now.

[sighs]

[beeping]

[female operator] Your
call has been forwarded

to an a*t*matic voice messaging system.

[Alex] Alex Levy...

[operator] ... is not available.

Please leave a message after the tone.

[tone beeps]

What the f*ck are you doing?

You dumb f*cking assh*le!

I thought you wanted me
here because you care.

Not just to assuage your guilt.

I mean, they wanted you,
I can only guess,

because they were under
the mistaken impression

that they hadn't wrung every
little juicy ounce of humanity

out of your dry f*cking soul
the first time around.

And that maybe there was
some money to be made.

But no, no. You're such an idiot.
They were gonna shitcan you,

and you come f*cking
running back to them.

Because you are incapable
of loving a human being.

So, now, now, you turn
to the rapidly dwindling

faceless masses,

who only think they love you because
they don't know the real you.

The real you is an emotional m*rder*r.

Took this f*cking shiv
and shoved it in my ass

and f*cking ran it all around.

The real f*cking you only
showed up on my doorstep,

begging me to come back,

because Bradley Jackson
wouldn't let you forget

that you f*cking ratfucked
me just to save yourself.

Well, guess what? It's not like
the old days, is it, anymore?

No, it's not! You know why?

I don't have any self-esteem
left for you to suck on,

you parasite and a succubus
with my esteem!

But still, I'm here, Alex.

And where the f*ck are you?

... during our mornings.

[Aflamu] You think she might
actually not show up?

Let's hope not. We're
selling her pretty hard.

But I wouldn't blame her.

You left out the apostrophe in "it's."

Whatever. I just wanted eyes
on it before I show her.

Doesn't take a genius to figure out

who the African American producer
was that Maggie was writing about.

Hey, Mia. Would you wanna
take a look at this?

It's the copy for the story
about the excerpt.

Are we being evenhanded?

We are.

Then no.

I trust you.

[Bradley] Thanks, Kiana.
Today on The Morning Show,

we have Dr. Henry Lewis Gates Junior,

ambush makeovers, and effective
eight-minute workouts.

And she's great at night, but we
missed her during our mornings.

Laura Peterson will be sitting in.

So stay tuned after the early
news on UBA , WGZQ,

Orlando's number one source for news.

That's right. Now back
to you, Joe and Kiana.

We're clear. Thirty minutes to showtime.

Gordon. Gordon!

Is she here yet?

Because I just wanna talk to
her before the show starts.

Well, soon, but I'll, uh, let Laura
know to, you know, stop by.

Okay, thanks!

RJ, um, can I talk to
you for just a second?

Can you book a flight for my brother

from here to Yeager
Airport in Charleston

and just get a car to pick
him up from my place?

Oh. I didn't know he was in town.

- Yeah, um... Yeah.
- Are we gonna get to, um...

No. I just need some time before
the show starts. Can you handle it?

- Yeah.
- Thanks.

[sighs]

[cell phone rings]

- Hello?
- Just getting off the elevator.

Should I come to your dressing room?

No, you were right yesterday.
Best not to push it.

- [whispers] Bradley?
- Okay.

I just wanna see you before the show.

Okay. [sighs]

I'm in my dressing room now. What's up?

First of all, again. I...
I just wanna say I'm sorry.

I appreciate that.

And... And last night I told
my brother he had to leave.

And I sent him back home.

I'm really putting up boundaries.

Bradley, I didn't ask you to do that.

And what we talked about last night.
There's no simple fix for this.

What? For what?

This is a lot to take on right
before I go do a show.

And I need my head in the right place.

Well, now this has put my
head in a wrong place.

- Wha...
- Bradley.

- I need to let in hair and makeup.
- [knocking]

And there is not enough
makeup in the world

to make me look like I'm enjoying this.

Okay.

Whatever.

Okay, seven seconds!
Good show, everybody.

Five, four, three...

- Good show.
- Good show.

[Bradley] There are now reported
cases of the novel coronavirus

here in the US across multiple states.

The CDC has warned that a full
outbreak is inevitable here

and that people should brace for
interruptions to their daily lives.

- Thanks. Hey.
- Hey.

All businesses have been warned they...

- Thanks.
- Mm-hmm.

Sorry to take back your set.
Here. Come here.

Don't read anything into it. It's not...

Whatever you say. You're
gonna owe me, you know?

So, any sign of her?

[Chip] No, she just f*cking
vanished into thin air.

She probably needed,
like, private space.

Well, maybe she shouldn't
be on TV five days a week.

Kind of a bad career choice for,
uh, you know, private space area.

She's gonna show up somewhere.

[Laura] ... more on Italy

- and South Korea.
- Yeah, a f*cking morgue.

Don't... Don't joke like that.
It's not funny.

Why? It's not like it's gonna
happen, and even if it does...

Whatever. She had a good run.

I miss Elmira Chip.

Elmira Chip's dead. He's in a
morgue with Alex. [chuckles]

She'll show up.

[Laura] Our hearts go out to
everyone affected in Italy...

[sighs]

Thank you.

Do you need anything
before I drive back today?

- Oh, I don't know. Maybe.
- Mmm.

Maybe.

- Mmm.
- I'm all yours this weekend.

- Really?
- Mm-hmm.

Why do we have to wait for the
weekend? There's nobody here.

We'll close those blinds.
We can do it right here.

f*ck Alex. We'll do it
in her office. Come on.

- Mmm.
- We'll show her.

- I don't...
- What?

- It's just, um... [chuckles]
- What?

- What?
- It's a little creepy.

Creepy? What? That... I did...

That's something you're
bringing to it. I didn't...

- I wasn't being creepy.
- That's a... I brought that?

[sighs] I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I just...

Look, when this all dies down,
it's gonna be normal again, okay?

- I promise you.
- When this all dies down?

Like, Chip, you were just
in here watching TV.

I'm sorry. Jesus!
I'm sorry. f*ck! [sighs]

[Madeleine sighs]

Yeah, I'm just... I'm gonna go.

No, no, no. Let me walk you out.

I'm gonna walk you out. Okay? It's fine.

[Madeleine] I'd rather you didn't.

[sighs]

- There's no such thing as bad press.
- Did you read the excerpt?

Yeah, sure, I read it. Oh.
On a human level? Yeah, horrible.

But as far as we're concerned,
I didn't see anything bad in it.

They're all gone. Fred's a ghost.
Mitch is as good as dead.

We're... We're the heroes here.

Stella and I, we're the, uh, Arthur
and Lancelot of UBA News.

- [cell phone vibrating]
- Gerald, you get to be Merlin. Linda...

- [cell phone vibrating]
- Okay. Phone calls.

- Sorry. I'll put that away.
- Mia's still in here.

It's not her fault, but the book.

- Twist. Uh...
- It's not a great look for her.

She's overcoming. She's rising above it.

This is another success story.
A strong, powerful woman.

Yeah. I mean, we did
hire Alex and Chip back.

Hey, uh, sorry, uh, Gerald.

Your assistant's on line .
Says it's urgent.

- New assistant.
- Wow.

Everything's a crisis.

I mean, there is no way

Alex and Chip come out of
this book looking good.

But they're no Mitch and Fred.

There are two sh*ts at redemption.

- Everybody loves a redemption story...
- Hi, Sonya. What's going on?

... and you know why.
Because everybody's done sh*t,

and they all wanna be redeemed.

Okay, what about those two?

Bradley's appeal is Middle America.

Ah, well, if there were
ever two lesbians

who could appeal to Middle America

- it's those two lesbians... allegedly.
- Hold a moment. Just hold a moment.

Okay.

I don't know, um, what this is,
but you should hear it.

Okay. I'm sorry. We, uh...

Having some connection issues,
but I have changed phones.

Can you repeat the question?

[man] Okay, yes. I am Luca
Romano. I am a reporter.

I work for Il Gazzettino
newspaper in Mestre, Italy.

And, uh... [stammers]

I, uh... I calling for comment
on the death of Mitch Kessler.

[Gerald] Okay, I think I understand.

Have you been able to, um, verify
this, that Mitch Kessler has d*ed?

[Luca] No, I am asking you for comment.

- I do not need verification.
- No.

Do you have verification?

[Gerald speaking Italian]

Have you been able to
confirm this is true?

[Luca speaks Italian]

We have been told he was in
a car accident near Riva.

[whispers] Is that near Lake Como?

I think that's where he was when
that girl was yelling at him.

Do you have a comment?

The network has no comment...

- [whispers] Go!
- ... until the facts can be verified.

But thank you.

[Cory shouts] And Stella!

I don't care if she's in traction,
get Alex in here!

[Curt] And that's your latest weather.

That warmer weather's gonna
be here before you know it.

Aw, I'm gonna miss winter clothes.

Is that just me?
Preferring winter clothes?

Uh, when you look like I do,
you hate to hide the sexy.

[laughs] That is not an answer.

- Bradley, what about you?
- Mm-hmm.

Still to come, Prince Harry's
first trip to the UK

since announcing he was
quitting as a senior royal.

Plus an upcoming book about this
show reveals new allegations.

Did former anchor Mitch
Kessler target women of color?

When TMS returns.

We have an unconfirmed report
that Mitch Kessler is dead.

What did you hear?

An obscure Italian paper
called for comment.

Said it was a car accident.
That's all we have.

Cory wants Alex to report it.

Gayle, Gordon, Joel, Layla,
come here now, please.

[softly] Some Italian newspaper called

with the news that, uh,
Mitch Kessler has d*ed.

Outside Riva. Near Lake Como.

Joel and Layla, find
out anything you can.

This guy is ours, for
better or for worse.

So if it's true or if it's just
somebody's wishful thinking,

we are gonna be the
first ones to report it.

It's gonna travel fast, but I've
gotta have two confirmations,

and we will not report it until
his family knows. Okay?

Gayle and Gordon, are you good to help?

- Yeah.
- Yes. But Chip does know the show

- backwards and forwards.
- Well, he's gonna be busy.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Go. Go.

- Mia, seriously. You've got this.
- Mia, are you okay?

Yeah. But pull the story on the
excerpt until we know for sure.

Okay.

- Hey.
- Hey. I need to talk to you.

- So, I wanted...
- Uh-uh... Before you start,

I really just wanna say something.

I know that as a straight
white guy I can't possibly...

My God. Shut up. I don't care.
I need to tell you...

- That excerpt I know was difficult...
- Chip, I want you... Shut up.

Mitch might be dead.

sh*t! Oh. Oh, sh...
Okay, what do you need?

What I need most is for
you to get Alex in here.

I can handle the rest.

This might be fake news, but the
network wants her on standby.

So I gotta have Alex
Levy in here right now.

- Yeah.
- Okay. Let's go. Let's go.

[automated voice] Card services.
How can I direct your call?

Representative.

Representative.

Thank you for calling card
services. This is Shane.

Could I get the -digit number

associated with the account
you're calling about?

Hey, Shane. I don't have my
account number on me right now.

Could I give you my social instead?

Not a problem. What's the social?

Excellent. - - .

Great. I'll need you to answer
a few security questions.

You got it.

What is the name of your
childhood best friend?

Colleen.

And what was your mother's maiden name?

Lasine.

And what is the year, make
and model of your first car?

Give me a tough one, huh?
[chuckles] Plymouth Duster.

For security purposes, what's the
name associated with the account?

Uh, it's my name, Alex Levy.

Great. How can I help you today?

Well, I'm, uh, trying to make a charge,
and it's not going through.

So I was hoping you could help me out.

I'm so sorry. Give me a
moment to check into it.

[sighs]

I don't see any attempted charges.

That's... Are you sure?
That's... That's... That's strange.

Do you, uh... What's the
last one you have there?

The most recent charge
I see went through.

It looks like two days ago
at Milan Linate Airport.

Um, you know, I'll just
pay cash. Thanks.

... and I happen to work for UBA.

I'm sorry you had a bad
experience with him,

but you need to make this a
priority until we know for sure.

Grazie.

- Where are you?
- On hold again. Anything with John?

- Oh, my God.
- [Mia] What? What? What do you have?

[Layla] Some guy just
posted this picture.

It says, "Michael Kessler." It's not...

No. But the other details line up.

- This guy's in Riva.
- Even if this is him,

this doesn't look that bad.
He could survive this.

I can see the license plate.
I'll check the registration.

- Uh, hello? Yes.
- [Mia sighs]

- Uh, English. English, please.
- Mia Jordan.

Who knows if it helps or hurts the
book? I mean, it's even money.

People might not have the
stomach to pile on a dead guy.

Oh, this is Mitch Kessler, Gerald.

We need to prepare for a feeding frenzy.

This is gonna be everyone's
last good chance

to pull every scrap of
meat from the bone.

- Where are we with Alex?
- [Stella] We're getting her.

What makes you so sure that Alex
reporting this is the best decision?

You mean, is it the best decision

for the on-screen ex-wife

of the disgraced
predator-turned-dead-disgraced-predator

to report his sudden,
untimely death to the world?

I find that compelling.

[cell phone ringing]

It begins.

He knows. It's ours.

Wendell, hi. How are you?

I can't complain.
You've heard the rumors?

I have. How can I help you?

You're new to the business,
but TV news is a family.

Dysfunctional sometimes,

but that's what makes
things exciting, you know?

And I know there's a lot made
of the so-called "morning wars",

but, well, some things
transcend all that.

The loss of human life,
especially for families with kids,

it's just so tragic.

If it is true, and I
pray to God it isn't,

I just wanted to say
that this is TMS's story.

We haven't been able to reach
anyone out there to confirm,

but we did hear he was taken to
Hospital Sant'Angelo outside Como.

You probably have that already, but...

Yeah. We appreciate it, Wendell.

It's madness here, but
thank you for calling.

It means a lot to me, it means a
lot to us. I'll talk to you soon.

I gotta call this
information downstairs.

We need to make a plan to harness this.

That m*therf*cker
won't have d*ed in vain.

Oh, my God. Stella, I got it. Thank you.

Okay. This is the hospital where
Mitch was supposedly taken.

See what you can find out.

Registered to a Clay Becker.

Do you have any contact info for him?

Clay Becker owns KVPQ.

- He's a UBA affiliate owner.
- What?

Oh, f*ck.

- This is Clay Becker's contact info.
- Mm-hmm.

See if you can reach him.

- Mm-hmm.
- Joel, the hospital.

I'll be back.

- Hey, Joel.
- Hey. Did you get ahold of Alex?

Yeah, it's just taking a second.

You know, this is hitting
her pretty hard.

Did you find anything out?

You know, if this isn't real,
I'd like to put her at ease.

No, nothing from the consulate.

Nobody's reporting anything
officially or even unofficially.

I mean, I saw a couple tweets
and a photo of an accident.

The car is registered to a Clay Becker?

UBA San Francisco Clay Becker?

Yeah, apparently. I'm just
calling the hospital right now.

Wait. A hospital?

Yeah. We got a tip from NBN

that Mitch was taken to
a hospital outside Como.

I need you to get me the name of
the hospital. I wanna call them.

I'm trying to get ahold
of them right now.

The phone's ringing as we speak.

Joel, just give me the name
of the f*cking hospital!

Jesus. Fine. It's, uh...

"Ospedale Sant'Angelo." It's in the a...

I got it.

[Alison chuckles] Oh, my God.

Mia. You should look at this.

Yeah, yeah. I saw it.

Um, I'm gonna talk to everybody
in the break. Thank you.

[Donny] Stand by, four. Take four.

- Stand by, three. Take three.
- [Laura] Daniel,

you sat down with a very inspiring
family that defied the odds.

[Daniel] Yes, and it's
a very special story.

I can't wait for you to see it.

[Bradley] Plus, a new inhaler
just approved by the FDA

could save asthma sufferers
money while it saves their lives.

When we return.

We're clear. Back in four.

- Step in?
- Mm-hmm.

Thank you. Good morning, good morning.

- Morning, good morning.
- Morning.

Could I have everyone's
attention, please?

Uh, Donny, can you cut the feed?

- Donny says we're good.
- Okay.

Uh, I wanted to alert everyone
to some breaking news.

It's still unconfirmed, and I
held off from saying anything

'cause I didn't want to alarm
anyone if I didn't have to,

but there are rumors leaking.

Uh, so, Mitch Kessler was in a
car accident late last night,

and it appears that
he did not survive it.

- [studio crew murmurs]
- Oh, my God.

In fact, it seems more and
more likely that he did not.

Mitch Kessler worked at The Morning Show

- for years.
- This can't be true.

[Mia] And so, this may be
difficult for some of you,

one way or another.

So, until we know anything,

I'm gonna ask you to please just
keep on doing what you're doing.

And do not forget that we
are a news organization.

This is highly, incredibly confidential,
unconfirmed information.

So, please don't tell anyone.

Mitch was... Mitch is a human being.

He has a family.

And our job now is to get confirmation,
one way or another,

before we do anything.

Okay, thank you, everyone. Thank you.

Hey, Mia. Um, how sure are we?

Uh, something happened.
We're pretty sure of that.

But the, uh, the network wants
Alex to break this news

if there's any news to break.

[line ringing]

Come on.

- [line clicks]
- [woman] Pronto soccorso.

Hi. Hi, do you speak English?

Sì, sì. What do you need?

Um, do you have, uh, an
American patient there?

Did... Did you just call me?

What? No, no, no. We've never spoken.

Ah, sound like you. We are very busy.

I understand. I just need to
know if you have, or had

a patient by the name of Mitchell
Kessler. K-E-S-S-L-E-R.

Uh, no. Nobody by that name.

Seriously? Are... You're sure?

No American patients that were
in a car accident or anything?

Oh, a man?

Yes. White, in his s,
uh, gray hair, beard.

Sì. We get someone like that without ID.

- Is he alive?
- I don't know.

Tell me again. Leave your phone number.

Look, I don't care about that.

What I need to know is...
Was there a woman with him?

- Sì, sì, sì.
- How is she?

Honestly, not very good.

Was her name Alex Levy? Did you get it?

I don't know.

[woman speaks Italian]

Would you please call
back a little later?

- Wait.
- Thank you.

[line clicks]

[cell phone beeps]

[elevator bell dings]

Sorry.

Sorry.

Sorry.

- He's expecting me.
- No, he's not.

Yeah. I talked to...
I just talked to him.

He's... No, no. It's okay.

- Cory, I need your help.
- [Cory] Whoa, whoa. Whoa!

Uh, I need to speak with
Cory. Get out. [panting]

I'm the president of UBA News.

Anything you have to say about
UBA News you can say to me.

And if this isn't about UBA
News, get the f*ck out!

- How about that? Yeah. Don't lie.
- [panting] Fine. I...

- What? Is Alex here?
- Uh... Tha... No.

- That's what I'm trying...
- Where is she?

Can I speak?

The last time I saw Alex was in Vegas.

I just found out that she is in Italy.

[panting]

And I think she...

I think she might...
I think she might be dead.

- What in the f*ck are you talking about?
- You're just telling us this now?

Who gives a f*ck? Jesus. Fire me!

You only hired me because
Alex forced you to.

Cory, I'm coming to you, okay?
Because, on the off chance

that she's not broken
into a million pieces

on, like, Italian countryside,

you'd keep it quiet, right?

Because you're on the hook for her.

Have you reached out to
anyone in her family?

I can't call her family and
scare the sh*t out of them.

No one knows she went.
They're not gonna know anything.

Wait. How do you know that
nobody knows she went?

[stammers] I... Her assistant told me.

Kyle! Get Alex Levy's assistant
up here right now!

She's not gonna tell me anything more.

She doesn't like my kind, so it...

- [Cory] Talk to her?
- Yeah.

People with asthma are
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UBA's Tyrese Parker has more
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[Donny] Stand by, camera two.

Mia, Clay Becker called back.
He's holding in the bullpen.

- Hi. Clay? It's Mia Jordan.
- Hi, Mia.

Sorry, it's still the middle of
the night here in California,

and I wanted to be certain
before I called you back.

Yeah, yeah. Of course.

So, that was my car.

Mitch has been staying
at our place there,

and from what I've gathered,
I think it's true.

So, he's dead?

Yeah, that's my understanding.

Does his family know?

I didn't think it was
my place to tell them.

Normally, it would be the hospital,

but they're inundated,

and I guess he wasn't carrying
his passport or license.

Yeah. Okay. All right.

Yeah. If I hear anything
else, I'll let you know.

- Thanks, Clay.
- Okay.

So, we need the second confirmation
before I can run it.

[Layla] Okay.

I'm gonna write the copy myself.

Sorry. I... I'm so sorry.
I had to lie down for a second,

but I was feeling a little
dizzy. But I'm fine now.

Yeah. Don't go anywhere.
I wanna talk to you.

It's okay, Mia.
We can talk another time.

Can we not argue right now?

Okay.

I'm sorry about yesterday.

Yesterday was a brain-f*ck.

This whole job is a brain-f*ck.
Life is a brain-f*ck.

You have to go through life
pretending you don't know

they're making you play
by different rules.

You, like... You think a
guy at work likes you.

You think he likes you for you

and that means enough to you, you know?

You're willing to overlook
his wife and his children.

Save that to b*at
yourself up another day.

And then you start telling yourself
stories until you believe them.

Because you know what?
Maybe they're true.

And then it ends.

And he's petty.

He acts like a jackass, but you...

you persevere, you put it behind you.

And then you get the job you
were after the whole time.

Then they publish a book

that says that he didn't
really like you for you,

but you don't believe them.

'Cause to believe them is to believe

that you weren't enough on your own.

And then they lump you in
with a bunch of other women.

Women who were legitimately
victims of this empty, horny vessel

who wanted nothing but what he wanted.

And that job you got,
why'd you get that job?

To make it okay that you were
victimized? But you weren't.

You were the side chick.

f*ck Mitch.

f*ck that guy that put
you in this situation.

f*ck men. They only f*ck up your life.

f*ck everybody.

That's where I was yesterday,
and I took it out on you.

I am so sorry.

Because I think I knew the real him,

and that book doesn't get the real him.

And the real him is dead.

Oh, God. It's just so sad.

It's so sad.

And I have to put my personal
emotions to the side

and sum him up in...

two minutes.

Yes, I have her passwords.

Um, but it's just because
she doesn't remember them.

You know, I'd never look in her
email. I can't do that. [chuckles]

I mean, if she knew, if she
found out, she would fire me.

I mean, she'd be really mad, and...

Well, she might be dead.

She's not dead.

Have you spoken to her?

Because we know she went to Italy.

Italy?

And we know that Mitch
just d*ed in a car crash.

And we know there is a woman with him.

Oh, sh*t.

Hey.

Alex will understand.

She will.

She didn't get to where she is
by not being reasonable, right?

We're all in this together.
She'll get it.

If she's not dead.

Mm-hmm.

[Isabella on phone] Here.
This may be something.

She booked a flight to Teterboro.

It's supposed to land in half an hour.

[Stella] Thank you. Now let's
just hope she was on it.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

People are gonna find out where she was.

Right. What do we do about that?

I don't know. That's
the fun of it. Now go.

Sorry.

Okay, yeah.

Okay. Kyle.

According to the NCES, in ,

one in five US students, ages to ,

said they were bullied at school.

Can you believe that number?

%? I forget how cruel kids can be.

Well, it's really heartbreaking.

But there are also some
brave, extraordinary kids...

Bradley, you need to
get out to the hallway.

Your brother's here. It's bad.

You spoke to one of them,
didn't you, Bradley?

Uh, that... That's right.

Earlier this month,
I sat down with Lee Bauer,

one young student who told me

that he had it up to here
with being bullied.

And what he did next
was pretty remarkable.

We're clear.

♪ Where the New York City
winters aren't bleeding me ♪

♪ Leading me ♪

Hey, look. That's...
That's my sister right there.

- [Bradley] Hey.
- See?

Bradley, tell this guy you're my sister.

Hal, what are you doing here?

I come to see you.

- Hey, buddy.
- Okay. Uh, okay.

- Okay.
- [coughs]

I'm fine. He's my brother. It's...

- You sure?
- Yeah, it's okay. Thank you, Jimbo.

Yeah. I came all the way to New
York, you don't even invite me...

- Okay. You need to go now.
- ... to see where you work?

- Okay? I'm at... I'm at work.
- Why? I don...

Do I remind... [chuckles]
I remind you of Dad or something?

- What?
- You are ashamed of me.

- And that hurts, Bradley.
- [sighs] Okay, look...

- Is everything okay?
- It's fine. Rena, you can go.

Really. He's just having a bad day.

- You wanted me to go.
- Come on.

You don't have to leave,
but have some coffee.

- Do you hear me?
- I'll have a cup of coffee.

- Sit down.
- Coffee's good.

♪ Come-on from the whores
on Seventh Avenue ♪

And you have to be quiet, Hal.

- Why? It's a TV station.
- [sighs]

- I could be discovered, like you.
- [sighs]

♪ I'm laying out my winter clothes ♪

You have to shut the f*ck up.

[chuckles] Why?

'Cause they think Mitch
Kessler d*ed last night.

♪ I am just a poor boy ♪
♪ Though my story's seldom told ♪

- Hal, what are you doing?
- ♪ Na-na-na na, na-na-na-na... ♪

Hey, Bradley, are you coming back soon?

Oh, my God. That's your girlfriend.

Please don't do this here.

You don't have to leave, but
please don't do this here.

[Hal] Hey, Bradley.

What?

Did Mitch Kessler k*ll himself?

No, it was a car accident.

Did he k*ll anybody?

Hal, I don't know.

Well... Hi.

Our dad,

he k*lled a kid driving drunk.

And we were in the car.

Oh, my God. You f*cking assh*le.

- What? What?
- Why would you do this to me?

See, this... You do
this sh*t all the time.

- You act like you care.
- Hal, you have to go.

- You ain't listening.
- Leave right now!

- You f*cking leave me to die. No.
- You need to leave.

♪ Searching for the
places on the... ♪ Hey!

- ♪ Lie-la-lie! ♪
- Call security.

- ♪ Lie-la-lie lie-lie-lie-lie! ♪
- Oh.

♪ Lie-la-lie lie-lie-lie-lie! ♪

[shrieks]

♪ Lie-la-lie! ♪

[chuckling]
♪ Lie-la-lie... lie-lie-lie ♪

["The Boxer" playing]

♪ Lie-la-lie ♪

Hey. [grunting] Don't touch me.

No, no, get off me.

No. No! No. No.

Brad. Brad. Brad! Bradley! No.

Hey! Bradley, f*cking help me! Help me.

f*cking help me. Brad.

Brad, please don't... Please.

I'm... Bradley, I'm sorry.
I'm f*cking... I'm sorry.

Help!

f*cking help me!

[chattering]

- Okay, okay.
- I can't go out there.

No, you can. You can.

It's gonna be okay.

People judging you is a bitch,
but it doesn't k*ll you.

I don't... I don't know what to do.

Am I a horrible person?

No, no. No.

But you do need to take a
cold, hard look at your life.

You're just gonna have
to, Bradley. Okay?

Yeah. [sniffs]

- Have you ever had therapy?
- [sighs]

I'm afraid they'll tell me I'm crazy.

You're not crazy.

- I'm not?
- No.

You learned behaviors to
help you survive as a kid

in a crazy environment.

Okay. They're not helping you now.

Oh, my God. My family has
just really f*cked me up.

Mm-hmm.

And I love them so much,
but I can't fix them.

Right. So maybe it's time that
you stepped away from them.

I... I tried to make Hal go home.

And then he just sucked you
right back in, didn't he?

But he's a mess and it's not his fault.

He's bipolar, and he
has terrible parents.

We have terrible parents.

Look, Bradley, listen to me.

I get that it's not his fault. I get it.

But at a certain point,

it doesn't matter why
he's the way he is.

It just matters that he's
bringing chaos to your life,

and he isn't interested
in changing, you know?

You... You have to think about you.

Right? What is right for
you? Think about that.

Look, I've had to walk away
from people in my family.

- It is not easy.
- You have?

But in the end, it's just harder.

Oh, my God.

I can't imagine leaving my baby brother.

I... I can't abandon him.

Okay, so if he wants to change,

you can put him in rehab.

But honestly, honestly, honey,

I think you might have to walk away.

[sighs]

It's your life, Bradley.
It's yours. Not his.

[Chip sighs]

[Chip sighs]

[chuckles]

[chuckling, whimpering]

Hey.

You're okay.

Hey, hey, why are you crying? [chuckles]

I'm just so happy you found me.

- Mmm.
- I'm happy you found me.

Aw.

- I was really worried about you.
- Aw.

Oh. [sighs]

Look, I have to... I have to
tell you something. Um...

What?

[stammers]

We think Mitch is dead.

No, I'm... No.

I was just with him.

- I... I know.
- I was just with him.

I'm... I'm... I'm very sorry.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

- It's okay.
- No, no, no.

- Let me get you to the car...
- No, no, no, no, no...

- I'm very sorry, I'm...
- No, no.

- He... It was... It was a car accident.
- No, no. Oh, my gosh...

- A car accident?
- Yes, yes, it was an accident.

And the network wants you to report it.

- [stammering]
- So... It's okay. It's...

Look, they're waiting on a
second confirmation right now.

Apparently he didn't have an ID on him.

- So...
- No, no.

Italy is a sh*t show right now.

- Yes, but...
- But there was no one with him.

So there's no one to
confirm what happened.

- Give me your phone.
- What? Oh...

- Give me your phone.
- What?

- Give me your... Give me your phone.
- What? Here. Here.

Um... [swallows] D... Fa... [pants]

Fido.

[cell phone ringing]

[sighs]

Pronto.

Paola, it's Alex Levy.

[sighs]

I'm sorry, Alex. He's dead.

[sobbing]

Were you with him?

Not in the car. I...

[sighs] Later.

[sighs] In the hospital.

I found him.

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

Me too.

[sighs] Alex...

he loved you very much.

Ciao.

[no audible dialogue]

[gasps] Does Paige know?
Do the kids know?

Uh, I don't think so. No.

I should tell her.

You... You wanna call 'em?

No. No, I... I should
tell her in person.

That would just be
the right thing to do.

So, to be clear, instead
of going in, you wanna...

Right now, yes. Yes.

Okay.

She needs to hear it from someone
who cares about him, you know?

- ... this next segment...
- [cell phone vibrating]

- ... uh, Ty's Trends without Ty.
- [laughs]

[Daniel] So, uh, should
we take turns reading...

[Alison] Oh, yeah.

Where are you? You were supposed
to bring Alex in an hour ago.

[Alex] Mia, hi.

I'm not... I'm not coming in right now,
and that's my decision, okay?

But I do have...

I did get a second confirmation.

So we're gonna go and tell
Paige in person, okay?

I'm sorry it won't be
in the first two hours,

but when Paige knows,
we'll let you guys know,

and then you can go
to air with it, okay?

Alex, I don't need you to do this.

Whatever, okay. I'll see...
I'll speak to you soon.

Hang it up. [sniffs]

Thanks, Mia.

I'm proud of you.

- [cell phone vibrating]
- [gasps] Jesus.

How many messages did... My God.

How many messages did you...

Is there a problem?

- Is this about Maggie's book?
- No. No, no, no. I was...

- What's...
- I was just worried about you.

- That's... It's... That's it.
- What?

I was worried. It's fine.

And now that I know you're safe
you just delete them, because...

- [Chip] You dumb f*cking assh*le!
- It's, um. You can just...

You don't even have to... Here.

Don't listen to that one.
Don't listen to that...

No, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, God.

Please. Alex, don't listen to it.

- I'm... Stop it.
- Oh, my God.

I was really, really angry and I just...

- I lost...
- What the f*ck?

Oh, my God. I am so, so
sorry. I didn't mean that.

I didn't mean that.

I did not... I did not mean that.

... juicy ounce of humanity...

- Alex, Alex, listen. Please.
- ... out of your dry f*cking soul...

Please do not listen to this.
Please, just turn it off. Seriously.

- Just stop!
- This is really not the time.

- Stop it, please!
- It is not the f*cking time.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

We were having some negativity
towards each other,

and we're past it now.

- Are we? My God. Good to know.
- I'm moving past it.

- I didn't know that we... Oh.
- Alex, don't do this to us.

- We're finally in a good place, okay?
- Oh, God.

- Please, just...
- Oh.

This is a really brutal day.

I want you to know that I have
forgiven you for all of...

Wait, what the f*ck?

Forgiven me for what the f*ck?

Are you kidding me?

Jesus, why are you not letting me feel

what I should be feeling right now?

f*ck you for this!

Wait, why are you mad at me?

I was the one who was about
to forgive you for all the...

- For what?
- For what? For what?

Yes, for what?

Let's see. Let's get the list out.

- Okay, here we go.
- Jesus.

- How about for...
- f*cking assh*le.

... bailing on a presidential debate.

- Then flying off to Italy to rendezvous...
- Oh...

- ... with a vicious sexual predator...
- Oh, shut up.

... while in the middle of
a burgeoning pandemic.

- You don't understand.
- Then lying to me

- that you had a bad back.
- You don't.

I was trying to save our careers.
If I f*cking go, you f*cking go.

Save our careers? How?
How do you save...

You gonna go out by f*cking Mitch?

- I did not f*ck Mitch!
- Again?

Oh, my gosh.

How do I know? How do
I know what to believe?

- How do I know anything?
- Are you jealous?

- Is that what this is about?
- Oh, come on!

- Your f*cking vanity knows no bounds.
- Oh, for God...

Jealous of that dumb, dead assh*le

who ruined my life and all of our lives?

Yeah, I'm jealous of Mitch. I'm jealous.

- I'm jealous of h*tler too!
- How dare you?

- God!
- Oh, my f*cking God.

It's not his f*cking fault that
you were born without a spine.

- I told you not to listen to it.
- Jesus!

See? Now it's my fault 'cause I
listened to the f*cking message.

God, you only wanna listen to
the message and respond to it

when it helps your career,

but maybe when a person
spills their heart

onto your answering machine

- after you got them fired...
- Oh, my God.

- I was sparing you.
- ... ruined their career...

- I was trying to spare you, idiot.
- Sparing me? You f*cking ruined my career!

It'll never get through that
thick f*cking head of yours

that I don't wanna suck your
d*ck. Never, ever, never!

Okay? Sorry about that. Jesus. [sniffs]

There she is, America's sweetheart.

[scoffs] Oh, f*ck you.
I hate you so much.

- I hate you so much.
- I hate you so much.

If I ever say anything different

- then you know I'm lying to you so bad.
- So f*cking much.

- I hate you so f*cking much!
- I hate you.

- Jesus Christ.
- Shut up!

- Why didn't you respond to the messages?
- Get me out of here, please!

Alex, hi.

Oh, God.

Teddy.

Hi, honey.

Oh, God. It's so good to see you.

- Is your mama home?
- She's meditating.

- Oh.
- Do you want me to go get her?

I'd really appreciate it.

- Okay.
- Mom?

- Mom, Alex is here.
- f*ck.

- Alex.
- Paige.

I'm so sorry to show up unannounced.

I just have to tell you that, um...

Mitch was in a car accident...

and he didn't make it.

Thank you.

- Yes. Of course.
- For telling me.

Would you like to talk or anything?

I'm right here for you.

Huh.

What does that... What does that mean?

Alex.

I've always known.

[gasps]

Most of the time I had no
idea who those girls were,

so what difference did it make?

But you knew me.

And unlike all those other poor girls,

you didn't have to do it, did you?

No.

And you would see me
at parties and hug me.

Paige, I...

It only happened twice.

Only twice? Wow.

Thank you for that.

You two were made for each other.

You might even be the same
person for all I can tell, so...

I'm sorry for your loss.

[stammers, sobs]

[panting]

[groans]

[grunts, gasps]

[sighs]

Oh...

Hey, it's Mia.

Hi, Mia.

So I just told Paige.

You should be good to go.

- Okay. Thanks for calling.
- Mm-hmm.

Hey, listen...

- Is Bradley there, by any chance?
- Yeah.

- Would you mind putting her on, please?
- Sure.

Hello?

Bradley...

I just want you to know that
I really think, actually,

that you're the right person to do this.

You know, to break the news.

Why do you say that?

Because...

everything's changing.

And you were the start of that change.

And I just want you to
know that I really...

I so appreciate you.

You know? That's all.

Welcome back. We're interrupting
with some breaking news

that we want you to hear from us first.

Bradley?

UBA can be the first to confirm
that former Morning Show anchor,

and one of the most iconic personalities

in morning television history,

Mitch Kessler has tragically d*ed

in a single-car accident in
northern Italy during the night.

He was years old.

He is survived by his ex-wife, Paige,

and their children, Teddy and Jeff.

Kessler was part of the UBA
News family for over years,

winning eight Emmys during his tenure.

His time here came to
an abrupt end last year

after reporting revealed multiple
incidents of sexual misconduct

over the course of
his employment at UBA.

His television career was illustrious.

As a broadcaster, he was impeccable,

sharp, engaging, funny, empathetic.

In his personal life, and behind
the scenes on this show,

he leaves a more tarnished legacy.

Transition, for society, is rarely easy.

Reconciling who we were with who we are

with who we want to be is challenging.

Figuring out what from the
past we need to remember,

to forgive, to learn from,

or to ignore,

is impossible to do elegantly.

People at this workplace suffered

from Mitch's inability
to do any of that.

And for that, many are
still paying the price.