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With the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show now streaming in over 100 countries and regions around the world, I recently sat down with director Mimi Leder for an exclusive interview. If you’re not familiar with The Morning Show, the series is inspired by journalist Brian Stelter’s book, Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV and stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell. As the series begins, Aniston and Carell are the hosts of the number one morning news program (think Good Morning America or the Today show) titled The Morning Show. But almost immediately, Carell’s character is fired for sexual misconduct in the workplace and the first two episodes deal with the repercussions of his actions and how Witherspoon’s character enters the picture. The series is incredibly timely to what’s been happening in the real world. The Morning Show is written and executive produced by Kerry Ehrin (who also serves as showrunner) and also stars Mark Duplass, Billy Crudup, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Desean Terry, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bel Powley, and Janina Gavankar. For more on The Morning Show you can read Adam Chitwood’s review or watch the trailer.

During the interview, Mimi Leder talked about what she learned about the making of The Morning Show as the series was being filmed, if they had a lot of deleted scenes, if the show changed in the editing room, what it’s like making a show that has a two-season pickup, and what she thinks happened in The Leftovers series finale.

Check out what she had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.

Mimi Leder:

• What does she think happened in The Leftovers series finale?
• What is it like making a series that has a two season pickup?
• What did she learn about the making of The Morning Show as the series was being filmed?
• How did the show change in the editing room?
• Did they have a lot of deleted scenes?

Here’s the official synopsis:

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, “The Morning Show” explores the cutthroat world of morning news and the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning. Told through the lens of two complicated women working to navigate the minefield of high-octane jobs while facing crises in both their personal and professional lives, “The Morning Show” is an unapologetically candid drama that looks at the power dynamics between women and men, and women and women, in the workplace.