Natalie Morales is joining the ever-expanding cast of the Apple TV+ The Morning Show according to a report by Variety. Morales has been cast in the role of Kate Danton, the best friend of Stella (Greta Lee) from Stanford. Both characters were part of a start-up incubator programme run by Paul Marks, who will be portrayed by Jon Hamm, who was cast in August.
The series, led by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, is based around the rivalry between a veteran news anchor and a bright young upstart battling for supremacy in the morning television industry in America. It also looked at sexual harassment in the workplace, with the lead anchor of the show being dismissed for his misconduct. The series was met with acclaim from awards organizations, with Aniston winning a Screen Actors Guild award for her role.
Season 2 of the show was a sprawling look at the aftermath of the wreckage left by Alex (Aniston) and Bradley (Witherspoon), who had exposed the toxic work environment of the UBA Network while live on air. The show then transitioned to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Steve Carell's character, Mitch Kessler, fled to Europe to escape the glare and attention of his inappropriate workplace behaviour at the height of the #MeToo movement.
Morales is best known for appearing in the Netflix shows Dead to Me and Santa Clarita Diet, in addition to Abby and White Collar. She co-wrote, directed and starred in the film Language Lessons in 2021, alongside her future The Morning Show castmate Mark Duplass.
Morales joins a Season 3 ensemble that includes the returning Aniston, Witherspoon, Lee, Duplass, Billy Crudup, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Bel Powley, Desean Terry, Janina Gavankar, Tom Irwin, Marcia Gay Harden, Ruairi O’Connor, Hasan Minhaj, Holland Taylor, Tara Karsian and Valeria Golino. Joining the cast for the season are Hamm, Nicole Beharie, Tig Notaro and Stephen Fry. Julianna Margulies reprises her guest-starring role from Season 2.
The Morning Show was renewed for a third season in January. The show will bring in a new showrunner for the season in the form of Charlotte Stoudt, who was best known for her work on Homeland and House of Cards, replacing Kerry Ehrin. Ehrin developed the series and ran the show in its first two seasons. She will continue to serve as a consultant on the show.