TV review: 'The Morning Show' leads with melodrama in nutty new season

"The Morning Show" may have originally set out to say something insightful about the news media. But that mission was abandoned long ago. You'll learn more about how a newsroom works by watching "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

The third season, now streaming on Apple Plus TV, does reference contemporary crises like the storming of the Capitol and the war in Ukraine, but those issues are just excuses for the characters to drink a lot and behave like idiots. It's a soap opera without the brilliant insults that elevated "Succession."

That doesn't mean you won't have a ball. It's a hoot to see big stars wallow in trash TV. Joining headliners Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston for these 10 new episodes are Jon Hamm, playing a unethical media tycoon who makes Don Draper look like Richie Cunningham, and comedian Tig Notaro as a humorless political fixer. They all seem well aware that the model here isn't "The West Wing" or even "The Newsroom." It's "Dynasty."

Also available this week

'Buddy Games'

Josh Duhamel, best known for "Transformers" movies and promoting tourism in North Dakota, hosts this lighter version of "Survivor," based on life at his northern Minnesota cabin and his weekends with childhood pals. The challenges, designed by Lake Elmo businessman Bob Schwartz, are a little too complicated for their own good (what's wrong with a good old-fashioned sack race?) but Duhamel's enthusiasm wins you over. That being said, you may want to turn down the volume every time he picks up the bugle. 8 p.m. Thursday, WCCO, Ch. 4

'Love at First Sight'

'Jerry Brown: The Disrupter'

This "American Masters" documentary opens with Brown tearing into his interviewer for asking a silly question. That attitude previews the tone for the rest of the film: He's got a point — and he's annoying. Director Marina Zenovich finds more accommodating figures in Brown's family and friends, which include actor Peter Coyote, resulting in a thorough profile of a politician whose good intentions have often by sabotaged by a lust for power. 8 p.m. Friday, TPT, Ch. 2

'Wrestlers'