{"id":37169,"date":"2021-10-08T16:36:53","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T16:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=37169"},"modified":"2021-10-08T16:36:53","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T16:36:53","slug":"desean-terry-morning-show-interview","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/desean-terry-morning-show-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Desean Terry Identifies With His Character\u2019s Struggle for Representation on \u2018The Morning Show\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Desean
Desean Terry (Photo: Angela Weiss\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most unnerving aspects of The Morning Show<\/em>\u2019s second season<\/a> has been revisiting the early days of 2020. As the media elites at UBA — the fictional network that airs the fictional TMS — <\/em>jockey for power and influence in the world of American infotainment, a global catastrophe is barreling toward them: the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the few characters to recognize the importance of the news coming out of China has been Daniel Henderson (Desean Terry), TMS<\/em>\u2019s weekend co-host. But even he wasn\u2019t prepared for the reality on the ground in Wuhan<\/a>, as we saw in last week\u2019s episode.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s episode, titled \u201cKill the Fatted Calf,\u201d finds Daniel safely back in New York. But his experience in China has left him feeling more marginalized than ever. After years of playing by the rules on TMS<\/em>, Terry tells GRAZIA<\/em>, \u201cDaniel is desperate.\u201d And, as so often happens on The Morning Show<\/em>, desperation leads to some wildly unexpected behavior\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Desean
Desean Terry in The Morning Show<\/i> (Photo: courtesy of AppleTV+)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This interview contains spoilers for the fourth episode of The Morning Show\u2019s second season. <\/em><\/p>\n

The whole second season takes place in the first few months of 2020. What was it like revisiting this really scary time — which is probably still so fresh in so many people\u2019s minds? <\/strong><\/p>\n

For me, when I think about COVID, I also think about the racial reckoning<\/a> that was occurring. That, more so, has a tremendous imprint on me. So, the Episode 3 stuff, going into China, was surreal and sort of sci-fi-like. To be there and sort of live in that fantasy of being in Wuhan — that was exciting. It still feels so distant from how COVID impacted us.<\/p>\n

The stuff that we start to deal with in Episode 4, now that\u2019s the stuff that just has a weight on you. During the pandemic, there was such an unearthing of the assault on Black bodies and people of color. People recognized it and saw it. And that, in itself, was traumatizing. All of a sudden, people were engaging with you and wanted to talk about it. Like, I\u2019m maintaining and living through it. I don\u2019t necessarily want to talk about it at your<\/em> convenience. So, that stuff was important. It means a lot to me. That was the part of it that was cathartic.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s wild watching all these characters disregard this cataclysm that we know is coming for them. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, very much in the way that we<\/em> disregarded it when it was happening. I\u2019m pretty proud of myself that I was a COVID warner. I was fist-bumping in January of last year. People thought I was crazy. But yeah, very much like real life, most people deny it. It\u2019s very interesting to see that now that we have hindsight. But that\u2019s what we did. We denied that it was happening.<\/p>\n

In Episode 3, Daniel has to get out of Wuhan just as the city is about to go into lockdown. What kind of prep did you do for that? Did you research what it was like for people trying to get out of Wuhan in early 2020? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t feel like I needed to do a lot of research on that, because for me, the perspective was like, Wow, this is unimaginable. I am in this situation and I\u2019ve never seen anything like this. <\/em>[Daniel] didn\u2019t want to go. He thinks it\u2019s important, but actually Daniel wants to be covering the presidential debates. And all of a sudden, it\u2019s like, Here I am fighting for my life!<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s like, being unprepared is<\/em> being prepared, because who could<\/em> be prepared for that situation? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly!<\/p>\n

\"Desean
Desean Terry and Karen Pittman in The Morning Show<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s this moment at the beginning of Episode 3, when Daniel is trying to get out of Wuhan, and he wants someone on his team to use what he perceives to be his UBA clout to get them on a train. But instead, the guy says his grandmother is dying in Beijing. What is it that Daniel experiences in that moment, when he realizes that it\u2019s not his job<\/em> that gets him out of this situation? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I really love those aspects of Daniel. [In that moment], he\u2019s still trying to use his privilege and he\u2019s completely a fish out of water. He\u2019s comfortable using his clout. That\u2019s learned behavior. That\u2019s the world that he\u2019s in. But this<\/em> thing — your clout doesn\u2019t get you anywhere. I hope what people register is that he then sees the human consequence of his privilege. To me, that\u2019s one of the things that\u2019s so interesting about Daniel. He\u2019s in this very, very — let\u2019s not mince any words — very white upper-class world. But he\u2019s actually at an intersection. He\u2019s a Black man at an intersection of race, sexuality, economics. So, to me, it\u2019s fascinating to play in that world of: How do you deal with your sense of privilege and also deal with your sense of still feeling marginalized?<\/p>\n

Mia is in a similar situation as TMS<\/em>\u2019s executive producer. But that doesn\u2019t bring the two of them together so much as creating conflict between them. How has Daniel\u2019s relationship with Mia shifted now that she\u2019s running TMS<\/em>? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, one of the things that was cool about this season is that we did have conversations with [executive producer] Kerry Ehrin — me and Karen [Pittman] and Kerry. Kerry is one of those showrunners who has conversations with her actors. One of the things that Kerry played with was that there is this tension between Daniel and Mia throughout the season. There are times when they\u2019re very aligned and there are times when they\u2019re not. And that was really important. We didn\u2019t want to sort of create the falsity that Black people are monolithic in their thinking. It\u2019s pretty clear that Mia and Daniel have very different approaches to this, and that created a lot of fun for me and Karen Pittman to play. It made us have a more compelling and interesting relationship, rather than, Ok, because we\u2019re the Black people in the workplace, we agree. <\/em>No. There\u2019s a lot of divisions within the Black community. To add that additional layer, I think, for me, it\u2019s the smarter way to go.<\/p>\n

So, in Episode 4, we learn that Stella (Greta Lee<\/a>) just doesn\u2019t think Daniel has the \u201cit factor.\u201d I\u2019m curious, is that something you factor into your performance? Like, how do you balance creating a character who is compelling to the audience, but is also slightly underwhelming to the people around him in this fictional world? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It is sort of a conflict, because on one level, Daniel is really good at his job. We know that, otherwise he wouldn\u2019t have this success. The way I portrayed it is that I think Daniel has interference. I think structural racism causes interference for people. You have extreme moments of doubt, extreme moments of confusion when you reach a place of success. I know I can relate to it. It\u2019s very common for you to then have imposter syndrome. At times I aim for Daniel to be a little bit off. And then sometimes I want him to be right on the money. Because I think that\u2019s what it is. Sometimes you do get interference. Something that\u2019s interesting for me, in terms of portraying the character is that I think that it\u2019s a trope to go into the idea that Daniel has no<\/em> interference, he doesn\u2019t<\/em> have neuroses, he\u2019s just a higher elevated being. Everyone on the show, there are moments when they do these elevated things and there are moments when they succumb to their weakness. I think the quote-unquote \u201cit factor\u201d is a complete white-washed idea. It has a connection to whiteness. I think that\u2019s something that\u2019s used in the real world to oppress folks of color in the media. [But] it can<\/em> impact you because you\u2019re constantly being told that. It throws Daniel off at times.<\/p>\n

Talk to me about this impromptu song Daniel performs live on air. What exactly is going through his head in that moment? He\u2019s been trying to get a spot moderating a presidential debate. How does singing \u201cComing to America<\/a>\u201d get him closer to that? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve thought about it many different ways. Overall, I feel like Daniel is desperate at that point. He\u2019s tried everything else. He\u2019s played by the rules. That\u2019s a huge part of it; he\u2019s played by the rules for so long, and then he sees Alex just go on this tirade and that elevates her career. So, I think part of what Daniel\u2019s doing when he\u2019s doing the song is that he\u2019s saying, F*ck it!<\/em> He\u2019s seen other people do stuff like that and be rewarded for it. I think it\u2019s a little bit of trying to duplicate what he\u2019s seen other people get rewarded for. I don\u2019t know so much about song choice\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Desean
Desean Terry in The Morning Show<\/i> (Photo: courtesy of AppleTV+)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Was it always \u201cComing to America,\u201d or did you try out different songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We did try out different songs. I will say, I can sing better than Daniel! So, rather than me get up there and, Oh wow, he\u2019s an amazing singer<\/em>, it becomes more of an acting<\/em> song than a singing song. Kerry wanted to feel that he\u2019s desperate. Here\u2019s one of the things I used: I\u2019m a karaoke enthusiast, and so I love even bad karaoke. If you get up here and you\u2019re singing just bad notes, but you\u2019re singing the song and you\u2019re committed to it, you\u2019ll get me. I\u2019ll get up and cheer! I feel like that was sort of my aim with the song. There\u2019s a cringy-ness to it, but at the end of the day, he does it and he gets people going and he\u2019s being moved by something that the audience doesn\u2019t quite understand.<\/p>\n

Afterward, we see Stella exiting Daniel\u2019s dressing room, but we don\u2019t see the conversation they had. What went on behind that closed door? How does this all impact Daniel\u2019s position on the show for the rest of the season? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think I can say that much about that. What I will say is, the conversation was never written. What occurs in the room is that, in that moment when he is singing the song, trying to get attention — maybe he\u2019s like, I\u2019ll get a bunch of social media followers and somehow that will give me momentum — <\/em>I think it becomes botched. Mia [calls] him Bojangles. You\u2019re a Black man and you\u2019re singing this song on your platform. Why did you choose this?<\/em> So, I think there\u2019s regret about what he did.<\/p>\n

Yeah, like you said, he\u2019s also seen his white colleagues get away with so much, and then he tries something wild and he\u2019s held to a different standard. It doesn\u2019t work for him. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, and I also think Greta\u2019s the new boss, and whatever happened in that room, it felt like, Ok, she\u2019s not going to be the one to elevate you. <\/em>And I also think in that moment there\u2019s a bit of disappointment in Mia, because I think he expected Mia, having power, that maybe she could have done more. I think he feels pretty betrayed and isolated at the end of that episode.<\/p>\n

So, obviously, you play a Black journalist who is frustrated with his supporting role on a show anchored by two white women. Meanwhile, in real life, you are a Black actor in a supporting role on a show anchored by two white women. Does that factor into your performance or your understanding of the character at all? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I think what influences my connection to what Daniel is talking about is the media landscape broadly. It\u2019s systemic in the sense that it\u2019s difficult to see people of color onscreen. It\u2019s difficult to see people of color fully realized on screen. Some shows, there\u2019s absolutely no representation. That\u2019s systemic, and we\u2019re very comfortable with that. So, for me, it\u2019s all in the bag. Honestly, I can\u2019t lie. That\u2019s the media landscape we\u2019re in, where if — and that\u2019s a big if — if you\u2019re showcasing characters of color, then are you showcasing a full, nuanced human being? I feel like that\u2019s the media landscape and that\u2019s what I\u2019m always dealing with. So, when Daniel is fighting for representation, I\u2019m very much connected to the representation that I\u2019m constantly fighting for as an actor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29097,"featured_media":37171,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,16],"yoast_head":"\nDesean Terry on the Struggle for Representation on 'The Morning Show' - Grazia USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Desean Terry talks about his 'Morning Show' character's experience reporting on the early COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan and the lengths he'll go to for better representation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/desean-terry-morning-show-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Desean Terry Identifies With His Character\u2019s Struggle for Representation on \u2018The Morning Show\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Desean Terry talks about his 'Morning Show' character's experience reporting on the early COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan and the lengths he'll go to for better representation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/desean-terry-morning-show-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1178670168-e1633556241289.jpg?fit=2745%2C1545\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2745\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1545\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/desean-terry-morning-show-interview\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/desean-terry-morning-show-interview\/\",\"name\":\"Desean Terry on the Struggle for Representation on 'The Morning Show' - 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