Producers of Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” have filed a $44 million lawsuit against the show’s insurance company for refusing to pay for coverage of losses due to the second season’s COVID-related production delays, according to documents filed in California federal court on Friday.
“The Morning Show” executive producer Michael Ellenberg filed the lawsuit against the Apple drama’s insurance company, Chubb National Insurance, on behalf of his banner Media Res, the production company behind the Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon-led series. (Ellenberg and Media Res are referred to in the court documents by the name of their LLC, Always Smiling Productions, which is the plaintiff in the suit against Chubb.)
The “Morning Show” production company said it had secured $125 million in cast coverage from Chubb, plus more for imminent peril to their shooting location. The company said Chubb is now refusing to pay the coverage it owes the production company — which, according to the lawsuit, is $44 million — over the production delays it faced in Season 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the lawsuit, Chubb has agreed to pay $1 million for the producers’ coverage against government orders that interfere with the use of sets and other facilities. But the insurance company said other parts of the COVID-related delay are not covered, as they don’t fall under “death, injury, sickness, kidnap, or compulsion by physical force or threat of physical force.”
Representatives for Apple TV+, Ellenberg and Chubb did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment Monday.
Season 2 of “The Morning Show” is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on Sept. 17. Picking up amid the wreckage of Alex (Jennifer Aniston) and Bradley’s (Reese Witherspoon) decision to expose UBA’s culture of misogyny and abuse on air, the second season begins amid a new UBA and a world in flux, according to Apple, “where identity is everything and the chasm between who we present as and who we really are comes into play.”
In addition to Aniston and Witherspoon, returning cast members include Steve Carell, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Bel Powley, Desean Terry, Janina Gavankar Tom Irwin and Marcia Gay Harden. New cast members for Season 2 include “Russian Doll” alum Greta Lee, “The Spanish Princess” actor Ruairi O’Connor, “Patriot Act” host Hasan Minhaj, Holland Taylor, Tara Karsian, Valeria Golino and Julianna Margulies.
Kerry Ehrin returns as showrunner and executive producer for Season 2 of “The Morning Show.” Ellenberg executive produces through Media Res, which also serves as the studio. Additional executive producers are Aniston and Kristin Hahn through Echo Films, Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter through Hello Sunshine and director Mimi Leder.
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