The Morning Show Season 5 Episode 3 introduced a new trouble for Alex in the form of Zeke Pemberton. The series chronicles the journalists and staff of the titular program, which airs on the fictional UBA news network.
In the new season, Alex is one of the executives of the UBN, formed with the merger of UBA and NBN. During one of her shows, Alex covers the climate protest, which puts her in a tough spot as fossil fuel companies happen to be sponsors of the program.
Zeke Pemberton, one of the oil tycoons, creates a major issue for the network, forcing Alex to apologize to him. Since he is a new character, fans are wondering who plays Zeke Pemberton on The Morning Show. Zeke Pemberton is portrayed by actor Richard Burgi in the fourth season of the Apple TV+ drama.
Who stars as Zeke Pemberton on The Morning Show?
Richard Burgi plays Zeke Pemberton on The Morning Show. He makes his first appearance in Season 4 Episode 3, Tipping Point. Burgi is a veteran actor who has been a part of the film and television industry since the 1980s. He is particularly known for his work in soap operas.
Hailing from Montclair, New Jersey, Burgi started his career in 1986 by playing Chad Rollo in the NBC soap opera Another World. He then landed a role in the network’s other soap, Days of Our Lives, and played Philip Collier in the show between 1992 and 1993.
In 1996, he shot to wide fame by playing Detective Jim Ellison in the UPN crime drama The Sentinel. Burgi then made recurring appearances on shows like Judging Amy, Harper's Island, Body of Proof, and One Tree Hill. He also had episodic roles in Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, CSI: Miami, and Breakout Kings.
In 2021, he returned to soaps and played Ashland Locke in CBS’ The Young and the Restless till 2022. Meanwhile, he also made appearances in a few films, including Friday the 13th, Fatal Instinct, Hostel: Part II, No Letting Go, and The 2nd.
Richard Burgi’s role in The Morning Show
As Zeke Pemberton in The Morning Show, Richard Burgi plays a rich businessman who owns a fuel company and spends a lot of money on ads at UBN. After Alex Levy calls out his company for pretending to be eco-friendly during a climate protest, Zeke gets angry and threatens to pull all his ads.
This causes a massive problem for UBN as the network depends on ads for funding. While Alex believes she did the right thing, her actions could make her lose her job. UBN bosses Celine and Stella tell Alex to fix things, so she goes to a business seminar to apologize to Zeke, who makes it clear that he is upset and does not forgive her easily.
Things get worse when Alex runs into Paul Marks, her ex-boyfriend, who is also working with Zeke. Paul sees a chance to help himself and offers Alex a deal that if she runs a story blaming climate activists for an old gas explosion, Zeke will back off. Later, Zeke suddenly decides not to pull his ads, and Alex realizes Paul might have helped her.
The Morning Show is available to stream on Apple TV+.