Patrick Shock

Patrick "Pat" Shock is a lead character in *Morning Show*, a segment of *It's All Been Done Radio Hour*. He is one of two hosts with the program, and wants to be taken seriously as a personality. Switching to news has played to his ego, though he takes the job very seriously. He doesn't like recording taglines, and only says them once, refusing to say them on a daily basis. He is an idealist. Pat has a tendency to play devil's advocate when discussing political issues and keep his own beliefs close to his vest.

**First appearance:** *Morning Show* #1.01 "First Show"

**Number of appearances in *Morning Show*:** 15 (as of #2.04)

**Number of appearances in *Packer & Ratcliff*:**1

**Actor:** Keith Jackson

## **Personal Life**

Pat co-hosted with Gus Goodall for some time before *Morning Show* came about, working as a shock jock. They have a competitive, but friendly, relationship ("First Show").

He had also likely worked with Shelly previously, as he is confident in her abilities even as she seems to be heading for a breakdown ("The Aide"). He says they've been friends for years ("Conflict of Interest Part 2").

Pat was understanding of people, even when he disapproved of their actions, and understood that emotion often trumps logical thinking. He sought to be a calming voice amid divisiveness. He saw trends, and didn't blame one person for big things going wrong, not even Trump during the zombie outbreak ("Fallout").

In his spare time, Pat volunteers. After the zombie outbreak, he donated time at a local refugee center in Columbus for those that had been displaced by the virus, as well as giving blood, water, and other assistance ("Halloween").

When he goes to interview Arie Barkin, Pat gets the chance to see Shelly Meyers in her element, and apologizes for not being in touch, as well as promising there are no hard feelings about her leaving the show. She forgives him for being a dick about it. He tries to talk to her after, but she's busy. Heading back to the station, Pat muses to Gus Goodall that he's thinking about asking Shelly out and decides to do so ("Conflict of Interest Part 2"). It takes several calls over many days to get a hold of her, and she turns him down, citing being too busy ("Conflict of Interest Part 3").

## **Co-Host of *Morning Show***

Pat went along with Shelly's plan to make *Morning Show* news, but didn't tell Gus ahead of time. Pat refused to lie to Gus, but until the subject came up, he didn't bring it up, either. Pat felt strongly that he was right for hosting a news program and looked forward to how it would raise his profile. Perhaps because of this, he stood behind the change unwavering when Shelly and Gus doubted it ("First Show," "The Aide," "Owning Up").

The one time that Pat showed doubt about his ability to be a real journalist was when he interviewed one of his personal heroes, Mayor Regina Hayes. She had done great things for the city, but Pat exposed her financial scandal in his opening show. When she came into the studio, he was nervous to interview her, but stood his ground when she tried to distract and evade. He ended up losing respect for her, but finding his legs professionally ("Emergency Powers").

Pat takes his phone into the studio when hosting, which Shelly does not approve of ("First Show"). He likes to prepare for his interviews ("Evaluation").

During the zombie outbreak, hosting alone, Pat asked Shelly to come on air since she didn't like the way he was calling the infected 'zombies.' They argued over the term, with Pat asserting that those that were sick were behaving similarly to zombies in film, although he conceded that zombies have been shown many different ways. After Shelly suggested they might need to drop a nuclear bomb on California, Pat agreed it had been a mistake to bring her on (*Packer & Ratcliff* "The Pursuit of Packer").

Pat does wonder about responsible reporting and questions putting information out to the public that could cause panic, but defers to Shelly to make those decisions ("Halloween"). He was successful in getting her to add a segment when he interviewed and debated with normal people, believing the best part of democracy is that everyone gets to have their say ("We the People").

Gus thinks Pat has a thing for Shelly Meyers, but he has denied it ("First Show"). Gus eventually tells Pat he's tired of Pat casting longing glances at Shelly and needs to ask her out. Pat says such a relationship would be inappropriate, but doesn't exactly deny his feelings at that point ("Options").

Pat considers their boss, Brooks Dylan, phony, though that could just be jealousy speaking, as Brooks was meeting with Shelly when Pat uttered the opinion ("Options").

Pat figures out that Shelly is going to leave the show for another job, even as Shelly insists she hasn't decided. He opines that she's better than the show and he will miss her ("Evaluation"). However, when news of her job offer is passed to Pat while he's on-air, he is angry, feeling betrayed, and petty enough to read it as news, later telling Shelly he felt betrayed. She is mad at him, too, not buying his excuses, and they end their professional collaboration on a sour note, and he wonders if their show will even be good anymore. Pat blames Shelly for the incident, not Lea Zichi, the intern who passed him the email. Pat may or may not think Lea is pretty ("Merry F\*\*\*ing Christmas").

## **Post-Shelly as Producer**

Pat is comfortable continuing the show Shelly started without her. He tries to stick to reporting the news, and defends President Patricia Anderson's administration, which has moved the federal government to Columbus, as well as Governor Ben DeBeers, who let them, when Gus only focuses on the negatives. Pat claims it is not his place to express a personal opinion on-air.

Pat and Gus meet with Shelly, whom Pat hasn't spoken to in the two months since she quit. Pat is happy to see her, and defends her from Gus. Pat rightly assumes the meeting is because the administration doesn't like *Morning Show*'s coverage, mostly because of Gus, and that may be why they can't get access to senior officials. Pat appeals to Gus that playing nice might help them get syndicated, and Gus reluctantly agrees. In exchange, Pat asks for access to the president. He points out things might go more smoothly if the local residents could hear from the president, who hasn't been speaking to them. Shelly can't promise that, but does score him a one-on-one with the press secretary as a start, at Pat's suggestion cutting Gus out. He agrees to a background check ("Conflict of Interest Part 1").

After a successful talk with the press secretary, Pat interviews Arie Barkin, the chief of staff, in The Executive Building where the president works. When Pat arrives, he makes a bad impression on the Steve the security guard by trying to look at his clipboard, but Shelly rescues him and takes him to interview Arie, giving him instructions and tips on the way. Pat calls Arie Mr. Barkin, even after Arie invites him to use his first name. Pat calls the zombie pandemic the Orange Virus, to Arie's pleasure. Pat asks questions in a way that doesn't seem too soft or too hard, pushing back on some answers, but letting Arie get his talking points out. Pat is only cut off when pressing why the U.S. hasn't bought China's vaccine. Pat does compliment President Anderson on her accomplishments. He asks a lot of questions about combatting the virus and healthcare, as well as the relocation of the federal government to Columbus. Pat ends by baiting Arie in the OH-IO cheer for Ohio State University football, and Arie plays along. Pat defends that decision to Shelly by saying it doesn't hurt to butter up the locals, but Shelly isn't sure it'll be included in the final cut. Shelly does tell Pat he did well, and plans to send the interview to a few national news stations, confirming the administration is open to continuing to work with Pat, including letting him talk to the president ("Conflict of Interest Part 2").

As the show begins gaining steam and spreading to markets outside of Ohio, the relationship between Pat and Gus begins to deteriorate, with Pat defending the President's actions and Gus furious that the federal government is 'invading' Ohio. The tension helps the popularity of the show, though they try to remain friends outside of it. Secretly, Pat begins sleeping with intern Lea ("Tear Down").