John Hoogenakker found himself trying to balance filming The Morning Show and The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox while facing Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Hoogenakker, 48, praised his Morning Show costar Reese Witherspoon for her support at the time of the 2024 storm, saying, “We live outside of town when Hurricane Helene came through. That was obviously a very, very big deal for us and for the people in our area.”
Hoogenakker was determined to complete his professional obligations.
“The show must go on. But there was a period of time there where I was not able to get in touch with the travel department. We were without water for over a month. Our kids were out of school for a month. We were without power for about a week and a half, and we didn’t have cell service in our area either, because all the towers were down,” he explained before noting how “extremely, extremely lucky” he felt despite the challenges. “But I am driving seven miles to get a cell signal and to get to talk to these guys and let them know.”
Fall 2025 TV Schedule: See When Your Favorite Shows Will Air
Apple TV+ “worked” with Hoogenakker as he dealt with the devastation in his area. “Then when I got out there, Reese and I had worked together a few times by this point. She pulled me aside and just was super human with me,” he said. “Just coworker to coworker, that affected her and it affected the people that I came in contact with. This is the beautiful truth about these communities that formed to create these films and these television shows.:
He continued: “It’s a working organism but it is also a community of super talented, extremely empathetic people who care about one another and who want to hold each other up and support one another. I did not expect that from Reese because she’s an incredibly busy person. The demands on her on the show are gargantuan.”
In October 2024, Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and other southern East Coast states before another category 3 Hurricane Milton caused multiple fatalities in the same area.
Hoogenakker, who plays Andy on The Morning Show, was pulling double duty with his role as Curt Knox on Hulu’s The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.
“I was supposed to travel somewhere just two days before the hurricane came through to do some paperwork for the Amanda Knox show. I felt that I did not want to be out of town when this storm came through and my wife and children are here by themselves. So I’m thinking, I need to drive to the northeast and then I need to drive back,” he recalled. “Because that’s going to be the only way that I get back into town. I was already on the road — I just made the executive decision that it doesn’t make sense for me to fly — and I’m trying to do all these things to make sure I’m not the weak link.”
Prime Video Finally Renews ‘We Were Liars’ for Season 2
The production team stepped in to convince Hoogenakker to “turn around and go home” so he could be with his family. “I have so much gratitude that the individuals who make up these huge productions showed up for me at that moment because I was able to be here,” he told Us. “There was no other place I would have rather been and so I’m just grateful that the people I was working with were empathetic to that situation.”
Nearly a year later, Hoogenakker is excited to see the hard work he put into both shows come to life. As new episodes of The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox continue to air, Hoogenakker also makes guest appearances in season 4 of The Morning Show.
“I am absolutely a fan of The Morning Show [before I joined the cast],” he said. “Season 3 was just a master class. I just think it’s absolutely phenomenal and very humbling to be on the same docket with those guys.”
Hoogenakker continued: “I didn’t go so deep into the FBI [research for my role]. But I am a big student of current events. I’m super excited about a TV show that has real time current events as the backdrop for the show — and the way in which those real time current events affect all the relationships in the show.”
The Morning Show airs new episodes Wednesdays on Apple TV+. New episodes of The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox air Wednesdays on Hulu.
