Platform: Apple TV+
Airing Date: March 26, 2025 to May 21, 2025
Number of episodes: 10
The Studio is the most recent star-studded show by Apple TV+. It is created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and follows Rogen playing a newly appointed studio head Matt Remick as he attempts to save the company through his creative and financial decisions. Now don’t take that description as an indication of a serious show. Remick and his colleagues are all caricatures of studio executives and the tone of every episode is comedic, verging on cringe comedy. At the time of writing this review, only 5 episodes have been released, but we were given access to the whole season in order to write this review. This review will be spoiler-free though.
Point 1: Oners on Oners on Oners
If you’re confused about how to pronounce that, it’s like the number one and then “ur” at the end. What is a oner? Well funny enough, episode 2 is called The Oner and is all about that. A oner is basically a long shot with no cuts. As in one shot, thus oner. And this show is absolutely obsessed with them. At times it feels like a gimmick, but I really think it adds this heightened energy to the show that many other shows don’t have.
This show is basically a high budget sitcom with A-list cameos and dealing with some of the most un-relatable things to most audiences. On many levels, you would think it wouldn’t work, but the choice to make everything frantic just doesn’t allow you the space to dwell on that. The fast-paced run-and-gun style really works for the subject matter and the main reason for that to me, is the fact that every episode consists of just a few very long oners rather than having constant cuts like most shows and movies. I think it would have felt more like a gimmick if it didn’t in itself add to the vibe of the show.
On a more meta level though, of course in episode 2, it feels comically self-referential to have an episode about shooting a oner where the episode itself is also a oner (with clever cuts, but still). But outside of that, I feel like most people won’t even notice the lack of cuts in other episodes, but I think it’s impossible to not feel the energy that it provides. The music of course also accentuates this with constant drums making the environment feel frantic as well.
Much like his character in the show, Rogen’s love of movie-making really shines through in these creative decisions in how he decides to shoot the show and portray everything.
Point 2: Laughing With and At Itself
Let’s be honest: Hollywood is the height of pretentiousness. Whether you love movies and TV or not, there is a lot of pomp, there is a lot of glitz and glam, and in general there’s definitely an air of self-importance that perhaps does not feel commensurate with life or society. It would be very easy for a show like this to be up its own ass and self-fellating about Hollywood and cinema. To me, that’s the key to The Studio’s success. It subverts that at every turn. But not by just being humble. No, in fact quite the opposite. It’s by leaning into it so extremely far that you can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole thing.
The self-awareness of every criticism you can think of of Hollywood is what’s on full display here, and The Studio sets them up and knocks them down one by one. Creative projects vs commercial slop films? That’s in here and explored in depth. The business vs creative side of things? That’s basically the ethos of the show. Creatives getting too up their own ass about what they make? Yup, there’s a whole episode about it. I won’t give away more but trust me, they really run the gamut of critiques of Hollywood and show you how aware of it they are while also conceding how stupid they are. It’s not defending any of it, but it is putting it on full display to an extent perhaps most people haven’t considered.
One specific episode that is yet to air covers the discussion of the importance of art compared to other professions and what can really be considered art. It’s a deep question that you would not expect a show like this to cover, but it does it beautifully in its own way.
I am under embargo to discuss this episode in any detail, so I can’t say much. But episode 7 called “Casting” is the pinnacle of the show and to me, it is an instant classic episode that people will reference and quote for a long time. In general, I felt that the first half of the season was just fun one-off silly episodes, but the second half really levels up to provide some biting satire that goes further than you’d expect. Episode 6 and 7 back to back are absolute gems that will make some people uncomfortable at times, but I think are just so smartly written and teased out. I legitimately cannot wait to discuss these two episodes with people once they air. Real all-timers.
Point 3: Mr. Crash Out
If the clever self-deprecating writing is the key to the success of the show, Seth Rogen’s portrayal of Matt Remick is the special sauce that brings home the bacon. Do these expressions make any sense together? No. But do you follow what I’m saying? Hopefully.
It is very difficult to make a self-important, self-obsessed millionaire head of a movie studio who is constantly name-dropping sympathetic. In fact, so difficult that the show makes no attempt to do that. Instead, it puts forth how pathetic these personality traits are and colours Remick as a fragile, insecure person with crash out coming around every corner. It feels almost incredulous that someone like this would ever make it to this position and succeed, but I guess when you are surrounded by similarly bumbling people, it’s not hard.
On that level, the character traits given to Remick could be an obstacle people have a hard time wrapping their heads around. With everyone fresh off shows like Succession or even The White Lotus, it could be a hard sell for people to have to view extremely rich people behaving in this way. But it worked for me. I think it made it easier to have a very Seth Rogen-type character be the protagonist rather than a buttoned-up suit type. You really have to buy into the comically exaggerated Hollywood that the show puts down to enjoy the show how it presents itself.
Once you do though, every Matt Remick crash out is more entertaining than the last. You don’t know if he’ll be pathetic privately or if he’ll go way too far to the point of public embarrassment. I’m not generally a big fan of cringe comedy, but this toes the line of being in such a bubble of its own that it didn’t bother me much compared to other shows that do cringe comedy in too real of an environment.
Seth Rogen’s fingerprints are on every bit of this show and he is at the heart of making all of it work. As someone who has gone from someone solely on the creative side of films to now becoming a prolific producer who is well aware of how studios work, I can’t imagine a better person to be at the helm and he legitimately knocks it out of the park. I would not be surprised to see this put up a good fight against The White Lotus at the Golden Globes for the comedy categories.
Speaking of Golden Globes, episode 8 is about that exactly and it’s another banger of an episode.
Point 4: Hollywood Walk of Fame
As episodes 6-8 (the strongest stretch of the show) permeates pop culture, the other thing that people will talk about will be the cameos. Of course a show set in Hollywood about making movies will have cameos, but this show really goes all out. I’d love to know the budget of this show because I feel like a lot of it probably went to paying all these celebrities to show up on the show.
Before getting to the cameos though, I want to highlight top-notch comedic performances by the main cast of Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, and Kathryn Hahn. Barinholtz particularly is just magnetic anytime he’s on screen with his wild antics. David Krumholtz and Keyla Monterroso Mejia also put in great supporting performances, but Bryan Cranston, especially in the final two episodes, is just laugh out loud fantastic.
On the cameo side, episode 1 swings hard with Martin Scorsese playing a big part and Charlize Theron and Steve Bescemi also making appearances. I had not realized how good an actor Scorsese was, but I guess when you spend decades directing the best actors in the business, you learn a thing or two. I won’t list every celebrity to save some for your viewing pleasure, but specifically keep an eye out for Dave Franco and Zoe Kravitz in the last few episodes, absolutely killing it.
As you can tell from the review, I loved The Studio. In terms of a narrative-led comedy show, there haven’t been too many in recent times that have done better than this. Its ability to never take itself seriously while still delivering biting satire at the state of Hollywood and those in it is unmatched and makes this a must-watch for anyone who would call themselves a fan of movies and TV or the industry.
If you are looking for other things to watch on Apple TV+, consider our reviews for Slow Horses or Silo.
