“I got into all of this because I love movies. Now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them,” Matt Remick said.
I have always enjoyed it whenever Hollywood decides to poke fun at itself on the silver screen. From Faustian falls from grace like the 1950 classic “Sunset Boulevard” to the joyous 1952 musical masterpiece “Singin’ in the Rain,” audiences have always been fascinated by what goes on behind Tinseltown’s curtain. Now, from the team of Seth Rogen (star of 2007’s “Superbad” and 2022’s “The Fabelmans”) and Evan Goldberg, we have a new addition to this pantheon of entertainment: “The Studio” featured on Apple TV+.
The Main Cast
Rogan plays the new head of Continental Studios, Matt Remick, who deals with the insanity of micromanaging a Hollywood studio. He took the job from his former mentor, Patty Leigh (played by Catherine O’Hara, star of “Schitt’s Creek”), who is now a producer. The rest of his team consists of Vice President Sal Saperstein (played by Ike Barinholtz), Creative Executive Quinn Hackett (played by Chase Sui Wonders, star of 2022’s “Bodies Bodies Bodies”), and marketing head Maya Mason (played by Kathryn Hahn, star of 2021’s “WandaVision”). His boss, CEO Griffin Mill, is played by the legendary Bryan Cranston, star of “Breaking Bad” and also has a recurring role.
Episode One: “The Promotion”
“We are gonna make the auteur-driven, Oscar-winning Kool-Aid film.”
The first episode sets up the main concept of the show, in which Remick has to coddle his boss’s obsession by creating a movie based on Kool-Aid. He manages to land a meeting with the legendary Martin Scorsese and is forced to buy and kill his speculative script about the Jonestown Massacre to protect his Kool-Aid film. Scorsese has surprisingly good comedic timing, and the pilot sets the show up for a strong start.
Episode Two: “The Oner”
“The oner is the ultimate cinematic achievement, you know? It’s like the perfect marriage of artistry and technicality.”
This episode shows the process of trying to film a prolonged and complicated one-take that Remick keeps ruining. Sarah Polley (an Oscar winner for 2022’s “Women Talking”) cameos as the director, and Greta Lee (star of 2023’s “Past Lives”) as the lead. Although “The Studio” frequently uses prolonged, frenetic long takes to tell its story, this episode instead is a true 25-minute-long take. It may not be my favorite episode, but it is certainly the most technically impressive of the entire show.
Episode Three: “The Note”
“I'm not gonna pretend to have a dead cousin to give Ron Howard a note that you should give him.”
“Alphabet City” is a fictional new film directed by Ron Howard (who also made the 2001 Best Picture winner “A Beautiful Mind”) and his unwillingness to cut an extraneous 45-minute-long postlude to his action film. He has been given Final Cut privilege, which means that the final edit to the film cannot be changed by the studio against the director’s permission. Despite his privileges, the executives try to lobby the film’s producer, Anthony Mackie (star of 2008’s “The Hurt Locker”), to help him see the light of day. Potentially because of his past comedic television roles, such as the 1970s sitcom “Happy Days,” Ron Howard delivers a great and vapid portrayal of himself and helps the episode constantly produce laughs.
Episode Four: “The Missing Reel”
“Good artists borrow, great artists steal.”
In an ode to classic film noir, this episode about a rip off of Roman Polański’s 1974 film “Chinatown” devolves into a mystery over a missing reel of celluloid film. Remich takes it upon himself to try to discover the missing reel amid a general sense of mistrust from the entire film crew. Olivia Wilde cameos as the film’s director (who also made 2022's “Don’t Worry Darling”) and serves as the “femme fatale” for the episode, to great effect.
Episode Five: “The War”
“I wouldn't say it's a formula, so much as a structure that we a hundred percent know works, so we're gonna do it over and over again.”
This episode serves as an opportunity for both Hackett’s and Saperstein’s characters to take center stage. The episode is about an escalating feud between them over trying to pitch a knockoff of 2022’s "Smile" to the film's director, Parker Finn. The increasingly petty actions each character takes are hilarious and evolves into one of my favorite episodes of the show.
Episode Six: “The Pediatric Oncologist”
“You don't take yourself seriously at all.”
This episode sees Remick dating a pediatric oncologist (played by Rebecca Hall) and his visit to a charity gala and cancer fundraiser. Meanwhile, back at the office, executives are meeting with Johnny Knoxville (star of the “Jackass” series) over the trailer for his new film “Duhpocalypse!”. The movie is about zombies who infect others with their explosive diarrhea, so the executives are trying to keep it in the trailer while not upsetting theater owners. The A&B plots were fine, but I still felt like this was the weakest episode of the show.
Episode Seven: “Casting”
“What Maya is saying is that perhaps we're playing into some stereotypes because there might be a group of people who historically enjoy Kool-Aid more than others.”
This episode goes over the casting process for the Kool-Aid movie, and the executives fear that casting Ice Cube (star of 2012’s “21 Jump Street”) in the title role would be playing into racist stereotypes. While I normally dislike Hahn’s character, she has a lot to do in this episode and has several great moments.
Episode Eight: “The Golden Globes”
“The most unsatisfying thing about being an executive. Your name is nowhere on the film. Right? And without a thank-you, you basically do not exist. Oh, my God, when I wasn't thanked, I would sob the entire limo ride home.”
The Golden Globes are one of Hollywood’s most visible and important events. Because they most often take place as the first televised award ceremony each year, they are an important step for studios to give momentum for the film to ultimately win an Oscar. This episode has Continental’s main awards push being a film directed by Zoë Kravitz (parodying her 2024 directorial feature “Blink Twice”) and Remick’s incessant need to be personally thanked during her acceptance speech in the event she wins. From the forgettable presenter bits and a surprise cameo from Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, this manages to be my personal favorite episode of the entire show.
Episodes Nine and Ten: “CinemaCon” and “The Presentation”
“Movies.”
Ultimately, films are a business and are made to turn a profit. One of the most important events for a film studio each year is CinemaCon, where they are not selling their films to theatergoers, but to theater owners. If their presentation goes well, more theaters across the country agree to showcase certain films, increasing everyone’s ability to make money. All the previous films from the season are being presented, leading to several fun callbacks. On top of a mushroom-fueled frenzy, à la “The Hangover,” with Bryan Cranston’s character becoming a veritable vegetable, the finale sets the stage to become the show's best episodes.
My Final Thoughts
I quite enjoyed “The Studio,” and I am extremely glad it has been renewed for a second season. I will look forward to reviewing that one as well, and my final rating for Season One of “The Studio” is hilarious, 8/10.
