‘The Studio’ Review: Seth Rogen’s Hollywood Satire Is Sure To Delight Movie-Lovers Everywhere

After largely spending the late aughts and 2010s headlining R-rated comedies, Seth Rogen has spent much of his time post-COVID behind the camera as an executive producer. While the lack of theatrically released R-rated comedies is a big reason for that, he has still been able to channel his comedic sensibilities to the small screen. 

His new Apple TV+ show, The Studio, is his first project in a while that proudly touts its edginess, making fun of everything and everyone, all within the confines of a legacy Hollywood studio. It’s also a must-watch for any cinephile; not only is it a comedy, but it truly gets the state of Hollywood. And while there are plenty of raunchy jokes, it also has an air of realism. For those who miss the days of Rogen doing projects like This Is the End and Neighbors, The Studio sets out to fill that hole in your heart.

‘The Studio’ Is Just as Much a Satire of Hollywood as It Is a Love Letter

Matt Remick (Rogen), loves film. After spending the last 20 years working for Continental Studios under studio head Patty Leigh (Catherine O’Hara), he’s finally about to catch his big break. CEO Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston) lets Matt know that Patty has been ousted and that he’s next in line to take her place. However, there’s a catch: He has to greenlight a feature film about the Kool-Aid Man. Yes, you heard that right.

What transpires over the next 30 minutes is Matt and his team traversing Hollywood desperately trying to find a director for the Kool-Aid movie, with the search ranging from Nicholas Stoller to Martin Scorsese himself. The following nine episodes — which are chock-full of unexpected and amusing cameos from actors and directors alike — have Matt and his team, including his boisterous second in command Sal Seperstein (Ike Barinholtz), his assistant Quinn (Chase Sui Wonders), and marketing exec Maya (Kathryn Hahn) racing through the streets of Hollywood.

Between giving Ron Howard a deeply personal studio note, sabotaging Sarah Polley’s perfect one-shot take, winning awards with Zoë Kravitz, and solving a mystery on Olivia Wilde‘s movie starring Zac Efron, The Studio has plenty of zany comedy and set-ups but it never breaches the realm of reality. It’s equally a satirical takedown of the Hollywood studio system, but also a declaration of love to movie lovers everywhere.

‘The Studio’ Shows Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Have Grown as Directors

Rogen and his producing partner Evan Goldberg direct all 10 episodes of the series, marking their first directorial effort since the pilot for Black Monday in 2019. Unlike the other series Rogen and Goldberg have worked on, The Studio feels like it’s told entirely in their own voice. These are the guys who made the hysterical This Is the End, but their work on The Studio shows how much they’ve grown as filmmakers.

The Studio employs numerous tracking shots (or oners) throughout the series, as Rogen’s Matt stumbles his way through movie sets and the offices of Continental Studios. The result is an overwhelming and stressful experience but in the best way possible. It also helps that the show is incredibly funny and you quickly gel with most of the characters.

Rogen could have easily played Matt like a David Zaslav or Ted Sarandos-type figure — someone who spouts constant corporate jargon and prioritizes content over actual art. Sure that would have been amusing, but since we’re spending 10 episodes with this guy, it helps that Matt feels a bit more relatable than the typical corporate suit. He’s someone who truly cares about cinema and has become disillusioned by just how corporate Hollywood has become. Yet, he still has to come to terms with making some tough decisions that might sabotage his relationship with many of the directors and stars making movies for his studio.

‘The Studio’ Makes Great Use of Its Star-Studded Line-Up

The celebrity cameos are plentiful, but nobody feels necessarily out of place. In fact, Rogen and Goldberg expanded their roster beyond just the same stars we’re used to seeing work with them. It makes the series feel all the more real. This isn’t another one of those Hollywood satires with movies that sound like they could never exist. A Kool-Aid Man movie may initially seem like something that would never happen, but the show constantly reminds us that Greta Gerwig was able to turn a plastic doll into a billion-dollar Oscar-winning movie.

For the most part, the supporting cast suits their roles perfectly. We’ve seen Barinholtz play Rogen’s loud-mouthed sidekick in the Neighbors movies, and that’s pretty much what he’s doing here, yet it still works and brings an extra jolt of energy to the show. O’Hara is a definite scene-stealer as Patty, serving as Matt’s snarky mentor figure who is still trying to find ways to be relevant in the industry that gave her the boot. Unfortunately, The Studio never seems to know what it wants to do with Hahn’s character. Is she Matt’s true love interest? Is she more of an antagonist? We never quite know. She’s always been a comedic force on screen, but the series deploys her in a manner of ways that never feels cohesive.

Apple TV+ Has a Hit On Their Hands

Rogen and Goldberg are also constantly finding ways to shake up the narrative within The Studio. In several episodes, the series takes audiences on a trip away from the soundstages of Continental and to the Golden Globes and CinemaCon. It all adds to a zany and fun narrative that feels real enough to be believable but never takes itself too seriously.

Anyone who remotely cares about the inner workings of Hollywood will find so much to enjoy within The Studio. Rogen and Goldberg have delivered some of their best work yet in this highly entertaining and whip-smart workplace comedy that rides the line between being a farce and an ode to cinema itself.

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