The Studio Review, the new half-hour comedy from Seth Rogen, is another PSA that AppleTV+ is fast becoming the new HBO at a time when the latter is being deluded in real time. Sharply funny, witty, and stylish, this show is the streamer’s latest offering after Ted Lasso and Severance that deserves a buzzy watercooler status given how adjacent it is to our entertainment lifestyle.
What's it about?
The show follows Matt Remick (Rogen), the newly appointed head of Legendary Continental Studios. As he attempts to establish his influence in the highest echelon of Hollywood power, Matt’s overt film nerdiness often gets in the way since even the sight of a celebrity gives him sweaty palms. Other times, he’s too caught up with the desire to please everybody, and he ends up making comically convoluted decisions.
But therein lies The Studio’s oddball charm. Unlike past depictions of studio bosses, Matt is no debonair playboy like Howard Hughes nor a hustler like Entourage’s Ari Gold. He’s so eager to please yet innately egomaniacal that he’s incapable of seeing just how many self-made errors he causes. Yet despite all of that – perhaps it’s the Seth Rogen factor – you can still find him rather endearing. It’s this mix of misguided naivete that makes The Studio so fun to watch.
Another standout feature of the show is its extensive use of long takes. Scenes are often done in one long shot - oners, as they were called. One episode even devotes itself to this art form. Appropriately titled “The Oner”, the episode features a meta storyline of Matt visiting the set of a movie on the day of a very important, nerve-wracking oner.
The ones are indeed flashy technical showcases, but they also perfectly capture the chaotic, maniacal, and nonstop energy that Hollywood Type-A people exude. It also offers a treat to the eyes as you can’t help but marvel at the logistics needed to pull off the multiple sets, multiple characters, multiple props, and often multiple sequences in one go. The fun is to find the cleverly hidden cuts – be it an extra quick wipe or pan, light switch, or intentional prop placement – but the extraordinary production teams definitely made it really hard!
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The Studio Review
The show wouldn’t be as lively without a game ensemble cast that counts Katherine Hahn as Continental’s no-nonsense marketing head, Catherine O’Hara as the former Continental chief that Matt replaced, Ike Barinholtz as Matt’s pragmatic right hand, and Chase Sui Wonders as the studio’s ambitious junior exec. Adding the stardom factor is the row of A-list guest stars playing themselves each episode – Martin Scorsese! Charlize Theron! Zac Efron! Olivia Wilde!
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Every episode is a sketch about the current state of the film industry. Competition with streamers, the proliferation of sequels, films greenlit about the randomest thing like Kool-Aid, the rapid decline of films shot on film, and so on. The reality is so far from the heyday of the Hollywood Golden Age that Matt so idealized. Yet he cannot let go of that ideal that makes for the bulk of the comedy’s ironic circumstances. At The Studio, the theatrical experience must battle pretty much everything the modern world throws at it – and one bumbling, in-over-his-head hero is here to save it at all costs.
