PalCinema Review: The Studio

Episodes 1 & 2 are hilarious satires on Hollywood

March 26, 2025

TV SERIES: THE STUDIO

CREATORS: ALEX GREGORY, PETER HUYCK, EVAN GOLDBERG

STARRING: SETH ROGEN, CATHERINE O’HARA, IKE BARINHOLTZ

RATING: Episodes 1 & 2, 4 stars each

By Dan Pal

Here’s a television series that hits my sweet spots: It’s about film, Hollywood, actors, and a few songs thrown in for good measure. The first two episodes, which debut today on AppleTV+, were directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. In the first, Matt Remick, played by Rogen, lands the job as head of Continental Studios after the firing of its previous leader Patty Leigh (Catherine O’Hara.) Leigh had been a proponent of more artsy films and Remick shared a passion for the great cinema of the past. However, the pressure is on to produce movies that make more money. When a writer pitches an idea for a film based on the drink Kool-Aid (given the success of another product: Barbie), Remick attempts to somehow bridge his need for cinematic greatness with high art, tapping Martin Scorsese for the project.

That is the basic plot of episode one of The Studio. It begins with a long take which is very reminiscent of the opening scene in Robert Altman’s 1990s classic The Player, which was itself a satire on the behind the scenes decisions made by a Hollywood studio. Rogen and Goldberg manage to create multiple long takes over the first two episodes which capture the chaos and frenetic energy of studio life. While The Player becomes a darker noir-style thriller, The Studio maintains its level of humorously driven hyper-mania throughout each episode. Certainly, the directors here are in love with the high paced energy found in the other films they reference including Orson Welles’ A Touch of Evil and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Multiple characters come in and out of the shots, mayhem ensues, and in this case, Remick has to carefully straddle his conflicting needs.

Aside from this fast-pace, the series explores the Hollywood of today that makes movies to gross a lot of money. As such, Remick, and the team around him, including Ike Barinholtz as his best friend and sidekick Sal and Kathryn Hahn as head of marketing Maya, all play the same game. They talk privately about what their real needs are but then tell talent, such as Scorsese, exactly what they want to hear. This, of course, backfires but doesn’t stop Remick from continually making compromised decisions.

Seth Rogen is great as Remick, demonstrating his usual flair for physical and verbal comedy. In episode two, Remick and Sal wander onto the set of a film his studio is producing which is being directed by Oscar-winner Sarah Polley. The set is flying with energy and the interruptions caused by Remick are full of screwball comedy-style pratfalls and crashes. Some might say Remick comes off like a buffoon here but I take him as a character who is both naïve and smitten with his newly found power in the industry. It’s all played for laughs and there are plenty of them in both episodes. It’s incredibly well-orchestrated on beautifully created sets and studio locations.

One of the great treats of the series is the number of cameos sprinkled throughout the episodes. Actors and directors play themselves, such as Paul Dano, Scorsese, Polley, Charlize Theron, and Greta Lee. It’s a strange juxtaposition then to have well-known actors such as Rogen, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, and Kathryn Hahn play created characters. Surely each of these actors has a presence and familiarity to audiences that could make them equally relevant for an episode or two. However, a series like this needs recognizable stars to carry the show so I don’t think blurring the bridge between characters and actors appearing on the same series is much of a problem.

Some have wondered whether The Studio would appeal to those not inside or infatuated with the entertainment industry. That remains to be seen, but I think the series has enough energy, bite, and humor, along with known figures, to make even casual viewers fans that want more.

The Studio episodes one and two begin streaming today on AppleTV+.

Have you watched The Studio? What do you think?