By George & Josh Bate
The following is a review of the first two episodes of Apple TV+‘s The Studio
Movies and shows about movies and shows have always had an alluring quality to them. To peek behind the scenes at how they come about not only has the potential to be insightful to audiences but also creates plenty of opportunities for reverence for the art of cinema and ridiculing of the chaos that operates during the creation of this art. Recent movies like Babylon and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood brilliantly and authentically examined the state of old Hollywood as it once was, although few recent stories have applied such craft and a level of insider knowledge to understanding the modern movie industry. That trend changes with The Studio, a new Apple TV+ series from creators Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez that is the best new comedy show in over a decade.
The Studio stars Seth Rogen as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of Continental Studios (a fictional film studio with a rich history like Warner Bros. or Paramount). In his new role, Matt quickly finds himself over his head, wrangling with narcissistic artists, craven businessmen, and endless battles with his core team of trusted allies. As someone who truly loves movies, Matt soon also finds that the demand for profit often endangers the ability to generate good movies, forcing him to either stick to his values or succumb to others.
The Studio is Hollywood making fun of Hollywood with an intelligence and wit never seen before. The series is populated with star-studded cameos of actors and filmmakers playing versions of themselves (often exaggerated or even less than favorable versions of themselves). The show’s budget seems sizable, as evidenced by these incredible cameos, elaborate sets, and on-location shooting, which collectively create a sense that you are actually taking a peek behind the curtain of the real movie industry, rather than some fictionalized movie industry full of fake actors and filmmakers. It is not the goal of Rogen, Goldberg, and colleagues to craft an unflinchingly real depiction of the film industry, but, rather, create something that initially and superficially feels so authentic and then heighten the proceedings with comedy and absurdity (much like Ricky Gervais did with HBO’s Extras). This is important as much of the humor in The Studio works so well because the world in which it is set feels so real (i.e., Martin Scorsese is actually played by Martin Scorsese, a movie set actually looks and feels like a real movie set and not one just made to look like one for TV). So, when this fictional movie industry that greatly mirrors our own is injected with humor and chaos, there’s an added joy that comes from seeing actors like Paul Dano, Charlize Theron, Steve Buscemi, and Greta Lee play themselves amongst this mayhem.
Mayhem aptly describes the initial episodes of The Studio, as that is exactly what Seth Rogen’s Matt Remick experiences after taking control of Continental Studios. Matt is never far away from a landmine in his new role, juggling so many personalities and responsibilities while also trying to stay true to his desire to make good movies. There’s a brilliant unpredictability to The Studio and its following of Matt as he tries to solve one problem, only to create two more in its place. Every scene flows so smoothly and logically from the last, while each still comes with some kind of surprise (a pleasant one for the audience and a disastrous one for Matt). Where the stories of each episode go are unreservedly hilarious and are scripted with such intelligence that the writing may be on the wall for how things are going to resolve and yet you still don’t really see it coming by the end.
Both of the first two episodes feel like movies, both in the cinematic craft that brought them to life and the contained nature of their stories. The first episode depicts Matt’s initial days in charge of Continental Studios as he tries to appease his boss Griffin Mill (played by Bryan Cranston) and makes bad decision after bad decision in order to do so. The episode, titled “The Promotion,” plays with a conflict experienced by many in the film industry – towing the line between profit and art – in a truly hilarious, albeit not profoundly in-depth, manner. The second episode, meanwhile, is titled “The Oner” and extraordinarily lives up to that title both narratively and artistically. The entire episode takes place on the set of a movie directed by a Greta Gerwig-like director and starring Greta Lee on a day in which the filmmaking team are trying to execute a difficult and lengthy one-take shot. Fiction mirrors reality though as “The Oner” is also shot entirely in one-take (or at least, meant to be seen as if it was shot entirely in one take). It’s a clever, meta concept for an episode of television that works remarkably well and generates huge laughs as things just go from bad to worse for Matt.
Contributing to the humor and chaos surrounding Matt and the movie industry he inhabits is a frenzied, wandering camera and energetic score. The episodes have very long takes without editing, allowing for the tension to progressively and methodologically increase in each scene. The camerawork resembles a buzzing fly on the wall, one that wanders around the room and then hurries after its occupants when they go anywhere. The handheld camerawork never nauseates, but contributes significantly to how rushed and chaotic everything is for Matt and, in turn, the audience. The score by Antonio Sanchez also plays a role in this chaos by keeping in sync with the stress of its characters while operating discreetly in the background.
Leading the charge both in front of and behind the camera is Seth Rogen. The Canadian actor known for his work on Superbad, Knocked Up, and Pineapple Express very much stays in his lane regarding his comedic performance here, although he is undeniably effective in generating laugh after laugh. Whether it be through witty one-liners, distinctive pronunciation of swear words, or subtle body language, Rogen simply gets comedy and how to make a funny scene from a script all the more funny when the cameras roll.
Also deserving of plaudits are Kathryn Hahn and Ike Barinholtz. Hahn plays Maya, a marketing expert at Continental, while Barinholtz plays Matt’s longtime friend and underling Sal. The two complement Rogen’s performance brilliantly in delivering different, yet similarly effective, flavors of humor. Hahn in particular delivers some lines that are destined to be memed and make the rounds on social media, which would make her character Maya (a 50-something-year old marketing ‘genius’ who acts, talks, and dresses like a trendy young adult) quite proud.
While excelling with its humor and depiction of the movie industry, The Studio doesn’t pack much dramatic heft. Admittedly, we’re only two episodes in and there’s plenty of time to add a bit of substance to its messaging or heart to its characters. Hopefully, the series is able to build upon its extremely strong foundation in the coming episodes.
VERDICT: 8.5/10
Apple TV+’s The Studio is the best new comedy show in over a decade. Using a seemingly sizable budget to recreate the modern film industry and absurd humor to ridicule it, the series from Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and company is filled to the brim with celebrity cameos and jokes about what happens when love for cinema clashes with a desire for profit. An incredible scene-to-scene unpredictability, frenzied camerawork, and an energetic score contributes to a sense of chaos, delightfully for the audience and disastrously for our lead Matt (played by Seth Rogen) as he makes bad decision after bad decision. Even when the writing’s on the wall for how things will resolve, the endings of each episode still come as such pleasant and hilarious surprises, demonstrating the strength of storytelling and scripting in the series. The Studio’s first episode takes a page out of Ricky Gervais’ Extras and is an odyssey of how things go from bad to worse for a person in the movie industry, while the second episode is a masterful, clever, and meta take on the infamous oner. In these episodes, Seth Rogen, Kathryn Hahn, and Ike Barinholtz all play wonderfully off one another and poke fun at facets of the movie industry in unique ways. The series doesn’t pack the dramatic heft to match its quality of humor and depiction of the movie industry, although admittedly we’re only two episodes in and there’s plenty of time to add substance to its messaging and heart to its characters. Hollywood making fun of Hollywood has never been more humorous or clever. Get ready for your next TV obsession.
New episodes of The Studio premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV+.