The Studio (Apple TV)
As a lover of film, The Studio is exactly what I want from a satire of the Hollywood industry. The show’s lens into Hollywood through the eyes of studio executive Matt Remick, played by Seth Rogen, allows for the show to tap into a level of cynicism on topics not usually explored in other films and shows focused on the film industry which was very surprising and its jovial and comedic sensibilities makes the show a hilarious watch.
Obviously, the everyday events of film studios are not really like this, with no studio executive ever participating in a detective noir search for a can of film reels. However, the show always taps into realities relating to the film industry, such as the prioritisation of finance over art among studio executives when green-lighting blockbusters, and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg always find ways to inject their wit into their discussions of these topics. The episode ‘Casting’ was especially funny, where an almost entirely white group of studio executives attempt to form a diverse cast whilst attempting to not come off as offensive, and it perfectly captures the degree of ignorance among executives when trying to be diverse and how other problematic elements of production can be overlooked. These kinds of discussions on these subject matters have without a doubt happened among real studio executives, with Rogen even saying certain episodes like ‘The Golden Globes’ were loosely based on real stories, and the way the show shines a light on them was a blast to watch as a film fan and is just fun in general to watch, with the show’s digestible, sitcom-esque nature making each episode incredibly easy to watch.
Another thing of note is all of the celebrity cameos, which do not just exist for you to be amazed simply by the fact that Martin Scorsese is there, but are key elements to the show’s comedy. Seeing this show discuss the aforementioned cynical topics whilst having big-name actors and directors casually appear is simply hilarious, making it feel like the show’s themes are piercing more into the core of Hollywood, and the way all of these people allow themselves to be the butts of jokes is great, with Ron Howard particularly getting laughs from me as his friendly reputation is torn down as Rogen and Goldberg transform him into a man of spite. The main cast also stand their ground against these titanic cameos, with Rogen delivering a great amount of heart and sincerity that makes the show’s love of film, despite a lot of cynicism for the industry, apparent and the supporting cast each having a fun, trashiness to them which feels so right for the executives they play. Ike Barinholtz is especially fantastic who plays his character, Sal Saperstein, with just the right amount of cheap sleaze that makes the show an absolute laugh riot whenever he is on screen.
The Studio is baffling, with it feeling strange for a show with a cast and crew so ingrained into Hollywood to be so blasé and cynical about the industry. This irreverence at its core makes the show incredibly distinct and combines so well with the pure fun of Rogen and Goldberg’s scripts and style which ends up making this a highly enjoyable watch.
