FYC: Why ‘The Studio’ Deserves Outstanding Comedy Series

There is a running joke/observation about people adjacent to the entertainment industry love movies and shows about the entertainment industry. I freely admit that I am one of those people. Here, in AppleTV+’s The Studio, we have a show that has its main cast making movies about the Kool-Aid Man and diarrhea zombies, but throughout, you really feel that the characters and the show itself really love the art of filmmaking.

The ego-driven antics of the entertainment industry are on full display among the main cast and the guest stars, but yet it never feels mean-spirited. Newly minted studio head Matt Remick’s (Seth Rogan) desire to make films, be it either a great work of art or a broad entertainment, is at the center of everything he does. He wants to be loved by the creative types while still needing to compromise to please corporate. He is flawed and wants validation for his work, but his insecurities get in his way. A moment that really captured all of the turmoil that is Matt happens when he defends his medium to his doctor girlfriend and her pretentious colleagues even to the point that he injures himself and needs medical attention. Even as he’s loaded into an ambulance, he can’t help one last jab the television screen in his hospital room.

This same balancing act happens with the rest of the cast. Sal (Ike Barinholtz) could just have been the douche studio executive, but we see moments of doubt. He appears strong when not getting the top job, but alone he quickly cries and then snorts coke. New producer Quinn (Chase Sui Wonders) wants her shot and wins the upper hand when fighting with Sal. That’s later balanced when she sees him genuinely sad that, if he loses his job, his no-talent kids will be ruined. So she saves him but takes his parking spot, getting her a little closer to gaining influence. Patty (Catherine O’Hara), the previous studio head, is now a producer and actually much happier not being in charge, but she still laughs in delight at the pain of a rival before collecting herself to avoid seeming cruel.

Matt genuinely sees these people as friends, and the fact that he is now the boss makes him worried. He can never tell if someone likes him or only likes what he can do for them. That these core people are with him gives the show a true heart that makes you want to root for all of them. If there was any downside to the show, I wanted more time with the supporting cast.

The biggest praise I can give though is that this show made me laugh a lot. Its quick one liners and comedic timing are perfect. The inside-baseball jokes about the process and individuals involved really help catch the jokes. Knowing Greta Lee and Sarah Polley’s indie status makes their desires to get more out of this major studio much funnier. Ron Howard’s nice guy persona turned on its head or Olivia Wilde willing to play into her reputation of being hard to work with all add to the fun of the show. But even not knowing all of it, you still can enjoy the ridiculous scenarios we see this cast get into.

The second episode, “The Oner,” was what sold me that this show was for me. Matt’s love of filmmaking leads him to want to see a oner (or a single long take) being filmed. His friends want to keep him away, knowing having him there will be a distraction. They are of course right, which leads to increasingly ridiculous scenarios of the shot being ruined and the director and star using it to get things from him. As he and Sal flee at the end, desperately hoping they get the final shot as they drive away in silence till a text Sal says, “They didn’t get it.” Matt screams, “F***”” and we end. That simple moment after all the stress was just perfect.

This was a comedy catnip for me. Just the right combination of cynicism and caring all centered around the entertainment industry that, while acknowledging its issues, I still genuinely love. The Studio loves art, and it is a great piece of comic art that deserves all the praise it has received. Hopefully, it receives the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.

The Studio streams exclusively on AppleTV+.