The above headline is no exaggeration. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, icons in modern comedy after their work on Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), and This Is the End (2013), return to their comedy roots with perhaps their best creation yet: the Apple TV+ original series The Studio. It’s no secret that Seth and Evan are kings of television at the moment, having produced multiple shows for different streamers like Invincible, Sausage Party: Foodtopia, Pam & Tommy, and all of the projects within The Boys universe. However, this is the first series in years that has had both putting pen to paper and writing in full.
The Studio follows Matt Remick (Seth Rogen), an exec at the fictional Continental Studios, who finds out that his mentor has been ousted as the studio’s head and that the CEO (Bryan Cranston) is looking to promote him to that vacant top seat. The only problem? Remick has an idealistic mindset in producing feature films, promoting original storytelling and indie filmmaking — which are not the kind of titles that make Continental their box office. Remick, alongside the powerhouse cast that makes up his executive team, must lead the studio with movies that fit his vision while still retaining the necessary returns.
The show’s premise invites insanity, and that’s precisely what ensues. The Studio invites the audience along by filming each episode as one long tracking shot with no cuts, making it feel truly immersive to the chaos that runs wildly throughout Hollywood. Whether it’s nonsensical arguments in a marketing meeting or a fight happening on a movie set, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg flawlessly build the comedic tension brick-by-brick in each episode, and the camera is the viewer’s non-stop window into seeing Matt Remick and his team make one hilariously wrong decision after another.
While The Studio boasts many A-List guest appearances, the supporting cast consists of Chase Sui Wonders (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along), and Ike Barinholtz (Blockers) as Remick’s team. The great Catherine O’Hara (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) also stands out as the former head of Continental who weaves in and out of the season. This Apple TV+ series wouldn’t be what it is without its supporting cast, who each bring the insanity to life with their unique comedic timing. When accompanied by Seth Rogen’s talents, ridiculous concepts that shouldn’t work on paper — such as a heated argument about who should voice the Kool-Aid Man and the cultural implications of who they cast — become a riot to watch.
Above all else, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg make the audience care about each character after unwrapping the absurd comedy of it all. From Matt Remick’s frankly loser-like ambitions of wanting to be friends with every actor he meets to Chase Sui Wonders’ character drive to greenlight her indie Owen Cline horror movie, every player in The Studio comes packed with desires and quirks that make them more than just comedy fodder. Sure, the jokes consistently lead to huge laughs without fail. Yet, it primarily works because Rogen and Goldberg show a deep admiration not only for their characters but also for Hollywood itself.
The Studio turns each weird aspect of Hollywood into a gag, taking shots at everyone in the business. Why must we get serious indie auteurs to make our studio slop? Why do we all gather in the middle of Las Vegas each year to pitch our entire studio stock? My personal answer to the latter is that the food at CinemaCon parties is worth the year-long wait. There’s plenty of Hollywood criticism tossed around, as well. But when compared to other shows that have done similar, here it’s presented with authenticity and love for the industry. Although Hollywood is filled with so much in-fighting, backstabbing, and school-ground behavior, it often culminates in fantastic artistry being shared with the world.
As expected of a TV series set in the film and entertainment industy, The Studio has an all-star guest cast including the previously announced Anthony Mackie, Ron Howard, Dave Franco, Zoë Kravitz, Josh Hutcherson, Johnny Knoxville, Nicholas Stoller, Ron Howard, Zac Efron, David Krumholtz, Charlize Theron, Olivia Wilde, and Martin Scorsese. Each guest star slips right into the absurdity of The Studio and plays into the heightened reality of Hollywood in-fighting perfectly. Whether that’s Franco getting high on shrooms or Ron Howard beating someone up, each guest star brings their A-game, in no small part thanks to the remarkable material that’s presented to them from the duo spearheading this Apple TV+ show.
One celebrity guest star that should be spotlighted is Martin Scorsese, who is the first major guest star of the premiere episode. Matt Remick’s first job is making a live-action Kool-Aid movie, for which he approaches Scorsese. As expected, hilarity ensues. Scorsese plays it all brilliantly in a deadpan way that kills every time he appears on screen, even when he doesn’t have any lines of dialogue. All of this is to say that I’m personally using this review to start Martin Scorsese’s Emmy campaign for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in The Studio.
Apple TV’s The Studio combines comedy with a heightened interpretation of the inner workings of Hollywood. The result? One of the best TV shows that can be found on streaming today. Creative duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg showcase that their comedy roots are still thriving with their most earnest, inventive, and laugh-out-loud hilarious venture yet. When the main issue with a show is that it’s too short, someone’s doing something right. Those in the industry will absolutely adore The Studio, and those outside of the industry may love it even more. It’s a bonafide success for Rogen and Goldberg as their next step in taking over television.
The Studio premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. The first two episodes debut on Apple TV+ on March 26, with new episodes then releasing every Wednesday!
Premiere Date: March 26, 2025
Created by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, & Frida Perez.
Series directed by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg.
Executive Producers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Frida Perez, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Alex McAtee, & Josh Fagen.
Main Cast: Seth Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, Bryan Cranston, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Dewayne Perkins, & Rebecca Hall.
Cinematographer: Adam Newport-Berra.
Composer: Antonio Sanchez.
Production Companies: Perfectly Pleasant Productions, Point Grey Pictures, & Lionsgate Television.
Network: Apple TV+.
Episodes: 10 (Season One).
