I recently watched Apple TV+’s The Studio and immediately fell in love. It’s the type of satirical comedy that instantly captures my attention. The Studio possesses many admirable qualities, including a very funny cast and sharp commentary on Hollywood. It even includes perfect guest appearances. The Studio has quickly become my favorite show of 2025 so far, so it’s unfortunate that I almost didn’t watch it.
There are way too many television shows, and Apple TV+ isn’t the best at marketing its series, so I only learned about The Studio during its premiere week. After a quick glance at a social media post, I don’t think I quite understood the show’s concept.
Warning minor The Studio Season 1 spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.
I Misjudged The Studio Even Before I Really Knew What It Was About
I don’t watch movie trailers, so I find new TV shows and movies to watch based on word of mouth or intriguing promotional material (such as clips or posters). Sometimes I also just read press announcements or articles about a series to spark my interest. Therefore, The Studio was an Apple TV+ TV show that I knew nothing about, just that it starred Seth Rogen. I often enjoy Rogen’s performances and think he has many great movies. I have also seen some of his cameos or guest appearances on TV shows, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from him as the lead of one. I know he is one of the main characters in another great Apple TV+ series, Platonic, but I have not watched that yet.
Rogen being the lead of The Studio isn’t what made me hesitant to watch it. It’s that I kind of assumed the premise was something different than it was. I thought it was about making one movie and the studio’s involvement in it. That is part of the plot of The Studio, but it’s more about studios’ involvement overall in the creation of films. It’s also not that straightforward. I only decided to watch it after I saw someone I trust for movie and TV show recommendations praising it. This led me to give it a watch.
It has a lot more layers to how it presents this world and its flaws. My misjudgment of The Studio should probably act as a lesson to maybe watch some trailers, especially for movies and series I am completely unfamiliar with.
The Series Stresses Me Out, But That's Also What Charms Me About It
I don’t like anxiety in real life, but I love it in the film world. Anxiety-inducing movies and TV shows are one of my favorite genres. Therefore, I knew after the pilot that The Studio was the type of show I would love. Almost every episode has high stakes and some form of panic. None of the characters in this Apple TV+ show know how to chill, especially not Matt (Seth Rogen) and Sal (Ike Barinholtz). The situations escalate every episode, and you’re left feeling as anxious as these characters. However, it’s all so funny.
The situation may at times make you embarrassed for the characters, but it never goes so far that you can’t laugh at them. The stressful situations add to The Studio’s charm. Additionally, most of the situations are not that big of a deal, but the characters make everything so heightened. They make simple studio decisions feel like life-or-death moments.
That makes everything happening with or between these characters hilarious.
I Knew It Would Be A Comedy, But I Especially Love The Way It Parodies And Pays Homage To Films
One of my favorite episodes of the series so far is The Studio Season 1, Episode 4, "The Missing Reel.” It becomes about Matt searching for the missing reel of Olivia Wilde’s new movie. It's a neo-noir movie shot on film instead of digital, which makes it a really expensive movie. The search for the reel has a lot of twists and turns that drive Sal and Matt nearly crazy. The whole premise and execution pays homage to some of the best noir movies.
Chinatown in particular is mentioned a few times in “The Missing Reel,” and its impact and influence on the episode is apparent. This is one of the many ways The Studio parodies or pays homage to films. The whole Kool-Aid man storyline is a clear nod to so many films that use an existing property to draw in viewers. Some examples include Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, A Minecraft Movie, and The Angry Birds Movie.
These little nods to films show that the team behind The Studio loves movies and mockery is just their form of flattery.
Every New Cameo Surprised And Delighted Me
I had no idea that The Studio would have such an impressive list of director cameos and actors. Seth Rogen seems to be well-liked in Hollywood, so it’s not completely surprising that he could get some friends and friends-of-friends to guest star, but it’s still impressive. Every actor or director nails their roles and delivers some of the funniest performances of their careers.
Zoe Kravitz appears in multiple episodes of The Studio, and she’s probably the best guest star. She’s so brilliant in this role. This might be my favorite performance by her, and I hope she continues to make cameos on The Studio.
With The Studio already renewed for Season 2, I can’t wait to see who else makes an appearance. I need to see their hilarious antics.
I Appreciate That The Studio Humanizes Studio Heads But Is Also Quite Critical Of Them
Matt is a mess. He is not who I would envision running a major studio, because I assume those in charge are individuals who are very focused and driven. I imagine polished leaders. However, in actuality, they’re probably at times a mess like Matt. Humans are prone to not always be calculated, poised, and focused, so I am sure there are some heads of studios who are similar to Matt or have days like his.
The Studio making Matt a mess showcases the flaws of even these men in powerful positions. Matt is also unlikable at times and makes choices to feed his ego. This is probably true for some real-life heads of studios. Matt’s mistakes and behavior are probably indicative of real people who have the power to greenlight film projects. I love that The Studio makes these people in charge look more human, but doesn’t shy away from also making them look like idiots.
The Studio Reminds Me Of Some Of My Other Favorite Satirical Shows, And That May Add To My Admiration Of It
I am a huge fan of satirical shows, movies, and books. Therefore, I have seen quite a few of them. The Studio reminds me a lot of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Parks and Recreation, and even Succession. Some episodes of The Studio share strong similarities with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, especially Episode 6 of The Studio, “The Pediatric Oncologist." It reminds me a lot of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 4 Episode 7, “Who Pooped the Bed.” They both explore the ideas of art, comedy, and levels of importance being subjective.
Because I can see the thread of so many of my favorite shows of all time in The Studio, it makes me love it even more. The Studio is further proof that I need to check out more of the upcoming Apple TV+ shows, because there might be a lot more that I'll enjoy.
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