Hollywood loves making movies and television shows about Hollywood. But creators often enter the arena with rose-colored glasses.
Not so with “The Studio.â€
It shows just how chaotic the world is and just how political its participants can be.
When we join the new Apple TV series, Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) has been named head of Continental Studios, a hit-and-miss company that has just ousted its less manic leader (Catherine O’Hara) after she failed to deliver a big hit.
Seth Rogen plays a new studio head desperate for a hit in "The Studio."Â
The studio’s C.E.O., however, thinks he has a franchise that’ll lick the competition if it just gets the right treatment. His property: The Kool-Aid Man.
Remick wants to make it a prestige acquisition (a la “Barbieâ€); Griffin Mill, the C.E.O. (an unhinged Bryan Cranston) just wants to make billions. In the opener, Remick wrestles with his conscience (wouldn’t Scorsese be perfect?) but can’t quite admit to anyone just how crass this could be. He plays off his key execs (Ike Barinholtz and Chase Sui Wonders) but realizes he’s the one who has to fall on the sword.
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Had someone else played Remick, “The Studio†wouldn’t seem so angsty. But with Rogen in the role, it’s almost too much. Luckily, he settles down in later episodes but it’s a tough haul right out of the chute.
The second episode – which brings O’Hara back into the picture – is much more palatable and creative. It’s designed to embrace the “oner,†a single long shot like ones in “Birdman†and other films. It, too, uses the conceit and rewards hardcore movie fans with its own Easter eggs.
Seth Rogen gets much-needed advice from Catherine O'Hara in "The Studio."Â
Along the way, pearls of wisdom are dropped – the actress who will say anything to get a private jet to the press tour; the marketing whiz who will shoot down any concept that cuts into running time.
What “The Studio†needs, though, is a dose of confidence that Matt won’t lose his job every time he wheels into work. Indeed, when Barinholtz and Wonders get center stage, the series is much more relaxing. “The Morning Show†works because Billy Crudup exudes confidence even when he’s petrified. “The Studio†could use a little shot of Crudup.
Rogen, who created the series with Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez, captures the atmosphere nicely. The executive offices are in a gorgeous historic building; the shoots have the ring of authenticity, largely because real actors and directors play themselves. Martin Scorsese is a hoot; Ron Howard goes out of his comfort zone to sell his vision. When they go on location to watch Sarah Polley direct, Rogen inserts himself into the proceedings and becomes the executive no one wants to see.
The studio head has several lieutenants helping him make decisions, including Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn and Chase Sui Wonders in "The Studio."Â
“The Studio†rings truest when Kathryn Hahn weighs in as the marketing brain. She’s just as profane as the real thing and isn’t afraid to dis anything once she’s given the green light. (She’s like so many Hollywood PR types; they should start a pool to see who her biggest influence is.)
Because 10 episodes can take this in a multitude of directions, “The Studio†deserves a little time (something, ironically, studio heads aren’t willing to offer). It’s bursting with ideas initially but once it leans into to specifics it becomes the series you may just want to embrace.
Barinholtz and Wonders are great support; O’Hara may well have found her new “Schitt’s Creek.†Rogen, though, needs a chill pill.Â
"The Studio" airs on AppleTV+.
