We’re just getting started on the 2025 TV schedule! Along with March bringing the return of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and a host of midseason premieres, those with an Apple TV+ subscription can look forward to a new series from Seth Rogen. He’s the co-creator, producer and star of The Studio, which is a satire about the current state of the Hollywood studio system. Now, ahead of its two-episode premiere later this month, critics have shared their thoughts about it, and they have a lot to say.
Before The Studio premieres on Wednesday, March 26, a host of critics have seen the first four episodes, and they shared their first reactions to the series. Here’s what Time’s Judy Berman had to say in her review:
The Studio is a timely, funny, and exuberantly—though not uncritically—cinephilic panorama of a business caught in the latest battle of a war between art and commerce that has raged since studios like Warner Bros. were still run by their namesakes. It’s also 2025’s best new show to date, and one of Hollywood’s sharpest self-portraits in ages—which is saying something, considering how much the entertainment industry loves to celebrate and satirize itself.
The series follows Rogen as the fictional Matt Remick as he gets appointed as the head of a fictional movie studio called Continental Studios. Matt is a massive movie fan with good intentions not to make the same mistakes as other executives make in his position, but it sounds like he’ll make the same mistakes anyway.
Collider’s Ross Bonaime said this of Rogen’s performance:
This is a great lead role for Rogen, in that he gets to show a more complex side to himself that we don’t usually get to see, and yet, there are plenty of opportunities for the more bombastic Rogen humor that we might be familiar with.
So, there’s a lot of love for The Studio from critics. In fact, the show even debuted at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with 18 reviews posted thus far.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han wrote this:
The Studio’s strain of cringe humor won’t be for everyone; even as it mellows in the second half of the season, it remains too intense to wind down with or throw on in the background. But for those willing to get on its frazzled wavelength, this is a strong contender for the best new comedy of 2025.
While The Studio has impressed a lot of critics, there are also some mixed views on how inside baseball it is regarding the industry of Hollywood.
IndieWire’s Ben Travers points out that a more casual movie and TV fan might not be into this one. In his words:
Perhaps ‘The Studio’ is too limited in its scope to appeal to the masses and too reliant on its starry cast to hook those who aren’t already obsessed with pop culture. Its satire could certainly be sharper — its episode on casting is as daring as it gets, which is to say… somewhat — but the comedy is consistent, the story compelling enough, and the structure cleanly episodic. Even if Hollywood’s produced a zillion satires of itself over the years, it’s still fun to feel like you’re in on the joke.
When the first look at The Studio came out back in November, viewers were teased with all sorts of cameos from the show to come including from Martin Scorsese, Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano and Charlize Theron along with its main cast including Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders and Kathryn Hahn. Many of the reviews also note that the likes of Zac Efron, Ron Howard, Johnny Knoxville and so forth play themselves in the new series.
While the cast and comedy have charmed many, it hasn’t gotten everyone on board. Here’s the take of TV Line’s Dave Nemetz:
It’s all a bit self-indulgent, like Rogen and his pals wrote something to make themselves giggle and didn’t worry about who else would get it. The pace is frenetic as well, with lots of breathless walk-and-talks set to a frantic jazz score, a la the Oscar-winning film Birdman, and it all gets exhausting after a while. It’s never as funny as I wanted it to be, either. It’s amusing in places, but not laugh-out-loud hilarious, even when it strains to be that with over-the-top physical comedy. It never really sharpens its knives and digs into Hollywood in a way that draws blood. Plus, the stakes aren’t very high here: Matt has no life outside his job, so there’s no emotional tether.
While many critics are going out of their way to call The Studio one of the best new shows of the year thus far, there sounds like there are some solid reasons why it’s also getting some criticism – particularly for how it might be a bit niche.
Basically, it sounds like mileage might vary for people with this upcoming Apple TV+ show. However, if this kind of comedy is your cup of tea, it seems like it’s a highly enjoyable and hilarious experience.