How ‘The Studio’ avoided having to deal with Apple’s notes

“The Studio” premiered on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 on Apple TV+.
In “The Studio,” Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps and breathes movies, it’s the job Matt’s been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.

Ethan Shanfeld for Variety:
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Rogen was forged in the fire of Hollywood, and now he’s pouring gasoline on it. Inspired by his stint making movies at Sony, a relationship that imploded when his Kim Jong Un assassination comedy “The Interview” triggered one of the world’s most infamous cyberterrorist attacks, “The Studio” is born from Rogen’s decades of industry maneuvering. With cameos from A-listers like Zac Efron and Zoë Kravitz, and 10 episodes in which every scene is a single continuous take, it’s his most ambitious and impressive project yet…
Crucial to the appeal of “The Studio” is that it looks stunning, and is shot unlike anything Rogen and Goldberg have ever made. There are ambitious set-pieces, tracking shots that follow vintage convertibles through winding hillsides and breathtaking vistas that will make even the most ardent haters of Los Angeles yearn for an Erewhon smoothie.
Plus, the show consists entirely of “oners,” long, uninterrupted takes shot with a single camera. Scenes run more than 10 minutes long with no cuts, a far cry from Rogen and Goldberg’s usual comedic playground, where two cameras get cross-coverage, there’s tons of improvisation and they “find it in the edit.”
In a sweet twist of irony, the series’ third episode harps on the loathsome concept of the studio note — and the oners allowed Rogen to dodge Apple’s feedback almost entirely. “Because of the way we shot it, essentially nothing could be done after the episode,” Rogen says. “Apple would give us notes, but the answer was always ‘We can’t do that.’ ‘Can you take out this line?’ ‘Nope.’ ‘Could you go from this line to this line?’ ‘Nope, we can’t do any of that.’”

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MacDailyNews Take: “The Studio” is very good. Better than the trailer. Recommended!
Interns, you know what we need. Commence! Prost, everyone!