Making its debut at the 77th Emmy Awards with 23 nominations and 13 wins,The Studio grounded its success as the most-nominated comedy debut in history.
Matt Remick, played by Seth Rogen, the newly promoted director of the struggling film production company Continental Studios, is an artist and film buff at heart, an endearing loser with a childlike streak. His new position forces him to juggle, with questionable skills and sense of responsibility, between the economic interests of the studio, dictated by his boss —a 24/7 high on coke Bryan Cranston jingling with heavy gold chains— and his own dreams of good quality films.
Hailed as a comedic satire of the Hollywood universe, the promising series, already renewed for a second season, is an explosive display of sarcasm, cinematic references and cringe humour. The characters are colourful, talkative and messy, and play on clichés to make the audience laugh and surprise them.
An uninterrupted succession of guest stars and cameos, ranging from legendary directors —Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard— to equally iconic actors —Zoe Kravitz, Steve Buscemi, Paul Dano—, playing themselves with varying degrees of sympathy.
The series stands out for its long takes punctuated by a tireless jazzy drumbeat, giving the perpetual impression that the characters are running late, out of breath. Its particularly sophisticated visual aesthetic is also striking, with a warm colour palette, rich brown tones, and costumes very nostalgic of the 1970s.
It’s a rush, a race, a disconcerting but delightful flash of Hollywood backstage, as well as a lovely pamphlet on cinema, an ode to film diversity, and a reminder that there’s something for everyone on the silver screen. All in all, The Studio reminds even the most cynical members of the audience that cinema deserves its title as the Seventh Art.
“Studio Lighting” by futureshape is licensed under CC BY 2.0.