Although The Studio is purely fictional satire, at least one Hollywood exec identifies with the journey of Seth Rogen‘s idealistic studio head Matt Remick.
Tom Rothman, CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, recently admitted that despite being mostly “horseshit,” there’s a “kernel of brilliant, blinding truth” to the 23x Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series from creators Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez.
“In each one of those episodes, there is a kernel of brilliant, blinding truth, and that’s what makes great satire,” he told Letterboxd. “The show is wonderfully satiric. Besides that kernel, everything else is horseshit. Maybe some days, but most days we’re not morons. I did take it with the sense of humor intended.”
Rothman continued, “When I took the stage a few months ago at CinemaCon, I walked out and said, ‘Hi, everybody, I’m Seth Rogen!’ which was good for a laugh there. What it gets right is that there’s a fundamental truth of studio executives trying to do the right thing, and there being many, many obstacles to doing [so]. The difference there is it depicts a great deal of moral compromise in pursuing that. That’s not really the way it is. Most people are people like me, who love movies, have a lot of integrity and are just trying to do the best we can.
In The Studio, Matt Remick (Rogen) is appointed CEO of the floundering Continental Studios, trying to balance his dreams of making great films with the harsh realities of an increasingly IP and AI-driven industry that prioritizes profit over quality.
Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, speaks during the CinemaCon 2025 Sony Pictures Entertainment Presentation on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas.
VALERIE MACON / AFP
After Apple renewed the series for Season 2 in May, The Studio tied the Emmy record for most comedy nominations in a single year with 23, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
