The Studio: Seth Rogen says he’s turning down real directors who want cameos on his Emmy-winning Apple TV+ series

Seth Rogen’s comedy series The Studio hit Apple TV+ on March 26, 2025, and it took off fast.

By November 6, all 10 episodes of the first season were out, each one diving straight into the chaos and weirdness of a made-up Hollywood film studio. People couldn’t stop talking about the show’s sharp humor, the insider details, and that killer cast. It turned into one of the biggest new series of the year, and for good reason.

Then the Emmys happened, and The Studio just cleaned up with 13 awards in one night, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Seth Rogen walked away with wins for acting, directing, and writing. The show didn’t just get love from viewers and critics. It became a kind of legend in Hollywood, the sort of thing everyone in the industry had to watch and talk about.

The Studio is turning down real Hollywood directors for cameos

Now, Seth Rogen has dropped a wild story: the show has blown up so much, and feels so real, that some big-name Hollywood directors now ask for cameos on The Studio.

Ever since Martin Scorsese popped up in the pilot and even snagged an Emmy nod, the show has become a weird hot ticket. Real directors are lining up, hoping to get in on the make-believe world of the “fake movie studio.” Rogen calls the whole thing “very meta.” He is basically running a studio that doesn’t exist, but real filmmakers keep pitching him, wanting to direct projects that aren’t even real.

Talking to GQ, Rogen said:

“It does feel like I’m running a fake movie studio at times. I’m having directors’ agents call me to pitch their clients to be the directors of fake movies on our show, which is very weird and very meta. And I’m having to actually turn down directors I’m a big fan of because the movie, the fake movie, maybe isn’t quite right for the fake package we have in our heads. So yeah—it’s gotten very strange.”

The whole thing is kind of hilarious: a real director desperate to join a fake studio, all inside a scripted comedy. It nails just how tangled and self-referential Hollywood can get. Rogen also mentioned that at the Emmys, some folks from the industry told him they regretted passing up a chance to be involved. Now, everyone sees The Studio as the gig to get.

He jokingly added:

“That’s all I want—for people to regret not working with me.”

What is The Studio about?

The Studio is about Matt Remick (Seth Rogen), who has recently gotten the highest post in Continental Studios, which was once the most significant Hollywood studio but now is struggling to survive amid the franchise and big profit mania.

Matt is the perfect example of a film aficionado, a person who really thinks that original films must be made. However, the position is a high-stakes one. He is constantly bumping heads with the management, who are solely interested in the next hit movie or the sequel that will make the most money, rather than the art of storytelling. That conflict, Matt’s big dreams versus the studio’s profit, is the source of the show’s drama and comedy.

Matt is not quite the polished character in The Studio. He is anxious, clumsy, and at times, he really seems to be out of his depth, which makes him lovable and, at the same time, painfully difficult to watch. In every episode, he is trying to cope with crazy production troubles, messy marketing, and big egos, all this while making sure his vision stays alive and the boardroom is pleased.

The rest of the crew brings their own chaos: Catherine O’Hara plays Patty Leigh, his sharp but supportive mentor; Ike Barinholtz is Sal Saperstein, the brash VP of production; Chase Sui Wonders is Quinn Hackett, an ambitious junior exec; and Kathryn Hahn is Maya Mason, the marketing head who is just as savvy as she is cynical. Together, they turn The Studio into a circus, showing off every ridiculous side of modern Hollywood.

What really sets the show apart is how it is filmed: each episode is one long, continuous shot, pulling you right into the madness of studio life. The writing is quick and clever, packed with biting humor and physical gags, peeling back the curtain on everything from chasing the rights to oddball properties like the Kool-Aid Man to dealing with feuding directors and celebrities who throw tantrums at the drop of a hat.

At its heart, The Studio is a funny, sometimes touching look at what happens when creative passion slams into corporate reality, capturing the wild energy of old Hollywood and all the chaos of what it has become.

Trending

Apple TV+ gave The Studio the green light for a second season in early May 2025. The news dropped while season one was still on the air, and people saw it as proof of just how much critics and fans love the show; some even called it “one of Hollywood’s sharpest self-portraits in ages.”

Right now, season two is in pre-production. They plan to start filming in Los Angeles on December 3, 2025, and aim to finish by March 2026. If everything goes according to plan, the new season should land in late 2026 or maybe early 2027. Still, Apple TV+ hasn’t locked in an official premiere date yet.

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