The Studio? Steven says 5/5

Apple TV+’s The Studio is hands down one of the most unhinged, smartly written shows I’ve watched in ages. Set in a barely-functioning film studio trying to pull together its next big hit, The Studio follows the deeply deluded execs, flailing creatives, and panicking assistants who make up this hot mess of an operation. It’s part screwball comedy, part anxiety dream, and somehow entirely grounded in the grim absurdity of the entertainment industry.

It’s laugh-out-loud funny—like, full body laughs. The one-liners are razor-sharp, the comedic timing is surgical, and the performances are so committed that you almost forget these characters aren’t real people you’ve met at a WeHo party and immediately blocked. The writing walks a perfect line between toe-curling cringiness and total brilliance, delivering some of the most accurate (and deranged) takes on Hollywood egos and dysfunction I’ve ever seen on screen.

The camera work is genius too. There’s no score or polish—it feels like we’re the camera, like we’re not supposed to be there. You’re just tossed into these chaotic offices, witnessing disasters unfold in real time with no warning. It’s giving “fly on the wall,” but the fly is microdosing and spiraling.

Honestly, it’s the most spot-on depiction of the industry I’ve seen. No show has ever captured the weird tension of LA—the desperation, the delusion, the hot people in headsets—quite like this. If you’ve ever worked in entertainment, The Studio will hurt a little. But it’ll also make you howl.

Curious about what else Steven is into? Get updates on shelf.im/stevenmorea