Apple TV Plus Comedy 'The Studio' Takes Inspiration from Hollywood's Real Drama

Let's be honest — modern Hollywood can feel pretty bleak. Luckily, there are creatives, particularly Seth Rogen, who aren't afraid to poke fun at it! In fact, Seth's new Apple TV Plus comedy series, The Studio, is the perfect example of this.

The show follows Matt Remick (played by Rogen), a movie lover who's just been named head of Continental Studios. As the film industry struggles to stay relevant, Matt and his team scramble to save the sinking company in a rapidly changing landscape.

For those curious, The Studio explores the chaotic world of celebrities, executive drama, industry shifts, cutthroat business tactics, and personal ambition, all viewed through the lens of jaw-dropping film politics.

Naturally, the big question on everyone's mind is: Is The Studio based on a true story?

Even though The Studio is mostly fictional, the show does draw from some real-life experiences and inspiration.

According to radio talk show Fresh Air, back in 2000, when Seth Rogen and his creative partner Evan Goldberg were starting in Hollywood, they met with a studio executive who made a cynical remark: "I got into this job because I love movies, and now I feel like it's my job to ruin them."

That moment stuck with Seth and Evan, and 25 years later, it became the foundation for their new satirical comedy series, The Studio — in fact, Seth's character even repeats that line in the show!

On top of that, Variety reported that The Studio is also loosely inspired by Seth and Evan's experiences at Sony. Their long-running collaboration with the studio came to a dramatic halt after their political satire The Interview sparked a massive email hack in 2014, offering an unfiltered and often damaging look into the industry's behind-the-scenes politics.

While creating the show, Seth and Evan interviewed numerous studio executives — and many of their observations ended up directly in the series.

"We interviewed a lot of them, whether they knew it or not," Seth shared on Fresh Air. "Some of them, it was just us milking information from them ... and some were very formal interviews where they came in. But a lot of the stuff from those interviews worked their way directly into episodes of the show."

Seth also reflected on the role of a studio executive, calling it "a very tragic job," adding, "I think tragedy is comedy in a lot of ways."

"For the first time in my life I'm older than the execs I'm working with at some of these companies," he continued. "And so, I'm one of the people they probably grew up watching, and they are constantly put in a position where they have to say things that make me really mad at them and I would imagine that's a huge bummer — and I've seen it over and over."

Catch new episodes of The Studio on Wednesdays on Apple TV Plus.