If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be in charge of a chaotic group project where no one really likes you but no one can fire you either, The Studio, Apple TV’s new comedy, is your new comfort show. And by “comfort,” I mean “hilarious existential dread in 30-minute bursts.”

Let’s be honest: Seth Rogen has always had a knack for blending high-stakes absurdity with real-life chaos (Pineapple Express, This Is the End, and his entire weed-forward lifestyle). But with The Studio, Rogen trades in his usual stoner sidekick persona for something far more terrifying – being the boss. Specifically, he’s a studio head trying to keep his head above water while Hollywood’s money machine chews him up, spits him out, and then sends a strongly worded email about the budget.

And wow, it’s funny. But it’s also… stressful. Like, “Should I be prescribed something?” stressful. Every episode is a whirlwind of creative compromise, budget panic, and subtle backstabbing. You start to wonder how anything in Hollywood ever gets made. Spoiler: the movies aren’t made with magic – they’re made with trauma and meetings that should’ve been emails.

Rogen plays a fictionalized version of himself, equal parts lovable oaf and executive with a backbone made of uncooked spaghetti. He’s trying to greenlight projects that feel artistic, thoughtful, and daring, only to be reminded by his colleagues that they need to make a blockbuster, on a shoestring budget by next Thursday.

One episode centers around a director trying to pull off a long tracking shot in a film before sunset. Naturally, the episode itself is filmed in one continuous take. Yes, we’re going full meta here. As the crew tries (and fails, and tries again) to pull off the “oner,” thanks to Rogan’s hilariously needy interference, you can feel the real-life anxiety bleeding through the screen. It’s an artistic flex, a technical nightmare, and it works. And that’s the genius of The Studio – each episode isn’t just about the chaos of creating art in a system designed to strip it of meaning, it embodies that chaos.

Behind the scenes, Rogen and Evan Goldberg have once again pulled together a killer cast that makes the stress go down a little smoother. Kathryn Hahn plays Maya Mason, the marketing executive who screams exclusively in buzzwords and trauma. Chase Sui Wonders is Quinn Hackett, a sharp and ambitious up-and-coming executive who keeps getting blocked at every turn often by decisions that make no sense, while being so star struck she ultimately freezes. Catherine O’Hara plays Patty Leigh, the former studio head unceremoniously booted to make room for, well, a younger man. Her presence is the perfect embodiment of Hollywood’s obsession with youth for women and authority for men. She’s brilliant, bitter, and way too fabulous to be treated the way she is.

Every episode of The Studio is a pressure cooker of micro-crises. Scripts are falling apart. Directors are demanding. Budget meetings are war zones. And through it all, Seth’s Matt Remick is doing that awful “smiling through panic” thing while everyone in the room prays he’ll take an early lunch and never come back. It’s honestly a little too relatable. As someone who has absolutely been the unwanted person in a room who still technically runs it – I see you, Matt. You’re not alone. You’re just… chronically present.

But what The Studio nails so well – aside from the pitch-perfect satire – is the creeping truth that no one in this system knows what they’re doing and that the people trying to hold onto passion and artistry are just barely staying afloat. It’s sharp, funny, and layered with enough meta moments to make even the most jaded cinephile grin through their doomscrolling.

So, is The Studio a comedy? Yes.

Is it a psychological case study? Also yes.

Will it make you scream “WHY IS HOLLYWOOD LIKE THIS” at your screen? Every time.

Seth Rogen has given us a show that doesn’t just entertain – it exposes, unravels, and very politely asks if we’re okay. (We are not.) Watch it. Laugh. Cry. Question your life choices. Then maybe lie down. You’ll have earned it.