"The Studio" Episode 2 Review

The Studio crashes into its next chapter after that wild kickoff in "The Promotion"—enter "The Oner," a no-holds-barred jab at the chaos on film sets.

Sarah Polley, an industry mainstay playing a version of herself that’s half-real, half-ironic, makes it clear how much studio bosses can mess with creative flow, all while serving up some of the funniest, off-the-cuff moments we’ve seen so far.

Lights, camera, disaster

Matt Remick—newly appointed head of Continental Studios and portrayed by Seth Rogen—seems to be doing a lot of fumbling with his new gig, often tripping over his own ideas. His fresh (if questionable) plan involves a “surprise” drop-in at an indie film set that the studio is backing, a move that sets off a domino effect of unforeseen mishaps.

Sarah Polley, again playing a self-deprecating version of herself with that trademark deadpan weariness, is busy trying to nail a flawlessly timed, single-take sunset shot that leaves no room for error.

Then Matt shows up, clueless about the nuts and bolts of filmmaking yet desperate to seem invested. His mere presence rattles the set—from crew members getting rattled to actors losing their focus—which ends up wrecking take after take.

Every time he steps in to “fix” things, it just gets messier; one moment he’s musing, “Can we just, like, extend the sunset?” And the next he’s launching into an impromptu (and frankly uncalled-for) pep talk. It all serves as a prime, if messy, reminder that sometimes the best move for studio execs is to keep their hands off the set.

Sarah Polley steals the show

Polley’s performance is one of those moments that really grabs you—she’s not just acting; she’s living it. Being an actual Oscar-winning filmmaker, she brings a raw sincerity to her role, almost as if you can feel the frustration many directors experience when higher-ups mess with their creative vision.

Right from the get-go, she runs the show, setting up each shot with a cool confidence. But then, when Matt starts tripping over his lines and fumbling around on set, her calm starts to crack; eventually, she can’t hold back any longer and unleashes a sharp monologue about how studios talk up “artistic freedom” while quietly undermining it at every twist and turn.

Her back-and-forth with Matt comes off as a sort of unwitting crash course in passive-aggressive diplomacy. At first, she seems to humor his wild ideas, nodding along as if everything is okay—even when his suggestions border on the absurd. Yet, as the day wears on and the pressure mounts—lighter fades, mistakes mount—those polite nods wind up as forced smiles and, finally... pure exasperation.

The absurdities of filmmaking

Beyond just Matt’s clueless antics, the episode does a great job of showing the unpredictable chaos behind making a film. Crew members rush around to reset a shot, and actors try repeatedly to capture the right emotion over multiple takes; meanwhile, the frantic rush to catch that perfect light fuels a mix of tension and accidental humor.

There’s even a moment that feels almost too real: an assistant director, nearly in tears, mutters, “We have four minutes before we lose the light,” all while Matt continues rambling about whether the scene might, somehow, need a little extra energy.

The show takes a playful jab at Hollywood’s constant chase for prestige. In one part you get introduced to a movie that Polley is directing—a film touted as “an intimate drama about grief and resilience.” You see this through a long shot of a woman just lost in thought, gazing off somewhere.

Then, in a moment that’s both desperate and funny, Matt—clearly wanting to prove his worth—blurts out if they can “punch it up” with some last-minute tweaks. Polley, without missing a beat, deadpans, “Sure, let’s add a car chase.”

Final thoughts

This episode actually outdid itself, so from me it's a definite 9.5/10⭐.

Where “The Promotion” dragged us headfirst into the corporate madhouse of running a studio, “The Oner” suddenly shifts focus to the bizarre realities of actually making movies. It’s almost perfect, generally speaking; the episode mixes biting industry satire with dialogue that snaps and performances that feel strikingly natural.

Sarah Polley’s brief but memorable cameo adds a layer of authenticity—delivering moments that are both hilariously offbeat and uncannily real. As The Studio marches on, it’s becoming clear that this isn’t just some Hollywood comedy. It’s really a love letter to filmmaking, wrapped in a caustic critique of an industry that sometimes suffocates the art it claims to celebrate.

In the end, this episode is a brilliantly crafted, laugh-out-loud romp that deftly skewers the clash between artistic vision and commercial demands in Tinseltown—with Sarah Polley’s performance serving as the perfect, if unexpected, cherry on top.