‘The Studio’ Wins Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Hollywood satire takes home TV's top prize after earning 23 record-smashing nominations.

Seth Rogen‘s beleaguered studio head Matt Remick might not get the respect he so desperately craves on “The Studio,” but the Apple TV+ series just capped off a triumphant first season by winning one of television’s highest honors, the Emmy for Best Comedy Series. The win came as no surprise given the show’s staggering 23 nominations (a record for a comedy series in its first season) and nine wins at the Creative Arts Emmys (another comedy record) on September 6.

“The Studio” follows the comic mishaps of Remick and his colleagues (played by Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, and Kathryn Hahn) at Continental Studios, where Remick struggles to reconcile his love of cinema with the business demands of his job. The series garnered widespread attention and acclaim in its debut season for co-directors Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s technical wizardry (every scene on the show was depicted in one unbroken, elaborately choreographed take), sharp but affectionate take on Hollywood, and pitch-perfect comic ensemble.

“The Studio” also won audiences over with its abundant celebrity cameos. Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Dave Franco, and Anthony Mackie were all Emmy-nominated for playing themselves, but Bryan Cranston won in the “Best Guest Actor in a Comedy” category for his hilarious turn as Continental Studios head Griffin Mill (a character name that pays tribute to “The Player” and director Robert Altman, whose long takes inspired the visual style of “The Studio”).

The series headed into the ceremony as a strong runner after a Creative Arts Emmys sweep that yielded awards for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Contemporary Costumes for a Series, Production Design for a Narrative Program (half-hour), Casting for a Comedy Series, Picture Editing for a Single Camera Comedy Series, Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series, Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (half-hour), Music Supervision, and Cinematography for a Series (half-hour).

That triumphant evening put “The Studio” in the enviable position of needing only three more Emmys to break the record for most comedy wins in a single year, which was set by “The Bear” last season. With wins for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, Best Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and the award for Best Comedy Series tonight, the show became the most awarded comedy series in Emmy history.

“ It’s getting embarrassing,” Rogen said after stepping on stage for the fourth time. “I’ll do my best attempt at sincerity here. If you watched our show, if you appreciated our show, if you voted for our show, especially, thank you very much. I’m legitimately embarrassed by how happy this makes me.”

Rogen then handed the microphone to his colleagues, joking (in a moment bleeped for broadcast) that “we’ve already fucked the boys and girls” in a reference to the show’s running gag about overlong speeches deducting money from host Nate Bargatze’s donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

But Rogen pivoted back to sincerity to close out the night. “ In all honesty, thank you so much,” he said. “We couldn’t appreciate this more.”