Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Studio episode 7.
The Studio’s first episode nears production, Matt and his team struggle to finalize the cast. They’ve cast Ice Cube as the Kool-Aid Man, Sandra Oh as Ms. Kool-Aid, and Josh Duhamel as the live-action dad. At first, it seems like a perfectly fine blockbuster cast. But then, a couple of things start to nag at them.
First, they worry that casting a Black actor as the Kool-Aid Man is playing into racist stereotypes. Then, they worry that not casting a Black actor as his wife will be offensive to Black couples. Then, they worry that casting all Black actors as the animated characters and all white actors as the live-action characters gives them a “segregated” cast. Eventually, they settle on an all-Black cast — which hilariously convinces Matt that the Kool-Aid movie is “important” — and their initial worry about leaning on racial stereotypes suddenly looks a lot worse.
This episode’s satire of white people’s discomfort discussing race is similar to the Seinfeld episode “The Wizard,” but it does a much better job of lampooning the subject. Seinfeld just captured the discomfort, but The Studio mocks it and analyzes it.
This episode’s satire of white people’s discomfort discussing race is similar to the Seinfeld episode “The Wizard,” but it does a much better job of lampooning the subject. Seinfeld just captured the discomfort, but The Studio mocks it and analyzes it. It highlights how a white person’s desperate attempt not to sound racist can actually come off as racist in itself. This is a really tricky topic to turn into comedy, but The Studio does it masterfully.
The Studio Episode 7 Brings The Underutilized Ensemble Back Together
The Characters Are All In The Same Room, Firing On All Cylinders
I’ve enjoyed every episode of The Studio so far, but I’ve been a little disappointed by how few of them have taken advantage of the show’s great ensemble. A lot of the episodes have focused solely on Matt, or only featured one or two ing characters around him. Thankfully, “Casting” has the whole ensemble together, bickering about what constitutes racial insensitivity. It escalates to a really funny scene where all four main characters are trying to put together a cast that accurately reflects the racial demographics of the American population.
In the social media age, studios have no idea what’s going to cause a controversy and cast their expensive new product in a negative light. No one at Netflix expected Emilia Pérez to have the exact opposite effect they intended. The ethnicity and race of actors being cast in a role has been met with backlash — some of which is layered — so studios have to be very careful lest they appear insensitive, and The Studio satirizes that spectacularly.
“Casting” looks at all sides of this complicated discussion. Matt brings it to the attention of every Black person he can find on the lot. Tyler feels uncomfortable speaking for all Black people. Ziwe, who discusses race relations a lot in her comedy, and Lil Rel Howery have a lot of thoughts that just end up confusing Matt’s understanding of what’s offensive and what isn’t. Matt eventually brings the conversation to Cube himself, who proves to be one of The Studio’s best guest stars.
The Studio's Satire Of The Modern Movie Business Refuses To Shy Away From The Uncomfortable Parts
"Casting" Tackles The Discomfort Of Racial Insensitivity Head-On
The Academy instituted a rule that requires at least 30% of a movie’s cast to come from underrepresented groups. The Studio points out how absurd it is to put a specific percentage on inclusivity instead of just being inclusive. The Studio has been mocking the modern movie business perfectly from the beginning, but here, it proves it won’t shy away from the uncomfortable parts.
The Studio releases new episodes on Apple TV+ every Wednesday.
As with almost every previous episode, The Studio’s latest installment builds to an ingenious punchline. It buries the lede early on when Kool-Aid director Nicholas Stoller tells Matt he’ll need to use A.I. animation to meet the deadline after all the necessary rewrites. When Matt announces Cube is playing the Kool-Aid Man, he’s met with ruthless backlash, but not because of racial insensitivity; because the movie is using A.I. to take work away from human artists. Although Matt is getting booed by the crowd, Maya and Sal are just relieved that it’s over a controversy they can recover from.
The Studio is a comedy-drama film set in the high-stakes world of Continental Studios. It follows a newly appointed studio head and his executive team as they navigate corporate demands and creative challenges, aiming to maintain relevance in the movie industry. Released on March 25, 2025.
- Network
- Apple TV+
- Cast
- Catherine O'Hara, Paul Dano, David Krumholtz, Nicholas Stoller, Donald Murphy, Yuli Zorrilla, Renae Anderson, Thomas Barbusca, Greta Lee, Sarah Polley, Bonnie Soper, Billy Budinich, Dan Sachoff
- "Casting" hilariously satirizes Hollywood's overcorrection of its racial insensitivities
- The Studio gets its brilliant ensemble cast back together
