Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Studio episode 8.

The Studio’s latest episode, “The Golden Globes,” brilliantly lampoons the absurdity of Hollywood awards season. Zoë Kravitz is up for the top prize for a movie that Matt greenlit, and rather than enjoying the show and simply rooting for his nominee to win, Matt spends the whole night desperately trying to get Kravitz to thank him in her acceptance speech. The episode masterfully escalates this excruciatingly hilarious premise as Matt talks to her producer, her agent, and her publicist, and even tries to add his own name to the teleprompter.

Of all the facets of the film industry, the awards circuit is arguably the ripest for satire. There’s something inherently ridiculous about rich celebrities dres, putting on lavish shows, and giving out golden statuettes to pat each other on the back, and The Studio’s newest episode realizes all the juicy comic potential of that satire. Kravitz pokes fun at the phoniness of awards season beautifully. In the press, she pretends she doesn’t care about awards and she’s not expecting to win, but in private, she fully expects to win, it means everything to her, and she has a well-rehearsed speech involving well-rehearsed tears.

The Genius Of The Studio Is That It Mocks Hollywood Executives While Making You Feel Bad For Them

Matt Is Ridiculously Needy, But You Can See Where He's Coming From

In a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Seth Rogen explained that he was once involved in a movie that won a Golden Globe, and at the afterparty, he saw an executive crying because they didn’t get thanked. There’s something really funny about that — taking such a trivial situation so seriously — but it’s also pretty sad. Executives like Matt live for the magic of moviemaking, they dedicate their whole lives to it, and they don’t get their names in the credits, so an acceptance-speech thank-you is all they have.

Therein lies the genius of The Studio. It doesn’t just callously mock the petty first-world problems of movie executives; it also looks at their perspective and manages to get you to feel bad for them.

Therein lies the genius of The Studio. It doesn’t just callously mock the petty first-world problems of movie executives; it also looks at their perspective and manages to get you to feel bad for them. Whether Kravitz thanks Matt in her acceptance speech shouldn’t matter so much to him — no one watching will even notice — but he championed this movie and worked on it, and the only way anyone will know is if he gets mentioned at the Golden Globes. You can laugh at Matt’s desperation, but you can also understand where it’s coming from.

"The Golden Globes" Is The Studio's Most Star-Studded Episode To Date

Zoë Kravitz & Adam Scott Give Hilarious Guest Turns

Every episode of The Studio has featured an impressive roster of A-list guest stars, from Martin Scorsese to Ron Howard to Ice Cube, but the show really pushes the boat out for “The Golden Globes.” Since it’s set at an awards show with huge celebrities going on and off the stage, this is the most star-studded episode to date. Jean Smart, Quinta Brunson, Aaron Sorkin, and Zack Snyder all take the stage. There’s a great running gag where almost every award winner thanks Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, and Sarandos himself makes a hysterical cameo when he its to Matt the thank-yous are contractually obligated.

Obviously, Kravitz takes center stage as a wonderfully blunt foil for Matt, and Adam Scott has a really fun ing role as an old friend of Sal’s. While he’s accepting an award early in the night, Scott impulsively thanks Sal. This kickstarts a night-long tradition of every winner thanking Sal, which drives Matt up the wall. “The Golden Globes” finally brings back Catherine O’Hara’s Patty as Kravitz’s producing partner, and gives O’Hara a hefty role to sink her teeth into Patty’s eccentricity and instability, which were introduced way back in the first episode.

The Studio releases new episodes on Apple TV+ every Wednesday.

“The Golden Globes” is one of the most consistently funny episodes of The Studio yet. The laughs come thick and fast, and they get bigger and bigger as the storyline escalates. It builds to the biggest laugh of the episode (maybe of the whole show) when Kravitz finally relents and decides to thank Matt — and then the mic gets muted on the last two words of her speech: “Matt Remick.” It’s the perfect punchline to the episode, and it’s also completely unexpected.

This episode encapsulates The Studio’s ingenious brand of satire; it simultaneously ridicules Matt’s neediness and comionately shows you where he’s coming from. It’s that comion that makes the show work so well. If it was just straight-up mockery, The Studio wouldn’t have this kind of staying power.