A new series starring Seth Rogen alongside an incredible A-list cast has been handed a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rogen, who it is perhaps fair to say is best-known for playing characters with an affiliation to a certain drug, has seemingly cast aside his previous character type as the lead in the new hit Apple TV+ series.
The Canadian actor, who has previously confessed to smoking joints all day, pretty much every day, for the last two decades, has previously featured in coming-of-age classics such as Superbad and The 40-year-old Virgin.
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While visits to Singapore might have halted his daily weed habit for a few days at least, it seems as if writing, directing, executive producing, and starring in his new AppleTV+ series The Studio hasn't halted anything.
And the end product is perhaps an argument for legalising the drug given it's reviews since dropping on March 26, with a 95 percent rating for the two episodes so far, with more to come on Wednesday April 2.
The series, which follows Matt Remick (Rogen) as the newly-appointed head at a continental filmmaking studio. In this fast-paced comedy, he and the executive team at the movie studio juggle corporate demands with creative ambitions as they try to keep movies alive and relevant.
Given some of the films which have flopped in recent years, and also the growing trend of movies hitting Netflix and Amazon Prime without any sort of cinema release, it seems clear that Rogen is studying some very real-life themes in his hit show.
It also has a pretty stacked cast, with the likes of Catherine O'Hara, Zac Effron, and Steve Bucsemi all featuring, and it seems likely to become the next big talked-about show on Apple TV, following the huge success of Ted Lasso and more recently Severance.
Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Rogen said:
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"In the show, the major conflict is one I’m sure you’re familiar with is that of art versus commerce. And my character loves movies and is a huge movie fan, but as the head of a studio often has to make choices that make movies worse. And he loves directors and he loves movie stars, but he’s constantly having to disappoint them by giving them notes they don’t want to hear or by just, in general, ruining their passion."
He added: “He doesn’t want to get fired, and that conflict I think is at the heart of show business.”
The Studio is available to stream on Apple TV+ now.
James Moorhouse