Episode Review: The Studio Episode 4 - "The Missing Reel"

Welcome back to the blog readers. One of the biggest surprises of the year so far for me is how good The Studio (2025) has been for Apple TV+. Everything has been firing on all cylinders for me so far. The performances (especially from Seth Rogen), the comedy, the individual stories that involve all aspects of film production and the overall story I think are being told are all excellent in my opinion. Can we continue the momentum with this episode, titled "The Missing Reel," written by Peter Huyck, and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg? Stick around to find out.

NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.

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Here's the funny thing about this show. I thought that this was going to be one of these shows that starts off hot and then completely fall on its face near the end. There are still six episodes to go so there is a chance that can still happen, but it definitely did not happen in this episode. I loved the throwback to old mystery films and Seth Rogen's performance (again), and while I enjoyed the contained story this episode tells, I think what it says about the overall story is one that I have been mentioning over the last two weeks. I'm going to talk about it.

First off, Seth Rogen has been absolutely killing it in this role of Matt Remick. I have argued at nauseum over the last two weeks that he has been perfectly cast to play this lovable, yet dim-witted studio head that has his heart in the right place but has no damn idea what he is doing. And we get to see the master at work this week because he absolutely takes on the persona of a 1940s mystery film character, and does it perfectly might I say. But he also brings that Seth Rogen charm as well, and he is leaving me more and more impressed as the weeks go on. I called it before, but I am saying it again: get him an Emmy nomination for his brilliant performances.

Based on the fact that each episode has told its own individualized story, I can expect for this to continue throughout the season. I first want to talk about this week's story, and then I will talk about the overall one. This week, Matt starts by watching dailies of an unannounced film and talking about how much he loves traditional film. We learn that a film titled Rolling Blackout directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Zac Efron is about to wrap, but the cast and crew are not happy with Matt because he cut the wrap party out of the budget despite the film going over budget. Matt and Sal also learn that a film reel went missing, and that this reel featured an important third-act scene. Matt and Sal are determined to get that reel back to avoid having to reshoot the scene and to avoid a scandal that could push people away from Continental and from using film. They decide to begin by learning about what was on the reel and talk to Wilde and the production assistant Fred. One thing they learn is that Wilde makes a cameo in the film that she calls the best work of her career and wants to get that reel back. That night, the two talk to Fred where he reveals Wilde's excessive directing style and tension with Efron.

Matt decides afterwards to confront Efron due to being a prime suspect in the theft. He allows them in his trailer and he denies being upset with Wilde but confirms his being upset with Matt over his decision to cut the wrap party, despite him driving an expensive car. When he leaves for the final shots of the film, Matt sneaks back into the trailer to snoop around and finds an envelope full of cash directed towards the film's costume designer Evelyn with the message "for the goods." After she retrieves the money (and Matt narrowly avoids being spotted by a returning Efron), Matt and Sal tail her around Hollywood to see what she is doing with it. They see her exchanging it for a box from someone with a distinct tattoo. She then arrives at the Chateau Marmont, followed by Efron. Matt tries to get in the hotel but is told he cannot due to a private event occuring that night. Defeated, Matt hangs out outside of the hotel when Sal says he is going home, but is shocked when he sees Sal returning to the hotel not too long after. He then infiltrates the hotel and busts Efron with Sal, but learns Efron decided to host a private wrap party without him and Wilde's involvement, with the contents of the box being revealed as hats that Efron also paid for.

Matt and Sal make up at the wrap party when Efron relents and lets Matt stay, where he confides in Sal that he does not feel ready to be the studio head and believes he is not worthy, but Sal comforts his friend. They realize people with the same wrist tattoo from the box deal are at the party, and they notice this because Efron posted a picture with one of the extras that had the same tattoo. Confronting the men, they reveal the only way to remove the tattoo is with rubbing alcohol, leading Sal to deduce that is what Wilde smelled like since she cameoed as one of the gang members that features the tattoo. With Efron's prior revelation that Wilde hated everything filmed on that day save her cameo, Matt deduces it was she herself who stole the reel, a fact she confirms when the two confront her while she is filming pick-up shots. She was hoping to reshoot the entire reel but keep her cameo that she again calls her best work, but Matt and Sal try to wrestle it away from her. They are eventually unable to stop her from unspooling the reel and letting it run down the road, therefore destroying the reel and necessitating a reshoot, which Matt pays for by selling his car to Efron.

I love the story of this episode that gives us 40s mystery vibes, and everyone was able to bring their own respectable and lovable charm to this thought and cared for throwback. I think the episode does quietly bring up a theme of vanity when it comes to Olivia Wilde and her plotline, which I enjoyed a good amount. But what I really want to talk about is the fact that this episode does more to contribute to the overall story that I have been talking about for two weeks now. It finally comes together when Matt tells Sal he was never ready for this job and does not feel qualified to have it. Have I not been saying that already? His mishandling of the Kool-Aid film and burning of the Martin Scorsese bridge in the first episode, his ruining of the oner in the second, and his inability to give Ron Howard the note in the third all show to me that he may have good intentions, he is utterly not qualified to be the head of a studio, and I think there will be a massive payoff to this at the end of the season.

The Studio takes a throwback plot line and modernizes it in a wonderful and heartfelt way, while bringing in the charm only this show can provide. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.