Sony Boss Calls Apple TV+ Satire The Studio Both Brilliant and ‘Horses – t’

Apple TV+’s satire The Studio has been praised for skewering Hollywood with sharp humor, but not everyone in the industry is laughing.

Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman recently weighed in, calling the series both brilliant and bogus in the same breath.

“Every episode has a kernel of blinding truth – that’s what makes satire work,” Rothman told Letterboxd. “But beyond that, it’s horses – t.” He admitted the show got a few things right, particularly the idea that executives face real obstacles while trying to do the right thing, but pushed back on its portrayal of rampant moral compromise. “Most of us love movies, have integrity, and are doing our best,” he insisted.

Yet the irony wasn’t lost on many observers: Rothman’s defense of Hollywood execs came from the head of a studio often ridiculed for clunky blockbusters. To some, his frustration only confirmed that the satire hit close to home. After all, the show stars Seth Rogen as a bumbling but humanized new exec – an exaggerated portrait that mixes absurdity with just enough reality to sting.

Whether Rothman likes it or not, The Studio has struck a chord. Viewers have compared its style to HBO’s The Newsroom: too exaggerated to be realistic, but entertaining once you accept the conceit. Others point out that satire doesn’t need to be literal to expose uncomfortable truths. As one critic noted, dismissing the exaggeration while admitting it’s funny is the very contradiction satire thrives on.

With a second season already greenlit, Apple TV+ is betting fans want more of this backstage comedy, no matter how much Hollywood executives insist it’s “horses – t.” Season one is now streaming in full, with season two still awaiting a release date.