The characters on “The Studio” — the Apple TV+ hit that recently earned a record-breaking 23 Emmy nominations, the most ever for a freshman comedy — don’t have much of a life outside the confines of their high-pressure jobs running the fictional Continental Studios.
But they do get out from time to time. And when they do, the show presents a view of Los Angeles that’s both sardonic and affectionate, portraying a place where dreams can come true, provided you’re not stuck on the 405 at rush hour. (Which, to be clear, is pretty much any time of day.)
“L.A. is a wild, crazy, partially s—, madhouse,” says Evan Goldberg, one of the show’s creators and, with Seth Rogen, its co-director. “But it’s also a magical, artistic haven of crazy people with a lot of ambition and/or creative energy they want to share.”
We asked the show’s Emmy-nominated actors — Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn, Catherine O’Hara and Rogen — how their characters channel that creative energy into their downtime in the City of Angels. Grab your infrared sauna blanket and pour yourself a sparkling water with three lemons. This is “The Studio” guide to Los Angeles.
Ike Barinholtz as Sal Saperstein
Continental Studios’ creative exec, a divorced dad, a survivor, albeit one who’s anxious (for good reason) about navigating the new sensibilities of Hollywood.
Favorite neighborhood: He lives in the Hollywood Hills. Why? It has the name Hollywood in it, and he still thinks that if you’re super-successful in this business and single, having a place up is the way to go. You don’t need a backyard. You don’t need space for your kids to go on walks. You’re single, and your kids only come once every other week, so it’s just a bachelor living up in the hills.
Last concert seen at the Hollywood Bowl: He went on a date with a much younger actress to see Imagine Dragons. And he did not have a great time.
Clothing brand that dominates his closet: For Sal, the height of fashion is Tim Robbins’ Armani suits in “The Player,” suits that are ever-so-slightly big. In his downtime, he’s the kind of guy who likes to go to Nordstrom and do a lot of damage. Earth tones, no matter what.
Tim Robbins in “The Player.”
(Lorey Sebastian / New Line Cinema)
Go-to date spot: Definitely Sunset Tower. He also has a membership to the San Vicente Bungalows, but he’s mad at them because they made a date put the sticker on her phone camera. He got into it with the maître d’: “You don’t trust that my date is not going to take pictures?” They finally relented and let her take the tape off, and she took a bunch of pictures of celebrities. So he’s not in a great place with the San Vicente Bungalows, which is why he’s back at the Sunset Tower.
Most-shared wellness tip: He’s an IV guy. So when you hit it a little too hard, this guy will come to your office. He hooks you up, the whole thing in and out in 25 minutes, and you feel like you did not drink a bottle of vodka the night before.
Favorite place to see a movie: Sal loved the ArcLight because they had great parking and you could smoke weed on the roof and no one ever stopped you. But now that the ArcLight’s gone, I could see him doing Mann’s Chinese with his daughters. Sal Saperstein is not afraid of Hollywood Boulevard. He loves it. He loves Musso’s and he loves the charm of it. And, yes, he still calls it Mann’s Chinese. And people are like, “It’s not called that anymore.” And he’s like, “What are you gonna do? Cancel me?”
Workout routine: He has hired a guy who comes to his home to do cardio boxing three times a week, but he so often cancels that he’s basically just paying this guy $500 a week to do nothing. He has good intentions, but the follow-through is not great.
The Grove, adore or avoid? He thinks of it as a gem. It brings him back to when he would go there with his children and they would meet Santa. Also, he’s met Rick Caruso and they’re friendly.
Rush–hour coping mechanism: He has a little weed vape pen that he can hit whenever he’s feeling traffic stress. And he has a lot of playlists, classic rock, first wave. He’s definitely mourning Ozzy [Osbourne], admiring him for the great music and also pivoting to TV and creating an empire.
Los Angeles International Airport.
(Reed Saxon / Associated Press)
Local news that would darken his doorstep: He knew people involved in the USC cheating scandal. “We belong to the Jonathan Club together. He’s gone down for that. That really sucks.”
What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves him most: Vacation spots. People going out on Ritz-Carlton cruises. Plastic surgeons talking about what work Hollywood people have gotten done, because Sal is probably going to be like one of those guys that around 55 starts really f— with his face.
Power–lunch order: Grilled chicken paillard with a green salad and two martinis. He’s a Vesper boy. It gets him through till 5 o’clock.
Most L.A. complaint: Navigating LAX is very stressful, even if you’re incredibly wealthy. He’s mad that he has to deal with LAX bull—. “Why are we not moving? Why is traffic completely stopped here?” He just flew back from New York and the driver that they hired for him isn’t there, and he has to go up to departures. He believes L.A. is such a great city, it needs to have a better airport.
Kathryn Hahn as Maya Mason
Audacious, profane marketing executive who views herself, quite rightly, as the most creative person in the room.
Favorite neighborhood: I’ll tell you this, she can’t drive “east of the 405” and has been saying that since the early ’90s. In fact, she came up with it. She loves Sycamore Avenue. There’s a Tartine and the clothing store Just One Eye, which is insanely expensive but she still loves to shop there.
Clothing brand that dominates her closet: Fear of God. Probably her stylist was like, “It’s very niche, uncomfortably raw fashion.” It’s very forward, and that’s what she likes.
A band plays inside the San Vicente Bungalows, where photos are usually verboten.
(Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for Conde Nast Traveler)
Go-to date spot: San Vicente Bungalows. She was one of the founding members. She put her cash down right away because she was so sick of the freaking Soho House. San Vicente Bungalows are cooler and chiller. But honest to God, she hasn’t been on a date in two decades, unless you count Raya.
Most-shared wellness tip: Ayurvedic, but only because you can s— a lot. For her, it’s all about the old-school colonic. A massage takes too long.
Favorite place to see a movie: While sweating in an infrared sauna blanket. And she’s only watching screeners of upcoming releases. She hasn’t watched a movie for pleasure in years.
Workout routine: In her office at lunch with Dave, her trainer. She loves to get “stretched out.”
An Ayurvedic massage.
(Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
The Grove, adore or avoid? Never. She can’t handle the parking garage. It’s the same reason she doesn’t go to the Hollywood Bowl. The inconvenience drives her crazy.
Rush–hour coping mechanism: Matt Belloni — or the sound of her own screaming.
Local news that would darken her doorstep: Anything about road closures due to f— marathons.
What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves her most: Mukbangs.
Power–lunch order: The chicken paillard at Il Pastaio — pounded, pounded, pounded. Extra pounded. And a sparkling water with three lemons.
Most L.A. complaint: “I might lose you in the canyon.”
Catherine O’Hara as Patty Leigh
Straight-talking former studio head, now a mentor to Matt Remick and enjoying her own production deal at Continental.
Favorite neighborhood: Culver City. She likes the history and wants to be close to all the studios. Her work is her life.
Last concert seen at the Hollywood Bowl: Oh, it’s been a while, I think. She’s been busy. Probably Garry Shandling. He was good. God bless him.
Clothing brand that dominates her closet: Max Mara. Lots of beige and pumpkin. She definitely got sucked into having her season done, so she knows she’s an autumn. The clothes aren’t the highest end. She’d rather spend her money on food and booze and travel.
Downtown Culver City.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Go-to date spot: Chinois on Main. Or Mr. Chow. You can talk over shared dishes. And there’s always someone she knows in the room, so if the date goes south, she can call them over to the table. Those places are also good because she can see if they know how to use chopsticks. If they ask for a fork, there’s no second date.
Most-shared wellness tip: All you need is a solid five hours of sleep. But it’s got to be continuous.
Favorite place to see a movie: She has a nice home theater, good sound, comfy chairs. Really comfy. Beautiful couches and chaise longues. It doesn’t look like anyone else’s movie theater.
Workout routine: Hiking in the hills. And when I say “hills,” I mean hilly residential streets, like in Brentwood, so she can look at homes and gardens and in people’s windows and get some more good ideas for landscaping and decorating.
The Grove, adore or avoid? Avoid. Before the fires, it would have been the one in the Palisades. She hopes it’ll come back.
The Doobie Brothers.
(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Songwriters Hall of Fame)
Rush–hour coping mechanism: Yacht rock. Michael McDonald. The Doobie Brothers. Christopher Cross.
What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves her most: She scans it every once in a while if she’s bored or if she can’t sleep. But social media isn’t her thing. She’s got people to monitor that.
Power–lunch order: A salad with grilled chicken or salmon. It used to be with a glass of rosé, but she’s cut back on that. It got her in trouble a couple of times. She’s mostly quit the booze and the swearing.
Most L.A. complaint: The traffic. Always the traffic.
Seth Rogen as Matt Remick
New head of Continental Studios, a people pleaser trying to balance his love for filmmaking with the demands of commerce.
Favorite neighborhood: He has a fixation with Old Hollywood — the Chateau Marmont, Musso and Frank. I’m sure he finds himself at the Soho House and the Sunset Tower.
Last concert seen at the Hollywood Bowl: One of those nights where John Williams conducts a movie score. Like the “Jaws” night. It doesn’t even have to be John Williams. Hans Zimmer would do. Anything connected with the movies. I don’t think he has much taste in music beyond music from movies.
Clothing brand that dominates his closet: Brunello Cucinelli, one of the most unbelievably expensive clothing brands there is. It’s an Italian brand that makes a lovely double-breasted suit, but, again, just incredibly priced. You have to be pretty vain to make that leap, which Matt is.
Dan Tana’s.
(Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
Go-to date spot: Matt does not date much. I would start there, first and foremost. But if he were to go out, he’d want to go someplace he feels sort of cool and where he feels like they know him. Dan Tana’s. Again, Old Hollywood vibe. And the waiters know him by name, so when he walks in, they go, “Matt!” I think he’s jockeying to have a dish named after him. That would be the ultimate accomplishment.
Most-shared wellness tip: Matt has a high-end doctor who comes in and does blood work and tells him what he should be doing to be healthier, and then he just neglects everything he heard. Matt likes talking about health and wellness. Like, “Celebrities are into wellness. This is something we could talk about.” I bet he has a sauna and a cold plunge somewhere, but never uses them. He tells people to meditate, but never meditates. He talks about the importance of sleep, but he doesn’t sleep very well.
Favorite place to see a movie: If the Cinerama Dome were open, it’d be the Cinerama Dome. But it isn’t, so it’s the Chinese. Beautiful theater, incredible sound, and the dress from “The Wizard of Oz” is in the lobby. It’s a genuine piece of Old Hollywood that’s still functional today. And you can get harassed by a guy in a Spider-Man suit on the way in!
Workout routine: Just running up and down those stairs in that office is a large part of his workout routine. He’s probably like, “I stand a lot. That counts.” Like many Hollywood men, he doesn’t work out and runs off of eating half a salad and drinking 100 cups of coffee and then having a couple martinis at the end of the day. They’re not overweight, but they’re not in any way healthy or fit.
The Grove, adore or avoid? He’s OK with the Grove because he likes the Farmers Market next door. Again, Old Hollywood. He would probably like telling people that James Dean ate his last meal there before he went on his ill-fated car ride.
Rush–hour coping mechanism: He’s rolling calls in a convertible in 105-degree heat, you know, yelling at someone’s agent.
Local news that would darken his doorstep: Things like production in Los Angeles is down, California subsidies and tax credits aren’t where they should be. He runs an entire movie lot. He wants to see the soundstages full, contributing to the bottom line.
Willem Dafoe in “To Live and Die in L.A.”
(MGM / UA)
What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves him most: Film stuff. Letterboxd reviews. Little clips of filmmakers like, say, William Friedkin talking about making “To Live and Die in L.A.”
Power–lunch order: He orders something healthy, probably the salmon, and then doesn’t eat it because he’s talking through the whole lunch. Like, he goes to the Beverly Hills Hotel, orders the McCarthy salad, and it stays on his plate.
Most L.A. complaint: Matt loves L.A., so his biggest complaint is people coming to the city and making disparaging comments. Like, it’s an ugly city or it has no history or culture. It’s a beautiful city! And it has a storied history and a lot of culture! Matt sees the city’s magic and wonder and gets very defensive when people don’t like it.
(Javi Aznarez / For The Times)
