Five minutes into The Studio Episode 2, Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz) unleashes a passionate hot take: “Oners are so stupid. It’s just the director jacking off and making everyone else’s lives miserable. Audiences do not care about this shit.”
As you may have guessed from every single thing we learned about Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) in The Studio‘s first episode, the cinephile and Continental Studios head vehemently disagrees. He salivates over the sheer thought of a long continuous take without cuts. And by the end of the ambitious 25-minute episode, titled — wait for it — “The Oner,” the audience will, too.
In response to Sal’s critique, Matt snaps, “Are you kidding me? The oner is the ultimate cinematic achievement. It’s like the perfect marriage of artistry and technicality…it’s also a great storytelling tool.”
In the context of their conversation, the oner at hand is the epic closing shot of a Sarah Polley film starring the talented Greta Lee. But The Studio raises the stakes — both creatively and technically — by shooting the episode about a oner in one marvelously mind-blowing take.
Against everyone’s wishes, Matt excitedly drags Sal to a set visit to see Polley’s script come to life. He’s so excited to witness the magic that he parks right outside the set instead of trekking up from base camp like instructed. And when Sal suggests his suit will make him stick out like a sore thumb, he races to the wardrobe department to slip into something more casual. Matt is determined to keep spirits high, fit in, and enjoy his favorite perk of the job. But what starts as a well-intentioned field trip swiftly spirals into an avalanche of cringeworthy chaos.
Because the team is losing light, there’s zero margin for error on the closing scene. Amy (Catherine O’Hara) urges Matt to “lay low,” and nervous Polley considers straight-up asking him to leave. Ultimately, she decides to let him have his fun in hopes that he’ll green-light her $800,000 dream song for the scene: The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Once Matt changes into his background actor wardrobe, he starts chatting Polley’s ear off, interrupting her process, and disrupting the crucial flow of the production process. When he finally reads the room enough to say, “Don’t let me get in the way,” Polley cuts him some slack and encourages him to share any feedback. BIG mistake. HUGE!
As she walks outside before filming resumes, Matt chases her down and suggests they have Greta start the scene smoking a joint like the script originally noted. With The Rolling Stones on the brain, Polley approves the suggestion and reluctantly sacrifices precious daylight minutes to make Matt’s dream a reality. From the second the simple suggestion is implemented, mayhem ensues.
Greta’s joint goes out mid-scene. Son of a fucking bitch! Matt’s headphones die out and his frantic whispering distracts Greta. CUT! He’s wearing Party Guy #2’s wardrobe, so the show can’t do on. Shit! He plans to leave, but stops to pee. He exits the bathroom unaware cameras are rolling and instantly ruins another take. FUUUCK! In a race back to his seat he trips on a lamp and his nose starts spewing blood. JUST GET THE SHOT! When Greta miraculously nears the end of the scene she hops in her character’s car only to learn Matt Remick’s illegally parked ride is blocking her in. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!
Matt and Sal — utterly mortified — sprint outside as though an entire film and their reputations depend on it. But before they can make their getaway they retreat and do a run of shame to the wardrobe room to get Matt’s car keys from his suit pocket. On their way out for real, Matt promises Polley she can have The Rolling Stones song, tells Greta she can use the private jet, and runs straight into the iced coffee he requested at the top of the episode in a final delightful setback. As Matt peels out of the driveway, the sky darkens. He and Sal recover in silence until they receive a dreaded text confirming Polley didn’t get the shot. Matt lets out one final “FUCK!” and The Studio rolls the credits, brilliantly set to the director’s dream song in one last hilarious gut punch.
Just like we see with Greta Lee’s character in the closing shot, Episode 2 watches Matt go from confident to broken all in one take with no cuts. In his own words, it’s perfect.
In Remick’s defense of oners, he references Birdman, Children of Men, and Goodfellas — but just this month, Daredevil: Born Again and Adolescence dazzled with single-shot episodes as well, proving they don’t get any less impressive with time or repetition.
Every single soul on set for a oner has to be firing on all cylinders to pull off the phenomenal feat. In The Studio‘s case, impeccable writing, along with a steady stream of jokes, physical comedy, and captivating camerawork help make the episode effortlessly flow. The adrenaline-pumping score raises the tension and ups the urgency. And the concept was so compelling it thankfully convinced Polley to join her former collaborator Rogen for her first acting project in 17 years.
Sure, it’s only March. But we’re already confident that “The Oner” will go down as one of the greatest, funniest, most stressful television episodes of 2025.
Keep the chaos coming, The Studio. We remain seated.
New episodes of The Studio premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV+.