When Lionsgate TV’s executive vice president and head of development, Scott Herbst, first got the call from Point Grey Pictures about “The Studio,” James Weaver, who is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s producing partner, told Herbst, “I have the show that you probably did the deal with us for.”
Point Grey’s relationship with Lionsgate goes back to 2019, when the production studio signed a multi-platform content deal, and then strengthened with the extension of Point Grey’s first-look deal with Lionsgate TV in March 2024 — just as production was beginning on “The Studio.” Before then, Lionsgate and Point Grey had partnered on “Paul T. Goldman” for Peacock and “Santa Inc” for HBO Max.
“[Those] were a little more niche, smaller passion projects, but [I] was always waiting for, ‘what’s the thing that the guys want to do?’” Herbst told TheWrap for the Office With a View interview series. “When ‘The Studio’ came about, it was a great extension of the relationship we already had going.”
As the Hollywood satirical series follows newly appointed studio head Matt Remick (played by Rogen) botching the careful balance between the art and business of filmmaking, “The Studio” is a wink to industry insiders — and triggering for executives like Herbst — but the team tried their best to ensure “The Studio” was relatable for viewers coming from all sorts of backgrounds, similar to “The Office.”
“We’re sitting in a conference room. There’s a Cisco telephone in the middle of the table. We could be anywhere in the world, and the people we’re talking to happen to make entertainment and not sell a product,” Herbst told TheWrap for our Office With a View interview series. “Everyone understands getting your dream job [and it turns out] it’s not what you thought it was going to be.”
“The Studio,” which was ordered to production by Apple TV+ just from a pitch, paid off tenfold for all involved parties, debuting to critical acclaim and this week scoring 23 Emmy nominations, breaking the record for most comedy nominations in a single year and becoming the most nominated freshman comedy.
Six of the 23 nods were for the guest acting, granting Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard their first acting Emmy nominations, while guest stars Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie, Dave Franco and Zoë Kravitz also scored nominations. Herbst recalls Howard, who played a mean-spirited version of himself in what Herbst calls “the anti-Ron Howard role,” being one of the first to sign on while Apple TV+ was instrumental in bringing in Scorsese, kickstarting a wave of stars coming on.
“For the most part, we got everyone that they originally wrote into the script … we got a dream cast,” Herbst said. “I know the guys are just so thrilled that we got so many nominations for those guest actors and actresses, so it wasn’t like everyone came and did something that you know wasn’t worth their time. Hopefully [for] Season 2, it’ll be even easier.”
The writers’ room for Season 2 is already underway, with Sarah Polley, who guest starred in Season 1 — (Herbst said Polley not scoring a guest acting nomination was the show’s biggest Emmys snub) — joining the room. “It will be bigger and better than Season 1,” Herbst said.
And, in the meantime, Herbst and his fellow executives working on the show are trying their best to ensure nothing they do gets written into Season 2, with Herbst joking, “That’s the only goal of being an executive on the show. How can I get through this notes call without doing something that’s Episode 4 next year?”
TheWrap: “The Studio” adds to Lionsgate TV’s roster of unique shows that have led the way for the industry, like “Orange Is the New Black.” How do you spot what projects might have that certain something that might push the envelop?
Herbst: As an independent studio, we always hold ourselves to the standard of, why is someone going to make this show from us? If you look at the perennial hits that Lionsgate has, whether it’s “Mad Men” “Nurse Jackie,” “Weeds,” “Orange Is the New Black,” the “Power” shows or “BMF,” these are shows that probably weren’t being pitched by somebody else. We need to be that much more thoughtful, put that much more TLC into a project, and make it that it’s undeniable. Obviously, when we go out, not every show is going to be for every network, but we at least want the networks to know, “Oh, it’s coming from Lionsgate. It’s going to be well-thought through. It’s going to feel like a TV show, whether that TV show is right for that specific platform.” That’s the game.
How did Apple TV+ emerge as the right home for “The Studio?”
We took it to a handful of places — there were only two places that we would have done it that didn’t hear it, because they had shows that fit into the same world of something in entertainment. We had four production offers off a pitch. Everyone says, don’t pitch something about Hollywood, but … coming from Seth Rogen, and “This is the End,” as different of a movie as it was, it proved that when the guys want celebrities to play themselves, they can have a super fun time doing so. We really leaned on that, like, “hey, if you like that movie, and you saw what we did with it, we’re going to recreate that here in an even bigger way.”
What upcoming projects are you excited about?
We have a show called “Hunting Wives” coming out on Netflix next week that’s even soapier and much sexier than “Desperate Housewives,” we have John Grisham’s “Rainmaker” coming out with USA and Peacock in August and then we just did a “Spartacus” reboot for Starz. We did a “Robin Hood” show for MGM+ and “Midnight Sun” for Netflix, which is “Twilight” in adult animated form.
Being an independent studio, we work with all different types of buyers — I think everything I mentioned is at a different network. For us, it’s about being the best independent supplier outside of their home studios that they can get a show from, and it’s certainly working with MGM and USA, two networks that we hadn’t done a ton of business with, and to get two shows on with them that are both coming out within the same year. We’ll do anything for anyone. If we make a good show, the audience knows a way to find it.
You mentioned the “Spartacus” reboot. There’s a handful of reboots across the industry right now that, some are working and some aren’t, like “Suits L.A.” Where do you see reboots and spinoffs’ place in your programming strategy?
Titles give you a little leg up. It’s a little easier to sell. But if I think about my favorite shows, there’s a lot of great original shows also. All the shows we just mentioned that Lionsgate had hits with before, are original, but am I lucky that we have “Twilight” in the library and Stephenie Meyer said, “I would love to do this as adult animation?” I said, “great, let’s make that the next iteration of what that franchise becomes.” We’re kind of agnostic, but, of course, if you can get a big piece of IP, it just makes the sales process a little easier. But I don’t think any show ever gets made because it’s just a hot title. I know there’s some titles that we’ve developed a couple times over that I know everyone wants to make … but the right show just hasn’t presented itself yet. Maybe, if you’re internal somewhere, and your network says, “Well, this title makes sense. Let’s make it,” maybe you rush something. I don’t feel, as Lionsgate, we ever get freebies, and I think that’s good, because it keeps us to a certain standard of the high quality that we want to be doing.
What gaps in the types of projects are you seeing right now in the industry?
Everyone’s making less [and] I think comedy has taken a hit. Because of that, we feel very lucky to have “Ghosts” on CBS, which got renewed for a fifth and sixth season, and “The Studio.” We feel very lucky that we’re one of the players who has having success there right now. The word that I keep coming back to when I’m thinking about pitching shows is entertainment — there were shows that were being made for a while that were chasing something going on in the world and were dark for the sake of being dark. I think now, everyone realizes when you sit at home, you have so many choices of what to watch and ultimately, I think people want to be entertained.
What advice do you have for young people starting out in the industry?
The No. 1 one thing I tell young people is networking and human connection in our business is so important. Even in the Zoom world, though, if you can sit and look at someone on Zoom, it’s better than just having an email relationship with them, but even more so, sit and go have coffee with someone, get a drink, have a meal. Just be in person, because so much of what we do when you’re talking in a creative landscape, it needs to be about two people connecting over the thing. The human connection of the industry is really what it runs on.
And then the other thing I always tell young people is, you want to be aggressive without being annoying, and that’s a very fine line to figure out what that is. I remember when I was going for my first job, the head of HR was who you had to get through to get a job in the CAA mailroom. And I remember saying to her when I was graduating college, I’m going to email you every week until you make me a job offer, you don’t have to respond, but every week you’re going to see an email that I’m thinking that this is the job I want. And after four emails, I had a job offer, and ultimately I didn’t go there, but it was, in my mind, a perfect way to be aggressive without being annoying.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
