Move over, “The Bear.” There’s a new comedy champ in town.
“The Studio” ended Emmy season in glory on Sunday night, taking home 13 awards and setting two new records before the end of the night. Its record haul was made up of nine wins at the Creative Arts Emmys on Sept. 6 — including Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Bryan Cranston) and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series — and an additional set of wins at the Primetime Emmys on Sunday, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Seth Rogen), Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and the top prize: Outstanding Comedy Series.
The trophy trove made the Apple TV+ and Lionsgate series the new holder of two records previously set by FX’s “The Bear.” “The Studio” broke the record as the comedy series with the most Emmy wins in a single season, pushing ahead of “The Bear,” whose 11 Emmys for its second season set a new milestone just last year. (In spite of its record-breaking haul, “The Bear” lost the Outstanding Comedy Series award to “Hacks.”)
“The Studio” also had the winningest first season of a comedy series — an achievement “The Bear” claimed in 2023 with 10 awards.
“The Studio” follows Seth Rogen as Matt Remick, a lifelong movie fan promoted to studio chief. As Remick ascends to his dream job, he realizes that he must walk the uncomfortable line between art and commerce. Rogen and longtime collaborator Evan Goldberg created the show with Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez.
Reasons for “The Studio’s” dominance include its showing at the Creative Arts Emmys. While “The Bear’s” record season scored seven CAE wins in 2024, “The Studio” earned nine. In addition to being a compelling comedy, “The Studio” is technically sophisticated, making extensive use of long, complicated takes. Its craftsmanship enabled it to take all of the Creative Arts categories in which “The Bear” won — cinematography, picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing and guest acting — but also add wins for production design, contemporary costumes and music supervision.
Fervor for “The Studio” also reflects how the Television Academy has cooled on the once unbeatable FX series about culinary greatness. In just one year, “The Bear” dropped from 11 wins to scoring none in 2025. It’s a record decline that comes amid weaker reviews for “The Bear” Seasons 3 and 4 and, perhaps even more significant, widespread debate over whether the largely dramatic show should compete as a comedy.
One sign that voters might be taking note of that debate came last year, when the show set its record for wins but then notably lost the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy to Season 3 of HBO Max’s “Hacks,” a show about…comedians.
With this in mind, it’s not hard to see how “The Studio” crossed the finish line as the new champ. The show is both a throwback to and evolution of traditional sitcoms, with each episode following a single, largely non-serialized premise with high production value — and a steady stream of laughs.
