It’s been a mixed bag for comedy fans over on Apple TV+ recently, with mega hit Ted Lasso being seemingly revived from the dead for a fourth season, while Rob McElhenney’s Mythic Quest was cancelled after four seasons (the streamer went so far as to edit the cliffhanger ending to bring the story to a close).
But the latest update from one of the best streaming services gives subscribers plenty to look forward to, with two critical darlings – both of which currently have over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics – confirmed to be returning for a new season.
The shows in question are Seth Rogen’s movie-making satire The Studio, which is due to wrap its first season on May 21, and sweet parenthood comedy Trying, starring Esther Smith and Rafe Spall, season four of which aired last year.
While the creative team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have a series of hits under their belt, including Prime Video’s The Boys, The Studio has been the most critically adored work yet for the pair that cut their teeth on mid-00s stoner comedies.
The show follows Rogen’s Matt Remick, a cinephile who still sees movies as art more than business, who finds himself appointed as head of the struggling Continental Studios production company. In a world increasingly dominated by corporate aims and IP driven ‘content’, Matt struggles to find the balance between blockbuster hits and quality cinema.
The show has been praised for its whip smart satire of the film industry, and its meta approach – episode two, ‘The Oner’ masterfully winks at its audience – buoyed by a string of high profile celebrities starring as themselves. It feels like a show only Rogen and Goldberg could make, drawing on their own experience and relationships within the industry, often feeling like a more grounded version of their apocalypse comedy This is the End.
Speaking on their season two commission, the pair teased more meta storytelling, saying: “We’re thrilled to be making a second season of The Studio. We’re looking forward to taking the lived experience of making season one and immediately putting it into season two, then repeating that loop for 10 more seasons. And, we’re excited to keep all our industry friends and colleagues guessing as to when one of their personal stories will stream on Apple TV+.” Indeed, Rogen himself said in a video announcing the renewal news that “I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘formula’ so much as a structure that we 100% know works so we’re gonna do it over and over again”.
Trying, meanwhile, may have had less of an instant impact, but has quietly made a name for itself as one of the best Apple TV+ shows over four feel-good seasons.
Rafe Spall and Esther Smith star as Jason and Nikki, a couple desperate to be parents but struggling to conceive. Deciding to adopt, the initial seasons follow the trials and tribulations that come with the adoption process. Hilarious and heartfelt in equal measure, the latest season of the show rebooted things somewhat with a six-year time jump, shifting the focus to the couple’s life as parents. While the show may not be one of Apple’s biggest hits, the critics have praised the cast and the writing, earning the series a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Season 5 of the show “finds Nikki and Jason dealing with the consequences of Princess and Tyler’s biological mother Kat (Charlotte Riley) turning up at their doorstep, and the whirlwind of chaos she brings into their settled family life,” which sounds like the perfect hook to guarantee the latest outing generates the requisite tears, laughter or otherwise.
It looks like the future is bright for comedy fans over at Apple TV+, with these two great shows making a return and the aforementioned Ted Lasso comeback, but if you’ve got a structure you 100% know works… why not do it over and over again.
