Get the picture: Seth Rogen heads an embattled production company in 'The Studio'

During the pandemic in 2020 — like many others — Seth Rogen filled his time by binging television shows.

He began rewatching “The Larry Sanders Show,” which set in motion the idea for “The Studio,” which is streaming on Apple TV+. A new episode is released each Wednesday through May 21.

“It just seemed fun, honestly,” says Rogen. “I thought, ‘If we could think of the right thing, I would enjoy doing it.’ (Co-creator) Evan (Goldberg) felt the same way. At the same time, we were having a very frustrating time making movies in many ways and were just frustrated by the movie industry in general. We thought it could be fun to put those frustrations into a television show.”

In “The Studio,” Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios.

As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Remick and his team of infighting executives battle their insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films, according to Apple TV+.

With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe.

As someone who eats, sleeps and breathes movies, it’s the job Remick’s been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.

Rogen says from Remick’s vantage point, the history and enduring power of Continental Studios compel him to want to be the best possible chief executive who loves movies and its artists even if it’s now his job to ruin movies and alienate artists.

As Remick and his team quickly discover, attempting to navigate the industry’s peaks of success and rock bottom valleys of despair are the defining narrative of a world in a state of constant rewrites.

“The Studio” features an all-star cast, including Ike Barinholtz as Remick’s right-hand guy, Sal Saperstein; Kathryn Hahn as the uber-hip head of marketing, Maya Mason; Chase Sui Wonders as Quinn Hackett, Remick’s former assistant-turned-creative executive; and Emmy winners Catherine O’Hara as the unceremoniously ousted Continental studio chief, Patty Leigh, who Remick replaced, and Bryan Cranston as Continental’s unpredictable CEO, Griffin Mill.

According to Apple TV+, after a series of box office failures usher in a regime change, Remick ascends to become head of Continental, a company on par with such fabled institutions as Paramount Pictures, Universal and MGM. He’s inherited a company struggling against a world populated by streamers. Historically, it’s never been an easy process to produce a film for theatrical release. Continental produces feature films and only feature films. However, they don’t have a streaming service, and they don’t have an incredible archive of intellectual property, admittedly the lifeblood of the industry today.

“They have a 100 years of artistic merit, history and success,” Goldberg says. “Matt has taken over when they’re not doing well. He could be the last head of this studio ever and drive it into oblivion.”

As the series begins, Continental is desperate to find a sure-fire hit for mass consumption, setting up an unforgettable journey for Remick and his inherited team. Seeing a chance to cash in on the success of “Barbie,” Remick is tasked with bringing the figurehead of the iconic sugary drink Kool-Aid to the masses in his first motion picture.

“It’s not confusing why so many bad films get made,” Goldberg laughs. “It is astounding that any good ones ever do!”

Goldberg says the series is inspired by beloved, legendary comedies like “Seinfeld,” “The Simpsons” and “The Larry Sanders Show” and is purposely designed not to follow a specific narrative order.

Goldberg and Rogen wanted audiences to be able to drop into an episode, knowing nothing about the show, and still fully understand what was happening.

“Our experiences are pretty … similar,” Goldberg says.

Rogen estimates that about 90% of their Hollywood trials and tribulations occurred next to one another, mainly the behind-the-scenes “stuff.” Once they established a working rhythm in developing “The Studio,” the process became fun in its own right.

“We were really in sync from the beginning,” Rogen says. “The style we wanted to do, the tone and the types of characters, it seemed obvious. If we were going to do a show about Hollywood and movie studios and the system that we work within, it seemed pretty intuitive as to what it was going to be like.”

Get the picture: Seth Rogen heads an embattled production company in 'The Studio'