Apple TV’s “The Studio,” Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire, taps into one of Hollywood’s biggest trends: heading out of town.
Page Six has learned that season two episodes of last year’s Emmy-winning show will take place here in New York, with one scene set specifically at Gallagher’s Steakhouse on West 52nd Street.
The first season of the dry-age comedy series featured directors and actors such as Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron, Ron Howard, and Ted Sarandos playing themselves, lending authenticity to the scene.
They took that pragmatic strategy to the East. So if the waiters and bartenders in the Gallagher series look like they’re straight out of the main cast, it’s because they’re real Gallagher waiters and bartenders.
Rogen, who plays studio head Matt Remick, and Ike Barinholtz, who plays vice president Sal Saperstein, were recently photographed sitting at the central bar of the 99-year-old Manhattan facility before the restaurant opened.
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The two discuss the death of Patty, a producer modeled after Sony Pictures’ Amy Pascal, played by Catherine O’Hara.
O’Hara passed away in January at the age of 71 after a short illness.
The “Schitt’s Creek” actress was scheduled to appear in season 2, which was filming at the time. However, a source said that San O’Hara was unable to film his scenes.
“She was scheduled to film, but rescheduled to focus on non-role scenes,” they said of the days she was sick.
“Her death was a complete shock to everyone on the show,” the source added. “She was the most beloved person on set.”
In August, Rogen admitted to the London Times that he intended to “admit” O’Hara’s death in the plot.
“If anything, we’re acknowledging the idea that we’re a little bit unanchored,” he said.
“But honestly, it’s a part of life and something we all go through. So we try not to get too hung up on the heavy themes on this show, but they’re still there in this second season. We’re not ignoring it.”
