'The Studio' Ending Explained & Finale Recap: Is Continental Studios Taken Over By Amazon?

AppleTV+’s satirical comedy series, The Studio, wraps up its 1st season this week with another hilarious episode, underlining how film studios can sometimes get away with borderline bizarre things, and also perhaps how professionals in the cinema industry can sometimes pull off wonders even while inebriated. Back in episode 9, Matt Remick and his team had headed to Las Vegas for the CinemaCon event, excited to present all the new and upcoming films that Continental Studios has been working on, and the studio head hosted a gala party to celebrate the mood. However, as Matt categorically threw an ‘old-school Hollywood buffet,’ in his own words, the guests got too drunk and drugged for their own good, since there was an ample buffet of alcohol and drugs. Most importantly, actor-director Zoe Kravitz and Continental Studios CEO Griffin Mill, both of whom had to make important speeches on stage the next day, got too intoxicated and wandered away. The Studio episode 10 deals with Matt and his team’s efforts to bring the situation back under control, all while the possibility of Amazon buying out their studio looms large.

Spoiler Alert

Did Patty know about the Amazon takeover?

At the end of The Studio episode 9, Patty Leigh was seen making an anonymous phone call to entertainment journalist Matthew Belloni, informing him about a scandalous piece of news he could cover. This news was about the mess that the Continental Studios CEO, Griffin Mills, was making in public in a heavily intoxicated state, and the man’s inappropriate behavior continues even at the beginning of episode 10. Griffin climbs up a fountain statue and tries to make love to a stone-carved Aphrodite, while Patty takes a video of the whole fiasco, egging him on to be even more inappropriate. It’s pretty clear that Patty wants to sabotage Griffin and cause him immense trouble, as well as shame, because she had informed the journalist about his location. It was Griffin who had fired Patty from the position of studio head earlier, and so she now wants revenge against him.

However, it remained unclear whether Patty knew about the news of Amazon buying out Continental Studios, which meant that Matt and his entire team would lose their jobs as well, and whether she was technically sabotaging Matt as well. As the protagonist and his team run to the fountain statue at the beginning of this episode, it is revealed that Patty actually did not have any idea about the concerning development. She had only been acting out of anger and vengeance towards Griffin, her ex-boss, who had not just fired her unjustly but had also seemingly been quite inappropriate with her personally as well. Patty does not have any intention of harming Matt, as the latter has always considered her an idol and a close friend, and so she is quick to apologize to him.

This also means that Patty had not colluded with fund trader Peter Blake, and she has had no hand in facilitating the talks of the Amazon takeover. As soon as she realizes that Continental will survive only if the team can pull off a commendable presentation on stage, which is about to take place in a few hours’ time, and which should also have Griffin addressing the crowd in a respectable manner, she starts helping the team out. They have to drag the CEO back through the hotel lobby, the casino, and then up to the suite, and they decide to do so in the most comical fashion, making him seem just too wiped out from partying, while in reality, Griffin is totally unconscious.

The group runs into Dave Franco at first, who is himself too inebriated to find the situation alarming, and then Matthew Belloni, who has to be avoided at all costs, for he should not recognize Griffin. Belloni even takes a moment to speak to Patty, without any idea that she was the one who had called him just a few minutes earlier. More importantly, he does not identify the passed-out man as the Continental CEO, as Sal seemingly does a good job claiming the man to be his drunk uncle who does not have anything to do with the studio. Incidentally, the journalist asks the team whether they have anything to say about the Amazon rumors, making it clear that it is indeed a real development and not a false alarm. But Matt and his friends are very enthusiastic in shooting down these supposed rumors, stating that they are being circulated just to hurt the reputation of the legacy studio. At the end of this intense conversation, they are finally able to take Griffin back to the suite, where the next part of the plan has to be executed.

What is Matt’s plan to deal with the situation?

Once the team is back at their suite, the situation looks even worse, for they have to deal with both Griffin and Zoe Kravitz, both of whom are intoxicated out of their wits and also have to appear for the presentation in a short while. When Zoe is checked up on, it is very evident that she is still extremely high, as she refuses to get down from the side table, which she really had no reason to climb up on in the first place. Griffin, on the other hand, has no idea about what is going on, and Sal literally strips the man and then dresses him appropriately for the CinemaCon presentation. Dave Franco, who is supposed to be presenting the trailer for “Alphabet City” on the stage, is very high as well, and he also gets into some extremely dangerous situations, as revealed later on. 

Although letting these individuals get up on stage and address the crowd does seem like an extremely risky move, Matt also knows that cancelling the presentation is not an option. Doing so, or even changing up their lineup, which would also require a lot of operational changes, would only prove to the world that the studio is in shambles, and the board of directors would surely choose to sell off the company to Amazon. Thus, Matt’s master plan in the situation is to deal with the presentation normally, just as it had been planned earlier, and to not even consider the inebriation. One of the major reasons for him taking such a decision is that he, and his entire team, are also high on mushrooms during this entire fiasco, as is evident from him and Maya suddenly making out in front of everyone without any care about the situation they are in.

Is the presentation a total failure?

Based on the state that each of the presenters as well as the internal team of executives are in before the presentation, it seems almost confirmed that the show will be a massive failure for Continental Studios. However, this is where the mettle and the absolutely magical luck of Matt and his friends come into play, for they do not give up on the event or on their jobs and decide to just execute the plan well. The start is quite nerve-wracking, for Dave Franco shows up with a deep cut on one side of his head and blood trickling down his face. He clarifies that he had just been beaten up by some rowdy men at the casino because they thought he was using magic to cheat against them at cards, since his character in the “Now You See Me” franchise is accustomed to doing so. But Franco also insists that he will get up on the stage and present the trailer just as planned, although the others are not too convinced by his inebriated confidence. Ultimately, nobody can stop him, and the actor-director gets on the stage to deliver an unplanned monologue from “Alphabet City,” completely ignoring the text on the teleprompter. His bleeding face is considered to be just makeup to make him look in character, which is immediately popular with the audiences, and the trailer launch is an instant hit.

While Franco passes out as soon as he returns backstage and has to be rushed to the hospital, it is time for Zoe Kravitz to make her appearance and announce “Blackwing,” but she is in absolutely no shape to do it just yet. Matt begs Patty to go up instead and kill some time before she can reveal “The Silver Lake,” and although the woman hesitates at first, it is very clear that she has quite some practice successfully killing time at such events. Patty talks about her love for theaters and how it felt when she watched a film for the first time at the theater, which is completely unrelated to Continental’s presentation. Perhaps the thoughts of the Amazon takeover are buzzing in her head, and this is why she talks about the need for theaters as opposed to internet streaming. It is humorously ironic, in this context, that we are watching such a debate on a show that is being streamed on the internet.

As soon as Patty is done with “The Silver Lake,” Kravitz literally sneaks onto the stage, since nobody, including her managers or Matt, wants her to be seen in public in such a state. However, when the actor-director makes her appearance, she delivers her lines (basically reads them on the teleprompter) with such ease and aplomb that it seems like she is completely sober. Nobody has even an inkling of what she has been going through since the previous night, and so the announcement of “Blackwing” is also a grand success. “Kool Aid Movie” is up next on the schedule, and director Nick Stoller talks about his film on the stage, although he was hesitant in doing so earlier, fearing a dent to his own reputation, and he had to be threatened into making the appearance by Sal. Thus, the majority of the presentation is already a grand success, and the crowd loves the films and projects that have been talked about, although the most challenging part for the protagonist still remains.

Did Griffin deliver his speech on stage?

Even amidst the fears of whether his efforts at saving the studio through the grand presentation will fall through, Matt has to take to the stage just as planned in order to round up the “Kool Aid Movie” discussion and introduce his boss, Griffin Mill. Despite the effects of the mushrooms, which are probably wearing off now, Matt does a great job at impressing the crowds, and he is surely helped by the praises of Patty, who tells him that he is an impressive studio head right before he walks up to the stage. In turn, Matt does something that studio heads do not do very often, as he invites his whole team on stage and thanks them for their contributions. This is, once again, a step that impresses the audiences, and it seems like the presentation is going to be a grand success until Griffin walks on stage.

It is more appropriate to say that Griffin jumps in, as he is still unable to walk and therefore has to be attached to the ropes that were supposed to be used for the Kool-Aid Man mascot at the end of the presentation. Instead, it is Griffin who is now controlled like a puppet, as he slips and slides around the stage, and his speech, or attempt at it, is even worse. Although he has to just read from the teleprompter, the man cannot get past the very first word, ‘movies,’ and keeps repeating it multiple times, trying to enunciate differently each time. The situation gets so out of control that Matt has to step in, and he makes the ludicrous choice of chanting the word ‘movies,’ encouraging the audiences to do the same.

Despite this looking like a misstep at first, it ultimately turns out to be the right choice, for the audiences consider it to just be an unorthodox presentation on behalf of Continental Studios. Nobody suspects, at least visibly, or rather expresses any suspicion about Griffin Mill being inebriated on stage, and the presentation ends with everyone in the theater chanting ‘movies,’ as if in complete support of Continental’s effort to keep theaters alive in the face of stiff competition from online streaming platforms.

Is Continental Studios taken over by Amazon?

The Studio season 1 ends with Matt Remick looking out at the audience with an expression of immense joy and fulfillment on his face, for he truly believes that the presentation has been a massive success. After all, the crowds are seen enjoying the announcements and the unusual presentation, and this might be enough to cancel the Amazon takeover deal once and for all, although there is no official confirmation. It might be that Continental Studios will keep on surviving as a legacy film studio, as is suggested, but Griffin Mill might be axed by the board members. It is Griffin who comes off as a complete mess, even though the audience do not seemingly recognize it, and the rest of the team, led by Mark, visibly try to control the damage done by the CEO. Thus, there might be a new CEO appointed for the studio, and that might bring changes in personnel as well. Since The Studio has already been renewed for a 2nd season, we will surely find out the fate of Continental Studios, of Matt, and also of his entire team when the comedy series returns with its next iteration. 

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