If You Liked The Studio

Liz Lemon wants to make a comedy show; her stars and corporate bosses keep making that harder. The relentless jokes about vanity, network interference, and creative compromise make this an easy next stop after The Studio.

Getting a talk show on the air would be easier without the host’s ego, the staff’s anxieties, and the guests. Garry Shandling’s backstage comedy turns that nightly struggle into a painfully funny portrait of people who need applause almost as much as a paycheck.

Two British writers bring their hit to Hollywood and watch the American remake drift further from their intentions. Matt LeBlanc plays an appalling version of himself, turning every network concession into another excellent reason to wince.

Valerie Cherish is determined to stay in the picture, even when the industry would rather turn her humiliation into content. Lisa Kudrow makes this showbiz comedy excruciating in exactly the way a disastrous The Studio meeting can be.

A superhero movie crew tries to keep production moving while studio demands and fragile egos pull it apart. It is the closest companion here to The Studio’s argument that making movies can be a spectacularly absurd job.