Ever wanted to sneak behind closed-doors and see what propels the Hollywood Dream Machine? That’s what happens in the cameo-cluttered, 10-episode satire “The Studio,” skewering the perennial Art-vs-Commerce dilemma.

When delusional dreamer Matt Remick (co-creator Seth Rogen) becomes the head of Continental Studios , he’s told by CEO Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston) that his job is to make IP-driven movies that will succeed at the box-office, not “artsy-fartsy films.”

Problem is: pretentious cinephile Matt thinks he can do both – only to encounter obstacles from his resentful, ousted predecessor/mentor Patty Leigh (Catherine O’Hara), money-hungry marketing guru Maya Mason (Kathryn Hahn), coke-sniffing best friend/VP of Production Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz), and assistant-turned-creative exec Quinn Hackett (Chase Sui Wonders).

“I got into this business because I love movies,” Matt tells Patty, “but now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them.”

Spurred by the “Barbie” box-office bonanza, one of Matt’s first projects involves creating an origin story for the Kool-Aid Man. (Apparently, that was loosely inspired by Rogen and his partner Evan Goldberg’s eviscerating experiences with Sony, creating the political parody “The Interview” which eventually imploded.)

What distinguishes this screwball show are the guests – Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Zoe Kravitz, Steve Buscemi, Charlize Theron, Zac Efron, Ice Cube, Sarah Polley, Anthony Mackie, Greta Lee & Olivia Wilde, among others – playing exaggerated versions of themselves.

Martin Scorsese’s segment finds the Oscar-winning director pitching a story about Jonestown:  “Isn’t that the massacre where everyone commits suicide by drinking Koo-Aid?”  Eventually, Scorsese dismisses Matt as a “talentless, spineless suit.”

Obviously, the more you know about the treacherous machinations and maneuvering in contemporary Hollywood, the easier the caricatures are to identify – like Patty, who probably traces her real-life lineage to former Sony chief Amy Pascal, the exec who green-lit Rogen’s “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express” & “This Is the End.”

Bran Cranston’s character Griffin Mill is named after Tim Robbins’ ambitious studio head in Robert Altman’s  Hollywood send-up “The Player” (1992) – and in tribute to that film, almost every scene is done in a single long ‘take.’  

There’s a humiliating night at the Golden Globes and the two-part conclusion is aptly set at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Studio” is a farcical, cynical, perceptive 8 – streaming on Apple TV+ and renewed for a second season.

Comedienne Tina Fey co-wrote and co-stars in “The Four Seasons,” her first series since NBC’s “30 Rock.”  It’s an update of Alan Alda’s 1981 movie about six friends – three middle-aged couples – who meet up for quarterly getaways.

There’s edgy Kate (Fey) & amiable Jack (Will Forte), coolly cynical Danny (Colman Domingo) & his clingy Italian partner Claude (Marco Calvani), and unsuspecting Anne (Kerri Kenny-Silver) & discontented Nick (Steve Carell).

Problem is: at a spring gathering at their lake house, it quickly becomes obvious that Nick wants to divorce Anne just as they’re about to celebrate 25 years of marriage. His decision inevitably throws the dynamic and ‘happiness’ status of all the other matrimonial relationships into question.

Not only does Nick subsequently dump hapless Anne but he also quickly takes up with an adventurous 32 year-old dental hygienist, Ginny (Erika Henningsen), whom his friends are slow to welcome, particularly when she books their summer vacation at a no-frills Caribbean eco-beach resort where they’re ensconced in yurts.

In the fall, it’s off to an angst-riddled Parents Weekend at Vassar College where most of the group first met – and where Kate & Jack’s daughter and Anne & Nick’s daughter are currently enrolled.

Winter centers on New Year’s Eve, when conflicted Nick feels awkward celebrating with Ginny and her youthful, vegan friends while his longtime chums hang out at a ski chalet where Anne introduces her new guitar-toting beau.

This series continues Tina Fey’s comedic cycle that started with traumatic teenage aggression (“Mean Girls”), growing into the relational constriction of young adulthood (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), followed by workplace dilemmas (“30 Rock), and now the repetitive dissatisfaction of aging empty-nesters who are forced to confront mortality.

FYI: Alan Alda appears in a cameo in episode #2.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Four Seasons” is a sitcom 6. All eight half-hour episodes are now streaming on Netflix, and it’s been renewed for a second season.

Catch up with Susan Granger’s latest reviews here:

• May 15: “Real Women Have Curves” and “Rust”
• May 8: “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” and “Good American Family”
• May 1: “Just in Time” and Nightbitch”
• April 24: “We Had a World” and “Snow White” 

Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.