Recommendations of the Editorial team
The creators of The Studio have announced that the second season of the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series will feature the death of Catherine O’Hara thematize becomes.
O’Hara, who won Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for her role as producer Patty Leigh, was originally slated to appear in Season 2 before she died in January 2026. She played the mentor of studio boss Matt Remick, who in turn was played by actor and “The Studio” co-creator Seth Rogen.
In a new interview, Rogen and co-creator Evan Goldberg told The Times of London that O’Hara’s death from a pulmonary embolism and colon cancer forced them to rewrite the entire season on short notice.
A relay without an anchor
“It was an incredible challenge,” Goldberg said. “Emotionally, of course, the loss itself. But also in terms of the show: We wrote everything for her, she should be there. Everything was prepared, and the shock waves are running through the entire new season. It was hard. They put it better than we ever could – she was the anchor, and now the anchor is gone.”
Rogen added: “If anything, we acknowledge that we’re a little lost. But honestly, that’s part of life – we all know it. And while we don’t want to delve too deeply into heavy themes in this series, they will be present in season two. We’re not ignoring it.”
Filming for Season 2 of The Studio began in January and continued at the Venice Film Festival last month. O’Hara had not filmed a single scene before her death, Variety reports. Madonna, Julia Garner, Michael Keaton and Donald Glover are among the celebrities who will appear as themselves. The second season appears to pick up on the long-in-development Madonna biopic, which would have starred Garner.
