The Studio dominated its first season at the Emmys — but the show’s creators showed no love to Sal Saperstein.
The showbiz satire series from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg won for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Rogen, as well as awards for its directing and screenwriting.
As a result, Rogen gave a whopping four acceptance speeches at Sunday night’s ceremony, but didn’t shout out Sal Saperstein a single time, despite fans’ expectations that he’d be name-dropped at least once during the broadcast.
But who, exactly, is Sal Saperstein, and why was he expected to receive attention at the Emmys? Read on for our explanation.
Sal Saperstein is a fictional studio executive from Apple TV+’s The Studio. Ike Barinholtz, who previously collaborated with Rogen and Goldberg on projects like Neighbors and The Disaster Artist, plays Sal, the vice president of production at the fictional Continental Studios.
Sal thought that he was a strong contender to take over Continental after Patty Leigh (Catherine O’Hara) departed the studio, but the job ultimately went to his friend Matt Remick (Rogen) in the show’s first episode. After becoming VP of production, Sal goes to battle with his rival Quinn Hackett (Chase Sui Wonders), who Matt has promoted to junior executive.
Sal Saperstein’s most memorable moment on The Studio comes in an episode that takes place during an awards show (not the Emmys, but the Golden Globes). In the show’s eighth episode (aptly titled “The Golden Globes”), Sal becomes the subject of a running gag during the ceremony.
The bit begins when Adam Scott (who plays himself in the episode and was also Emmy-nominated this year) thanks Sal during his acceptance speech, recalling the exec let the Severance star crash on his couch two decades earlier when he was first beginning his career in show business. That moment leads to the Globes turning the spotlight onto Sal as he briefly banters with Scott from his seat.
Shortly thereafter, Globes host Ramy Youssef gives Sal further attention when he takes the mic. “I think I speak for most of America when I say, ‘Who the hell is Sal Saperstein?'”
The joke continues when Quinta Brunson also shouts out Sal during her own acceptance speech. “I’ve never met him but he seems like such a fun dude, and if Adam Scott likes him, how bad can he be?” the Abbott Elementary star says on The Studio. “Sal Saperstein, I wanna say thank you to you, too!”
Later in the episode, Aaron Sorkin and Jean Smart also mention Sal from the Globes stage despite having no personal connection to him.
This all unfolds as Matt desperately tries to receive a shout-out in a forthcoming speech from Zoë Kravitz (playing herself), as he thinks that a public acknowledgement on the Globes stage will help legitimize his reputation in Hollywood. Sal’s 15 minutes of fame, then, is a waking nightmare for Rogen’s character — especially since Kravitz also thanks him during her climactic speech instead of Matt.
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The Studio received a staggering 23 Emmy nominations this year, and had already won nine by the time Sunday’s ceremony began.
At last week’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the series took home gold in the comedy categories for Outstanding Casting, Cinematography, Costumes, Editing, Music Supervision, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Guest Actor (for Bryan Cranston, who beat out fellow Studio guests Dave Franco, Ron Howard, Anthony Mackie, and Martin Scorsese).
At Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, the series won Outstanding Comedy Series, as well as Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (for Rogen and Goldberg for their work on the episode “The Oner”) and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for Rogen, Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez for the episode “The Promotion”).
Rogen also won the trophy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, while O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn were both nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, which ultimately went to Hannah Einbinder for Hacks.
And yes, Barinholtz — Sal Saperstein himself — was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but was beaten by Jeff Hiller for Somebody Somewhere.
Barinholtz and Hahn even presented the category for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, but didn’t take the opportunity to name-drop Sal Saperstein at any point in their introductory segment.
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