After making a career of playing lovable underachievers, Seth Rogen is officially an overachiever: his show “The Studio” set a new Emmy record for the most wins by a comedy, racking up top prizes including best series.
The Vancouver comedian and his longtime collaborator Evan Goldberg dominated the comedy categories at Sunday’s awards bash, when they also collected directing and writing trophies for their Apple TV Plus cringe comedy.
“It’s getting embarrassing. I really appreciate it, in all honesty,” Rogen said with his trademark chuckle while accepting the best comedy series award.
“I’ll do my best attempt at sincerity here – if you watched our show, if you appreciated our show, if you voted for our show, especially, thank you very much. I’m legitimately embarrassed by how happy this makes me.”
Rogen also earned best comedy acting for his role as a frazzled Hollywood studio exec who juggles corporate pressures with his dream of making genuinely good movies.
“The Studio” took home 13 awards, including nine Emmys picked up at last weekend’s Creative Arts ceremony.
With four to his name, Rogen also tied the record for most Emmys won by a single person in one night, joining Moira Demos in 2016, Amy Sherman-Palladino in 2018 and fellow Canadian and “Schitt’s Creek” co-creator/star Dan Levy in 2020.
The haul marks a career high for the comedian, who built his brand on slackers and stoners — from the aimless dad-to-be in 2007’s “Knocked Up” to the delusional mall cop in 2009’s “Observe and Report” — before pivoting to prestige projects like Steven Spielberg’s 2022 drama “The Fabelmans.”
Meanwhile, Toronto native Lorne Michaels won an Emmy for best live variety special as executive producer for “SNL50: The Anniversary Special.”
While accepting the award, the “SNL” creator noted he first won the trophy 50 years ago, and said he never thought he’d still be doing the same show half a century later.
“I was younger, and I had a lot of dreams about what would happen in my life,” said Michaels.
“And not one of those dreams was that I’d still be doing the same show for the next 50 years. However, here we are.”
The special beat the Oscars, Beyoncé’s “Beyoncé Bowl” and the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show starring Kendrick Lamar.
Another Canadian caught a stray when Tina Fey presented the award by quipping: “If Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime special wins, I’m really going to hear it from Drake. And Drake and I are supposed to play pickleball tomorrow.”
Among the evening’s other big winners were the Netflix limited series “Adolesence,” which picked up six awards including best limited series, and HBO medical procedural “The Pitt,” which took home two trophies, including best drama series.
The night began with Rogen taking the stage to claim the acting award, the first award of the night, and expressing surprise at the meteoric success of “The Studio.”
“I still could not wrap my head around this happening, so I’ve literally prepared nothing. I’ve never won anything in my life,” Rogen said.
“When I was a kid I bought a used bowling trophy at an estate sale, and my parents were like, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea.’”
The Emmy bounty cemented the Apple TV Plus series as the new record-holder in two categories previously dominated by FX’s “The Bear.”
“The Studio” now holds the record for the most Emmy wins by a comedy series in a single season, surpassing “The Bear,” which earned 11 trophies for its second season last year.
It also set a new benchmark for wins by a freshman comedy season, overtaking the 10 awards claimed by “The Bear” in 2023.
“The Studio” got off to a roaring start at the Creative Arts Emmys where it took home nine awards, including best guest actor in a comedy series for Bryan Cranston, as well as multiple craft and technical honours.
Rogen and Goldberg have worked together since their teenage years in Vancouver, building a decades-long partnership that’s produced many irreverent comedies, including 2007’s “Superbad” and 2016’s “Sausage Party.”
They previously scored Emmy nods as executive producers for “Pam & Tommy” in 2022 in the limited series category, and for “The Boys” in 2021 for best drama series.
While accepting the best comedy series award, Rogen pointed out “The Studio” producer Frida Perez, who is Dominican American, made history as the first Latina to ever win the trophy.
“In all honesty, thank you so much. We couldn’t appreciate this more,” Rogen said to audience, before turning to his team behind him.
“Thank you to you all, for real. Thank you, guys,” he said, gesturing to them.
Rogen ended the speech acknowledging the very people “The Studio” skewers.
“Thank you to the executives. Thank you, executives! Bye everybody.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2025.
