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Gloria goes up against the network to keep Hearts on Fire from being cancelled. Sam blows up when his first interview for Maximum Velocity II goes sideways. Jacob Y makes a shifty move to take control.
Recap:
- Jacob fills in for Gloria at a photoshoot and clashes with Nick over his ab makeup and his wanting to be taken seriously as an actor.
- Gloria is the one finding her quiet time interrupted when Jacob barges in with the new budget proposal and a demand for respect.
- Meanwhile Sam is blindsided during an interview about his new movie when the interviewers press him about doing an action film at his age, implying he is too old. Sam’s attempts to recover go awry much to Becky’s dismay.
- Gloria has a run in with a studio executive over the show’s budget and delivers a passionate defense of Hearts on Fire.
- Becky and Sam have a fiery clash after his disastrous interview which he feels wasn’t as bad as she is making it seem.
Line of the episode:
“Did Mommy not breastfeed you? Is that what happened to you?” ~ Becky to Sam
Fun facts:
Lilly Melgar and Sean Kanan adlibbed the fight between Becky and Sam after the interview. Lilly shared with us that she was surprised the entire scene was going to be improv and wasn’t sure she could do it, but Sean had faith in her and pushed her to new acting heights, “Never in my entire career have I done improv for the entire scene, but we did that, and I love the scene and it is so good! And it’s so much fun to work with someone who can do that like he (Sean Kanan) does, that is one of his strengths. So, for me it was one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in a long time, and I like to be challenged so as mad as I was, it was thrilling and exciting and it definitely called me to be more present than I’ve ever been. I had to be.”
James Lott Jr. is a podcaster in real life, and he played the podcaster who interviewed Sam and put him on the spot about his age. He had this to say about his guest spot on Studio City, “I basically play a host and I’m the opposite of myself. I got to do the things that I normally wouldn’t do as a host. I ask questions and say things I would never say in real life. I’m just coming at him, and I don’t do that in my interviews. You don’t invite someone on your show and then attack them but I kinda do that and it’s just his (Sam’s) reactions that are the best!”
Meet the characters:
Lilly Melgar plays Becky Pope, the PR person assigned to Sam by the studio producing his movie. She had this to say about her character, “She’s a ball buster which is very true to me and Sean’s relationship through the years, so I think he was inspired by our actual relationship, just amped it up a bit. She’s a ball buster but she’s got some heart.”
Philip Bruenn talked to us about Nick Cassidy, who plays Sam’s rival, Devon Stryker, om Hearts on Fire, and he told us, “He is like any guy who wants to make something of himself. He grew up watching Sam and it’s that idolization. He’s got a little bit of pompousness to him …and what I really liked about the second season is that he goes through a moment of second guessing, a little bit of that internal journey of ‘am I who I thought I am? Hold on, someone needs to validate me real quick!’”
Studio City season 2 is available on Amazon Prime Video! Come back next week for our recap of episode 3, Maximum Velocity, as well as exclusive content from cast and crew of the award-winning Studio City!
