Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Studio episode 6’s sixth episode, “The Pediatric Oncologist,” gives us a glimpse into Matt’s personal life and leans beautifully into the excruciating cringe humor. Rebecca Hall guest stars as Matt’s new girlfriend, a doctor who treats children with cancer. She invites him to a charity gala full of fellow pediatric oncologists, and he quickly finds that they don’t believe his work as a movie mogul is as important or as high-stakes as their work saving children’s lives. Most people would agree that blockbuster entertainment isn’t as vital as medicine, but Matt can’t let it go.

Writer Alex Gregory cooks up the perfect professional problem for Matt to face on the day of this gala. Continental Studios is working on a Johnny Knoxville movie called Duhpocalypse!, about zombies who spread their infection through bloody diarrhea. This premise . From the doctors’ perspective, it’s another classic example of mindless Hollywood slop. But from Matt’s perspective, it’s a dark satire of COVID-era medical disinformation (a subject that ties in with the episode’s juxtaposition of the film industry and the medical industry).

“The Pediatric Oncologist” . As they enter the charity gala, they’re both on the phone, simultaneously having very different conversations. Matt is speaking to Maya, talking about whether to cut a closeup of diarrhea splattering Josh Hutcherson’s face from the Duhpocalypse! trailer, while his girlfriend is talking to the parents of a young cancer patient, discussing various options for their child’s treatment. This scene .

Seth Rogen’s turn as an embattled studio head might be the best acting work he’s ever done, and “The Pediatric Oncologist” continues to exemplify that. He nails the delivery of every cringe-inducing rant about the importance of cinema, and . The ideological tug-of-war between entertaining movies and life-saving medicine isn’t just a joke; Rogen’s commitment to the bit convinces you that Matt genuinely believes that what he does is as important as what they do.

Once again, it’s disappointing the rest of the main cast often gets sidelined. Catherine O’Hara’s Patty is missed more and more every week she’s not in the show, and Bryan Cranston’s eccentric CEO hasn’t been seen since the very first episode. Quinn, Sal, and Maya all appear very briefly here before the episode shifts its focus to the gala. The Studio has a great ensemble cast, but . Still, Rogen does a terrific job in the spotlight this week.

It’s framed through Curb Your Enthusiasm-style cringe comedy, but there’s an interesting discussion at the heart of “The Pediatric Oncologist.” Obviously, producing a movie about pooping zombies isn’t as important as treating a child with cancer. But . And despite the dismissive attitude of the doctors at his table, he’s right that all movies are technically art; The Emoji Movie is as much a work of art as The Godfather. But the vehicle for this discussion is hilarious dialogue pitting Matt against everyone else in the room.

As with almost all the previous episodes, ’s sixth installment builds to a great punchline. After spending the whole episode downplaying the need for doctors and medicine, Matt suddenly finds himself in desperate need of both when he falls over and breaks his finger. The image of Matt being rolled through a parade of tuxedo-clad doctors by a pair of paramedics is both the perfect visual punchline for the episode and the perfect final insult in Matt’s losing battle of wits against the pediatric oncology community.