Thank you, Sal Saperstein!
After The Studio‘s Golden Globes episode insisted that Adam Scott goes way back with ke Barinholtz’s fictional studio executive Sal Saperstein, the Severance star posted an actual throwback photo of the two actors, proving that he’s actually old friends with the real Ike Barinholtz.
“Me & Sal. Circa 2001,” Scott wrote in his caption, indicating that he and Barinholtz have known each other for at least 24 years.
Alison Brie, who has not yet appeared on The Studio (though her husband, Dave Franco, is a guest star), commented, “Nobody deserves more gratitude. Thanks Sal Saperstein!”
The Hollywood satire series’ latest episode finds Continental Studios head Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) in a humiliating situation: he desperately wants to be thanked in an acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, but has not yet endeared himself to his studio’s most famous nominee, Zoë Kravitz. The Batman star plays an exaggerated version of herself, as most Studio guest stars do, since the Apple TV+ series takes place in a fictionalized Hollywood that’s virtually identical to the real tinseltown, save for the show’s central movie company.
At the Globes, Matt persistently tries to pressure Kravitz into mentioning him in her acceptance speech, but struggles to present himself in a sympathetic light whenever she’s around. At the same time, Sal — who works as the vice president of Continental and is friends with Matt — reconnects with Scott (also playing himself), who wins a Globe and thanks Sal in his acceptance speech for letting him crash on his couch 20 years earlier.
To Matt’s horror, thanking Sal Saperstein becomes a running joke throughout the ceremony, as Quinta Brunson, Aaron Sorkin, Jean Smart, and Globes host Ramy Youssef all shout out Barinholtz’s character as the night goes on, and Sal receives the spotlight that Matt so intensely craves.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; JC Olivera/Deadline via Getty
Adam Scott at the ‘Madame Web’ Los Angeles premiere on Feb. 12, 2024; Ike Barinholtz at the Deadline Contenders Television event in Los Angeles on April 6, 2025
Barinholtz discussed meeting Scott early in his career alongside his frequent collaborator David Stassen in an interview with PEOPLE. “Before we even sold a movie — he was nice enough to meet with us and read a script we wrote and have lunch with us,” Barinholtz said of the Parks and Recreation star. “And I remember just thinking, ‘Oh, man. What a nice guy. He’s so cool.'”
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The actor also said that shooting the Globes ep was particularly fun because the actors all embraced the awards show’s boozy atmosphere during meal breaks. “Everyone who was there — Adam and Ramy and whoever was just shooting with us that day — would come up and we would just sit and have an Aperol Spritz,” Barinholtz said. “You should have one drink when you’re shooting an episode about the Golden Globes, where everyone is drunk.”
The Studio releases new episodes on Wednesdays.
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