Editorial note: Light spoilers ahead for “The Studio.”
In the latest episode of “The Studio,” something beautiful happens. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the Kool Aid movie. In the Apple TV+ show’s season finale, Zoë Kravitz calls herself a “Black Jewish queen.”
Here’s what happens.
Last week’s episode of “The Studio,” the Hollywood send-up from bar mitzvah class buddies Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, ended on a huge cliffhanger. Continental Studio exec Matt Remick (Rogen) accidentally encourages Dave Franco, Zoë Kravitz and studio owner Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston) to party way too hard just hours before they are due to make a studio-saving presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. When viewers last see them, Dave is riding high on booze and cocaine, Zoë is absolutely tripping balls on 21 grams of mushrooms and Griffin is wandering around The Venetian casino disoriented and covered in nacho cheese. How on earth will they successfully pitch the Kool-Aid movie to fans and save Continental from getting bought out by Amazon?!
I’m not going to spoil the episode for you. But what I will tell you is this: Five minutes from the end, Matt is about to take the stage at CinemaCon and he’s being talked up by his colleagues Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz), Quinn Hackett (Chase Sui Wonders), Patty Leigh (Catherine O’Hara) and Maya Mason (Kathryn Hahn). Out of nowhere, Zoë, who is still pretty messed up from the unprecedented amount of drugs she has consumed, grabs Matt.
“You can do it,” she says, inches from his face. “You’re a Black Jewish queen. You’re Zoë Kravitz.”
Yes, that line was likely written for Zoë. Yes, she is playing a character version of herself, that character is really high in this episode and also technically talking to someone else. But even so, Zoë Kravitz is right and she should say it! Zoë is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lilakoi Moon (formerly known as Lisa Bonet), both parents with mixed African American and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. In 2018, Zoë, who identifies as a secular Jew, spoke about looking to both sides of her heritage for resilience saying, “Jews and African-Americans have had so much pain, carried so much on their shoulders, and come so far.”
There have been other Jewish jokes throughout the show. Punchlines abound from Hollywood agent Mitch Weitz (David Krumholtz) being completely incapable of not bringing up his and Matt’s Jewishness in a conversation, the Continental team considering adding Jewish actors to cast of the Kool Aid movie and Matt Remick’s mom (Rhea Perlman) being a stereotypical Jewish mom. But this particular Jewish joke stands apart in its ability to be completely without stereotype and unexpectedly endearing. Plus, the idea of Matt being a Black Jewish queen is very, very funny.
So here’s hoping we get more of self-proclaimed Black Jewish queen Zoë Kravitz in season two.
