The Studio season 1 episode 7 ending explained: Does Matt replace Ice Cube as the Kool-Aid Man in the film?
The Studio season 1 episode 7, Casting, dropped on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Written by Alex Gregory, the episode is directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. It offers a hilarious commentary on White folks fretting over being called racists or unwittingly promoting racial tropes in the world of cancel culture.
The episode focuses on the final casting of the Kool-Aid film project introduced in episode 1. Ice Cube's casting as the Kool-Aid Man makes the White creative team at Continental Studios nervous about being seen as racially insensitive. Despite the perceived backlash, Matt does not replace Ice Cube as the Kool-Aid Man.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Studio season 1 episode 7.
Matt's moral dilemma in The Studio season 1 episode 7 explained
At the start of The Studio season 1 episode 7, Maya excitedly informs Matt that the teaser poster for Kool-Aid: The Movie has received an overwhelmingly positive response online. It has fared better than any other poster launched in the last five years, prompting them to celebrate the prospect of earning billions of dollars with the film.
The next day, Maya goes over the film's star-studded cast with Sal, Quinn, and Matt before they make an official announcement at the Anaheim Comic-Con convention. Their final line-up includes Ice Cube as the voice of the Kool-Aid Man and Sandra Oh as Mrs. Kool. Moreover, the studio has tapped Josh Duhamel and Jessica Biel to play a live-action married couple named the Parches.
But Maya gets concerned that Ice Cube voicing the Kool-Aid Man plays into racial stereotypes. Matt Sal and Maya ask Quinn's opinion, thinking she is a young minority woman in touch with the current discourse. She approves of Ice Cube because, according to her, Kool-Aid is a poor person’s drink.
The group decides to directly ask Black people for their take on the matter. Trey assures them that not having a Black man would be considered more racist. Furthermore, the comedians Ziwe and Lil Rel Howery insist that Mrs. Kool should also be Black to avoid conveying that Black women don't end up with successful Black men. Hence, the team decides to go with Regina King as Mrs. Kool.
Now they are faced with another dilemma as the voice cast is all Black and the live-action cast is all White. Worried about the optics of the dynamic, they choose to make the entire cast Black. And so, Don Cheadle and Keke Palmer replace Duhamel and Biel, respectively, as the Parches.
But Quinn points out that the film seems to be catering specifically to Black people, which can also be perceived as racist. A frustrated Matt decides to change the cast again to represent the country's racial demographic.
The foursome brainstorm late into the night over the right ratio of ethnicities that can accurately represent the current America, but don't consider choosing actors who are right for the part. Unsurprisingly, things get out of hand within minutes.
In the end, Matt visits Ice Cube personally to ask if the whole thing sounds racially insensitive. Ice Cube responds that the Kool-Aid Man is Black and hiring someone else will be considered offensive, leaving Matt feeling happy and assured that he is doing the right thing.
Nick Stoller reacts to the changes in The Studio season 1 episode 7
After finalizing the all-Black cast, Matt and Maya inform Nick Stoller (the film's director) and the screenwriters about rewriting the film to accommodate the latest changes. The screenwriters, Dev and Sandra, hesitate to take the opportunity of writing for an all-Black cast away from Black writers and hence, quit the project.
Nick agrees to do the rewrites himself but tells Matt that he will use Artificial Intelligence to deliver the reworked film on time without going over budget. Matt asks him to keep the fact that they will not use human animators under wraps.
Also read: The Studio season 1: Full list of cast and characters explored
How does The Studio season 1 episode 7 end?
Matt and his team head to the Anaheim Comic-Con the next day, feeling confident about their decision. Onstage, Matt introduces Ice Cube as the voice of the Kool-Aid Man to loud cheers from the audience.
However, the mood shifts quickly after one audience member confronts Matt about using AI technology, instead of human animators, for the movie. Disgusted with the revelation, Cube walks away from the stage and leaves Matt alone to face loud boos from the crowd.
The Studio season 1 episode 7 masterfully delivers its punchline in the final scene. Matt's team jumped through hoops to avoid being seen as racists, but failed to recognize that the current hot-button issue is AI taking away human jobs, and not racism.
Watch The Studio season 1 episode 7 exclusively on Apple TV+.
