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Ike Barinholtz is ready for you to start screaming “Sal Saperstein!” at him in the streets. That’s his character’s name on Apple TV+’s Hollywood satire “The Studio,” and in Episode 8, Sal becomes a bit of a running joke in the middle of the Golden Globes. As the faux version of that kudofest proceeds, a running joke erupts where everyone on stage thanks “Sal Saperstein,” even though they don’t know who the hell he is.
“I’m ready for it. It’s better than some of the other things they yell at me now,” Barinholtz tells Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, “so I’ll take ‘Sal Saperstein!,’ that’s for sure.”
They might not know Sal Saperstein, but in this, the Year of Ike Barinholtz, they’re sure getting a lot of the real-life comedic actor and writer. Besides starring opposite Seth Rogen in “The Studio,” Barinholtz is one of the creators — along with David Stassen, Mindy Kaling and Elaine Ko — behind the hit Netflix comedy “Running Point,” which stars Kate Hudson as the president of a basketball team (based on Los Angeles Lakers head Jeanie Buss, who’s involved in the show too).
Barinholtz recently spoke with the podcast to talk about “The Studio,” “Running Point,” his winning streaks on “Jeopardy” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” and his dad’s surprising second career as an actor. Also on this episode, the Awards Circuit Roundtable dissects Clayton Davis’ piece about ten changes the TV Academy should make to the Emmy categories. Listen below!
The rise of Sal Saperstein on “The Studio” takes place in what is quite a chaotic — and pretty accurate — take on the Globes ceremony, filled with celebrity cameos. “It was crazy shooting that episode because we shot it at night at the Beverly Hilton, where they have the Globes,” he says. “And they had it packed with extras. It really felt like an award show. I was so focused on my lines and the work that you didn’t even really check around. You would just be doing the scene and all of a sudden be like, ‘oh damn, there’s Jean Smart on stage. Oh my god, there’s Aaron Sorkin.’ It was a crazy fever dream. That episode was just really fun to shoot.”
Barinholtz’s Sal is perhaps the character who enjoys themself the most on “The Studio.” As Rogen’s studio boss, Matt Remick, sweats bullets, Sal is happily snorting cocaine — while still getting the job done. Sal had wanted Matt’s job — but when he realizes how awful it really is to be the boss, he’s fine with being the No. 2.
“I think there’s a version of the show where he doesn’t get it and tries to angle for it throughout the season, and plots against him,” Barinholtz says. “But I think he in the moment realizes, ‘hey, my buddy who loves me has got the job, and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to stay.’ I think he’s a real survivor. I think he’s the kind of guy who he was probably very nervous in 2018 and 2020 that someone was going to tell a story about something he said on a film set, and he was going to have to move out of LA!”
“The Studio” has been the talk of real Hollywood for obvious reasons. “A friend of mine who’s a studio head right now is like, ‘thanks for making my biography. I love being stressed out at work all day and then watching your show and just feeling more stress,’” Barinholtz says. “But I think it’s good that a lot of people relate to it. I’ve had friends who are not in the industry at all tell me like, ‘man, I was so uncomfortable during that episode.’ And that was one thing that I was happy to hear from people is it’s not just people in the business who love it. For the people in the business, it’s like candy for us, it’s a show about us.”
Meanwhile, with “Running Point,” the Chicago-bred Barinholtz wants to make it clear that he is still a Bulls fan first and foremost. (As is Stassen, who grew up pals with Barinholtz.) “But I always did have like an affinity towards the Lakers,” he says. “I loved Magic Johnson. I’ve been out here 25 years, and I don’t think it’s healthy to not be a fan of the team in the city in which you live. I think it can make you kind of misanthropic. When I got here, Kobe and Shaq were here, and I love watching them. My kids are Laker fans, so that really seals the deal. And just going to Lakers game is just so much fun.”
Barinholtz has even become pals with the Lakers’ Kurt Rambis and Linda Rambis; their kid, Jordan, is even a producer on “Running Point.” “It’s wild, I get to bring my kids to the game, and they talk to Jeanie and see the players sometimes. It’s an amazing organization, because it’s a true family business. Jeanie really gave us incredible access. When we were writing the first season, she let us come to the training facility out in El Segundo, come to the games and watch her. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the way their employees react to them and treat them. And everyone she interacts with just loves her. It’s just a just good vibes over there.”
So what’s the deal with these string of TV game show wins? Barinholtz won the first primetime season of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” and was a semifinalist in its Tournament of Champions. He and his father Alan won the top $1 million prize on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” last year.
“I love trivia,” he says. “We grew up in a ‘Jeopardy!’ house, and my parents would play Trivial Pursuit. Child of the 80s! In high school, Dave Stassen and I were on our high school quiz bowl team.”
Of course, despite those “Celebrity Jeopardy!” and “Millionaire” wins, he’s still thinking about that Tournament of Champions “Jeopardy!” loss. “I made it to the semifinals, and the final question was one of two things, and I should have guessed the other one,” he says. “I think about it like twice a week. I really do/ I’ll be on the treadmill and be like, ‘damn it, why did I say ‘Spartans’? That’s not the one!”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
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