''Crash'' is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

set in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

that starred

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...

and

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes ...

. It is the first original series produced by the Starz network. The network ordered a 13 episode season which premiered on October 17, 2008. The series is based on the 2004 film of the same title. It was developed for television by Glen Mazzara. In Canada, ''Crash'' can be seen on Super Channel. Starz ordered a second season that premiered in September 2009 before concluding in December 2009.

Production

Conception

Starz began looking to develop original television series after the success of series developed by its rivals Showtime and HBO and advertised funding and creative freedom for original programming projects. ''Crash'' is the network's first foray into original scripted drama and is based on the Academy Award-winning 2004 film of the same name. The writers of the film,

Paul Haggis Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...

and

Robert Moresco Robert Moresco is an American producer, screenwriter, director and actor. His credits include the films ''10th & Wolf'' and '' Crash''. Moresco's script for ''Crash'' won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, which he shared with co-wr ...

, were interested in developing a series based on the property.

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

and Starz collaborated on developing the series for television. Television writer and producer Glen Mazzara was brought in as an executive producer for the series. Mazzara has worked extensively as a writer and producer on ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...

'' and had developed new projects for the other networks including ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

'' and '' Standoff''.

Crew

Glen Mazzara served as the series executive producer and showrunner. The film's writers

and

and producer

Bob Yari Bob Yari ( fa, باب یاری; born May 30, 1961) is an Iranian-born American film producer and director. Biography Yari was born to a Jewish family in Tehran, Iran. He grew up in New York City, and studied film in Santa Barbara. Yari has pr ...

joined Mazzara as executive producers. Thomas Becker, Mark R. Harris, Tom Nunan, and Jorg Westerkamp all worked as producers or production executives on the original film project and are credited as co-executive producers on the series. Movie actor

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...

, who was a star and producer of the 2004 film, is also on board as a co-executive producer. Mazzara hired a writing staff that he felt was used to coping with edgier material. Co-executive producer and writer Frank Renzulli had previously worked on HBO drama ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

''. Co-executive producer and writer

Ted Mann Ted Mann (April 16, 1916 – January 15, 2001) was an American businessman involved in the film industry and head of Mann Theatres. In 1973, he purchased the National General Theatre chain and changed the name of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, wh ...

worked on HBO drama '' Deadwood''. Producer and writer

Stacy Rukeyser Stacy Rukeyser (born 1970) is an American television writer and producer. Rukeyser landed her first job writing for CBS drama ''Without A Trace.'' She was a writer and an executive producer on the ABC Family series ''Greek'', and worked on the ser ...

worked with Mazzara on ''Standoff''. Executive story editor Chris Collins came from the recently completed HBO drama ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

''. Executive story editor Randy Huggins had previously worked with Mazzara on ''The Shield''. The pilot episode was directed by

Sanford Bookstaver Sanford Bookstaver (born September 1, 1973) is an American film, television director and television producer. Early life In 1995, Bookstaver graduated from the USC School of Cinema-Television. In 1999, he directed the film ''Scriptfellas''. Tel ...

Cast

The first season starred: *

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Ben Cendars *

Ross McCall Ross McCall (born 13 January 1976) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles as T-5 Joseph Liebgott in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' (2001) and Matthew Keller in the hit series '' White Collar''. He played the child version of F ...

as police officer Kenny Battaglia *

Arlene Tur Arlene Tur is an American actress, television presenter and model. She is best known for her roles as Bebe Arcel in the 2008 television drama series ''Crash'', Armenia in the 2010 film ''Eat Pray Love'' and as Vera Juarez in '' Torchwood: Miracl ...

as actress-turned-police officer partner Bebe Arcel *

Clare Carey Clare Carey (born June 11, 1967) is an American film and television actress best known for her roles as Kelly Fox in ''Coach'' (1989-1995) and Mary Bailey in ''Jericho'' (2006-2008), and her film role in '' Savannah Sunrise'' (2016). Backgrou ...

as Brentwood mother Christine Emory *

D. B. Sweeney Daniel Bernard Sweeney (born November 14, 1961) is an American actor. Early life Sweeney was born in Shoreham, New York, on November 14, 1961. He attended both Tulane and New York University. Career In 1990, Sweeney starred as Treplev in Jeff Co ...

as Peter Emory, her real-estate developer husband *

Brian Tee , known professionally as Brian Tee, is a Japanese film and television actor. He is known for playing Dr. Ethan Choi on the NBC medical drama ''Chicago Med'' and its spin-offs, and has starred in such films as '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo D ...

as former

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

member-turned-EMT Eddie Choi *

Jocko Sims Jocko Sims (born February 20, 1981) is an American actor, known for playing Anthony Adams in ''Crash'' and later playing Carlton Burk in the series '' The Last Ship''. On the NBC TV show ''New Amsterdam'', he portrays Dr. Floyd Reynolds. Care ...

as street-smart driver Anthony Adams *Luis Chávez as undocumented

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

Cesar Uman *

Moran Atias Moran Atias ( he, מורן אטיאס; born 9 April 1981) is an Israeli actress and model. She gained fame in the Italian films ''Gas'', '' Oggi sposi'', and '' Mother of Tears''. She is best known for her work with Paul Haggis in the 2008 TV ...

as Inez *

Nick E. Tarabay Nick Emad Tarabay (born 28 August 1975) is a Lebanese-born American actor. He is known for portraying Ashur on the Starz television series ''Spartacus'' and Cotyar on the Amazon Prime Video science fiction television series ''The Expanse''. E ...

as a detective Axel Finet *

Trilby Glover Trilby Glover is an Australian actress known for her roles as Shoshanna in '' The Starter Wife'' mini-series, Jessica in the feature film ''Righteous Kill'', and as Jane Hollis in the second season of Fox comedy-horror series '' Scream Queens'' ...

as his wife Ann Finet *

Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; born November 29, 1961) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his supporting roles in films such as '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' (1991), '' Passenge ...

as Detective Adrian Cooper. In season 2 new cast members: *

as billionaire Seth Blanchard, *

Dana Ashbrook Dana Vernon Ashbrook (born May 24, 1967) is an American actor, best known for playing Bobby Briggs on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its 1992 prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me''. Early life Ashbrook was ...

as LA crook Jimmy, *

Linda Park Linda Park (born July 9, 1978) is a South Korean-born American actress, best known for her portrayal of communications officer character Hoshi Sato in the television series '' Star Trek: Enterprise''. Early life Park was born in South Korea and ...

as Blanchard's wife and children's author Maggie, and * Jake McLaughlin a former high school pitching ace now working for his diabetic mom (

Tess Harper Tessie Jean Harper (''née'' Washam; born August 15, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role in 1983's ''Tender Mercies'', and for the Academy Award for Be ...

) in a hobby store. Battaglia is a security guard and then begins working for Blanchard and some of the cast members from season 1, Tur, Carey, Sweeney, Tee, Chavez, Tarabay and Sizemore do not return for season 2.

Jenny Mollen Jenny Ann Biggs ( Mollen) is an American actress and published writer and essayist. She played Nina Ash on the television series ''Angel'' (2003–04). She appeared on the series ''Viva Laughlin'' (2007), ''Crash'' (2008), and ''Girls'' (2014). ...

plays Tess, the new girlfriend to Kenny Battaglia.

Episodes

Season 1 (2008–09)

Season 2 (2009)

Reception

Reviews of the series have been mixed: Ginia Bellafante of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said "The show is hardly the most original depiction of Los Angeles, but has a noirish appeal, and ambitions to tell a big story". On the other hand, Variety's Brian Lowry wrote: "There's not a whit of originality to it," and "The show possesses less substance than a brisk Santa Ana wind." According to Matthew Gilbert of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', "None of the stories or characters is remotely interesting".

Home media

The first season of Crash was released on DVD in the USA on September 15, 2009. The second season was released through Amazon.com on September 15, 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crash (2008 TV Series) 2000s American drama television series 2008 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings Serial drama television series Live action television shows based on films Television shows set in Los Angeles Starz original programming English-language television shows Television series by Lionsgate Television Television shows filmed in New Mexico