''The Crowded Room'' is an American

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

created by

Akiva Goldsman Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...

and inspired by the 1981

non-fiction novel The non-fiction novel is a literary genre that, broadly speaking, depicts non-fictional elements, such as real historical figures and actual events, woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The ...

'' The Minds of Billy Milligan'' by

Daniel Keyes Daniel Keyes (August 9, 1927 – June 15, 2014) was an American writer who wrote the novel ''Flowers for Algernon''. Keyes was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2000. Biography Early life ...

Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...

Amanda Seyfried Amanda Michelle Seyfried ( ; born December 3, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She began acting at 15, with a recurring role as Lucy Montgomery in the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (1999–2001). She came to prominence for he ...

, and

Emmy Rossum Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...

lead a supporting cast that includes

Sasha Lane Sasha Bianca Lane (born September 29, 1995) is an American actress. She made her film debut in '' American Honey'' (2016), directed by Andrea Arnold, before portraying Hunter C-20 in the first season of the Disney+ television series ''Loki'', s ...

Will Chase Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's ''Nashville''. Early life and education Chase was born i ...

, Lior Raz,

Laila Robins Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' An Innocent Man'' (1989), '' Live Nude Girls'' (1995), ''True Crime'' (1999), ...

, and Henry Eikenberry. The series follows Danny Sullivan (Holland) after he was arrested for his involvement in a New York City shooting in 1979. Danny unveils his life through a series of interviews with interrogator Rya Goodwin (Seyfried), and slowly details to Rya, and the audience, his mysterious past that led him to the fateful incident. As Danny retrospectively examines his life, he reckons with his past and a few pivotal moments, ultimately leading him to uncover a life-altering revelation. On June 9, 2023, ''The Crowded Room'' premiered with its first three episodes on

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

. One each of the remaining seven episodes was released weekly through July 28, 2023. The series received negative reviews from critics.

Cast

Main

as Danny Sullivan, a character based on Billy Milligan *

as Rya Goodwin *

as Ariana Atkinson *

as Marlin Reid * Lior Raz as Yitzhak Safdie *

as Candy Sullivan

Recurring

* Emma Laird as Annabelle Stone *

Levon Hawke Levon Roan Thurman Hawke (born January 15, 2002) is an American actor. He is the son of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, and brother of actress Maya Hawke. Early life Levon was born in 2002, the younger of two children born to actors Ethan Hawke a ...

as Jonny * Stephen Barrington as Angelo *

Thomas Sadoski Thomas Christian Sadoski (born July 1, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Don Keefer in the HBO series '' The Newsroom'' (2012–14) and as Matt Short in the CBS sitcom ''Life in Pieces'' (2015–19). Early life and e ...

as Matty Dunn * Sam Vartholomeos as Mike *

Christopher Abbott Christopher Jacob Abbott (born February 10, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his work in independent films. In 2011, Abbott made his feature film debut in '' Martha Marcy May Marlene'' and his Broadway debut in the revival of the pla ...

as Stan Camisa *

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of D.J. in ''Event Horizon'' (1997), Ronald Quincy in ''Armageddon'' (1998), Colonel William Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' ...

as Jack Lamb *

Carmen Ejogo Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973)

as Patricia Richards

Guest

* Nuala Cleary as Eden *

as Susie *

Richard Blackwood Richard Clifford Blackwood (born 15 May 1972) is a British actor, presenter, and rapper. Between 2015 and 2018, he played Vincent Hubbard in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 2020, he began portraying the role of Felix Westwood in the Chan ...

as a Homeless man * Frank Wood as Dean Martin Hughs * Henry Eikenberry as Doug *

Cameron Douglas Cameron Morrell Douglas (born December 13, 1978) is an American actor. Early life and family Douglas was born on December 13, 1978, the first and only child of actor Michael Douglas and Diandra Morrell (née Luker). He is the grandson of acto ...

as a Cellmate * Henry Zaga as Philip * Elijah Jones as Jerome * Daniel London as Greg *

as Doctor

Episodes

Production

Development

In April 2021,

was set to write ''The Crowded Room'', a 10-episode anthology television series with the adaptation of

' nonfiction novel '' The Minds of Billy Milligan'' for

. Goldsman was also set to produce the series through his Weed Road company with

, Alexandra Milchan through EMJAG Productions, and Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer through

New Regency New Regency Productions is an American-British-Luxembourgish entertainment company formed by Arnon Milchan. It was founded in 1991 as the successor to Regency International Pictures (formerly known as Embassy International Pictures N.V.). Hist ...

. The season was later revealed to actually be based on Goldsman's own life with inspiration from Keyes' book.

Kornél Mundruczó Kornél Mundruczó (; born 3 April 1975) is a Hungarian film and theatre director. His 2014 film '' White God'' won the Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. While '' Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project'' (2010) and '' Jupiter's Moon'' (2 ...

was hired to direct the season and serve as an executive producer as well alongside Suzanne Heathcote. Writers for the season include

, Henrietta Ashworth, Jessica Ashworth, Suzanne Heathcote, Cortney Norris and Gregory Lessans.

Casting

In April 2021, Holland was cast in the lead role, initially believed to be Billy Milligan, but later revealed to be a character named Danny Sullivan (still loosely based on Milligan). Goldsman was quoted saying that Holland was "the first and only person" he approached to play Danny. In February 2022,

and Emma Laird would be added to the cast. In May,

and Lior Raz joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

on the series began on March 31, 2022, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Among the noteworthy filming locations is NBC Studios, located in historic

30 Rockefeller Plaza 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. Completed in 1933 ...

. Filming wrapped on September 28, 2022.

Release

''The Crowded Room'' premiered its first three episodes on June 9, 2023, and subsequently released one episode per week until July 28.

Reception

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported a 34% approval score with an average rating of 4.8/10 based on 50 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "''The Crowded Room'' is furnished with undeniable talent and built on a promising premise, but the story runs in circles, resulting in an exhausting and often frustrating experience."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 48 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowded Room 2020s American drama television miniseries 2023 American television series debuts 2023 American television series endings Apple TV+ original programming Dissociative identity disorder in television American English-language television shows Mental disorders in television Psychological thriller television series Television series created by Akiva Goldsman Television series set in 1979 Television shows based on non-fiction books Television shows filmed in New York City Television shows set in Manhattan