The Crowded Room

*The Crowded Room*
The Crowded Room
	Title card for the series
Genre	Drama; Psychological thriller;
Created by	Akiva Goldsman
Inspired by	The Minds of Billy Milligan; by Daniel Keyes
Developed by	Todd Graff
Starring	Tom Holland; Amanda Seyfried; Sasha Lane; Will Chase; Lior Raz; Emmy Rossum;
Composer	Trevor Gureckis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Arnon Milchan; Yariv Milchan; Michael Schaefer; Kornél Mundruczó; Suzanne Heathcote; Alexandra Milchan; Tom Holland; Akiva Goldsman;
Producer	Kata Wéber
Cinematography	Ksenia Sereda; William Rexer;
Editors	Christopher Rand; Kevin Birou; Dávid Jancsó;
Running time	38–56 minutes
Production companies	Apple Studios; New Regency; Weed Road Pictures; EMJAG Productions;
Original release
Network	Apple TV+
Release	June 9 –; July 28, 2023

The Crowded Room is an American psychological thriller miniseries created by Akiva Goldsman and inspired by the 1981 non-fiction novel The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes. Tom Holland, Amanda Seyfried, and Emmy Rossum lead a supporting cast that includes Sasha Lane, Will Chase, Lior Raz, Laila Robins, and Henry Eikenberry.^[1]

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

Cast

Main

Tom Holland as Danny Sullivan, a character based on Billy Milligan
Amanda Seyfried as Rya Goodwin
Sasha Lane as Ariana Atkinson
Will Chase as Marlin Reid
Lior Raz as Yitzak Safdie
Emmy Rossum as Candy Sullivan

Recurring

Emma Laird as Annabelle Stone
Levon Hawke as Jonny
Stephen Barrington as Angelo
Thomas Sadoski as Matty Dunn
Sam Vartholomeos as Mike
Christopher Abbott as Stan Camisa
Jason Isaacs as Jack Lamb
Carmen Ejogo as Patricia Richards

Guest

Nuala Cleary as Eden
Laila Robins as Susie
Richard Blackwood as a Homeless man
Frank Wood as Dean Martin Hughs
Henry Eikenberry as Doug
Cameron Douglas as a Cellmate
Henry Zaga as Philip
Elijah Jones as Jerome
Daniel London as Greg
Akiva Goldsman as Doctor

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Exodus"	Kornél Mundruczó	Akiva Goldsman	June 9, 2023 (2023-06-09)
Danny Sullivan is arrested for a violent crime. Rya Goodwin probes his troubled past for answers.
2	"Sanctuary"	Kornél Mundruczó	Akiva Goldsman	June 9, 2023 (2023-06-09)
Rya visits the Ghost House. Danny opens up about his turbulent friendship with Ariana.
3	"Murder"	Brady Corbet	Akiva Goldsman	June 9, 2023 (2023-06-09)
Danny gets a gift for Ariana. Annabelle returns. Rya pieces together the events leading up to Rockefeller Center.
4	"London"	Brady Corbet	Akiva Goldsman and Henrietta Ashworth & Jessica Ashworth	June 16, 2023 (2023-06-16)
In the aftermath of the shooting, Danny flees the country to find his father.
5	"Savior"	Kornél Mundruczó	Akiva Goldsman	June 23, 2023 (2023-06-23)
Danny’s and Candy’s lives are forever changed by the arrival of an unlikely savior.
6	"Rya"	Mona Fastvold	Akiva Goldsman and Suzanne Heathcote	June 30, 2023 (2023-06-30)
Rya puts her career on the line to investigate a radical new theory.
7	"The Crowded Room"	Alan Taylor	Akiva Goldsman and Suzanne Heathcote	July 7, 2023 (2023-07-07)
Danny finally faces the truth about his crime.
8	"Reunion"	Brady Corbet	Akiva Goldsman and Cortney Norris	July 14, 2023 (2023-07-14)
As the trial approaches, Rya and Stan disagree over strategy. Danny struggles to sort through his past.
9	"Family"	Mona Fastvold	Akiva Goldsman and Gregory Lessans	July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
The state of New York v. Danny Sullivan.
10	"Judgment"	Mona Fastvold	Akiva Goldsman & Suzanne Heathcote & Gregory Lessans	July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
Series finale. Danny’s life hangs in the balance.

Production

Development

In April 2021, Akiva Goldsman was set to write The Crowded Room, a 10-episode anthology television series with the adaptation of Daniel Keyes' nonfiction novel The Minds of Billy Milligan for Apple TV+. Goldsman was also set to produce the series through his Weed Road company with Tom Holland, Alexandra Milchan through EMJAG Productions, and Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer through New Regency.^[2] The season was later revealed to actually be based on Goldsman's own life with inspiration from Keyes' book. Kornél Mundruczó was hired to direct the season and serve as an executive producer as well alongside Suzanne Heathcote.^[3] Writers for the season include Akiva Goldsman, Henrietta Ashworth, Jessica Ashworth, Suzanne Heathcote, Cortney Norris and Gregory Lessans.^[4]

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).^[2] Goldsman was quoted saying that Holland was "the first and only person" he approached to play Danny.^[5] In February 2022, Amanda Seyfried, Emmy Rossum, Will Chase, Sasha Lane, Christopher Abbott and Emma Laird would be added to the cast.^[3]^[6]^[7] In May, Jason Isaacs and Lior Raz joined the cast.^[8]

Filming

Principal photography on the series began on March 31, 2022, in New York City. Among the noteworthy filming locations is NBC Studios, located in historic 30 Rockefeller Plaza.^[9] Filming wrapped on September 28, 2022.^[10]

Release

The Crowded Room premiered its first three episodes on June 9, 2023, and subsequently released one episode per week until July 28.^[11]

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes 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."^[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 48 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[13]