2016 British comedy-drama television miniseries
Crashing is a British comedy series produced by Big Talk Productions and written and created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Its six episodes aired from 11 January 2016 to 15 February 2016 on Channel 4[1] and was released internationally as a Netflix Original series.[2] It stars Waller-Bridge, Jonathan Bailey, Julie Dray, Louise Ford, Damien Molony, Adrian Scarborough, and Amit Shah.
Premise
Crashing follows the lives of six twenty-somethings living together as property guardians in a disused hospital, keeping the building safe in exchange for cheaper rent and a strict set of rules.[3] The close personal relationships start to overlap, and the group navigates sexual tension and personal baggage before they are inevitably evicted.
Cast
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Louise "Lulu", a childhood friend of Anthony's, who moves into the hospital
- Jonathan Bailey as Sam, a sex-obsessed friend of Anthony's who grows closer to Fred
- Julie Dray as Melody, a French artist who becomes interested in Colin
- Louise Ford as Kate, a perfectionist engaged to Anthony who becomes at odds with Lulu
- Damien Molony as Anthony, a cook who is engaged to Kate and is a childhood friend of Lulu
- Adrian Scarborough as Colin Carter, a divorced colleague of Kate's who becomes a "muse" to Melody
- Amit Shah as Fred Patini, a gay man who becomes close friends with Sam
- Susan Wokoma as Jessica, Kate's bisexual co-worker, who has a sex addiction. Sam initially expresses an interest in sleeping with her, and she later kisses Kate.
- Lockie Chapman as Will, Fred's self-absorbed Australian boyfriend. He works as a telephone volunteer at Samaritans, and it is hinted that he is rich.
- Kathy Burke as Aunt Gladys, Lulu's eccentric great aunt who has an inappropriate sexual interest in Lulu. She is shown to be an alcoholic.
- Janie Dee as Cara, Colin's ex-wife
Episodes
Production
Background
The story began as two plays, written by Waller-Bridge, which were developed for television by the production company Big Talk.[4] Waller-Bridge added that, "The stimulus for them was to find the moment something exciting could have happened between two people but doesn’t because they bottle it at the last minute. I always wanted to write about what happened to these people after this moment.”[5]
Filming
The setting of the show was inspired by Middlesex Hospital, an abandoned hospital located in Fitzrovia near the production company's offices.[4] It was eventually filmed at a disused building of the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, which itself was inhabited.[6]
Release
Crashing aired from 11 January 2016 to 15 February 2016 on Channel 4[1] and was released internationally between 2016 and 2017 as a Netflix Original series.[2]
The series was also shown on Italian,[7] Spanish[8] and Russian[9] television, among others. It was released on DVD by Simply Media on 3 September 2018.[10]
Reception
W Magazine called it Waller-Bridge's "twisted take on Friends."[11] GQ Magazine described the show's six episodes as: "perfect little whirlwinds of comedy building to one big maelstrom where everyone falls to pieces — some are better off for it, and some are not. No matter where the chips fall, you'll have a good time."[12] Alanna Bennett for The Ringer writes: “Waller-Bridge tap-dances through practically every cliché available—but along the way, she bends and warps them. Every trope comes with a sharp right hook. She darkens some […] [and] brightens others”.[13]
Recognition
References
- ^ a b "Casting announced for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's new comedy Crashing". Channel 4. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Watch Crashing | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Dowell, Ben (24 December 2015). "Take an exclusive first look at new Channel 4 comedy Crashing". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ a b Tate, Gabriel (7 January 2016). "Crashing writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge talks up her new Channel 4 sitcom". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ^ Tate, Gabriel (7 January 2016). "Crashing writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge talks up her new Channel 4 sitcom". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Tate, Gabriel (7 January 2016). "Crashing writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge talks up her new Channel 4 sitcom". Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Crashing in streaming | FilmTV.it". FilmTV (in Italian). Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Cerdeño, Mario (10 July 2017). "'Crashing': seis jóvenes británicos golpeados por la dura realidad". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Сериал Сожители 1 сезон: фото, видео, описание серий - Вокруг ТВ". Вокруг ТВ. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Crashing - The Complete Series [DVD] E4 Original Comedy, retrieved 25 January 2023
- ^ Waller-Bridge, Phoebe (2013). Fleabag. London: Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-84-842364-0. OCLC 894546593.
- ^ "Pssst: One of Last Year's Most Overlooked Great Comedies Is on Netflix". GQ. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "There's No 'Fleabag' Without Phoebe Waller-Bridge's 'Crashing'". www.theringer.com. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Television Craft Breakthrough Talent in 2017". British Academy Film Awards. Retrieved 22 September 2017 – via awards.bafta.org.
External links
- Official website
- Crashing at IMDb
