The Crowded Room

Did You Know?

• The soundtrack by Trevor Gureckis was released on June 9, 2023 on Platoon Records and mixed for Apple's Spatial Audio format.
• Rotten Tomatoes' critics consensus described the series as 'furnished with undeniable talent and built on a promising premise, but the story runs in circles, resulting in an exhausting and often frustrating experience.'

Production

Akiva Goldsman was originally tapped in April 2021 to write a ten-episode anthology series for Apple TV+ based on Daniel Keyes' nonfiction book The Minds of Billy Milligan. The project, titled The Crowded Room, was to be produced by Goldsman’s Weed Road company alongside Tom Holland, EMJAG Productions, and New Regency. It later emerged that the season drew from Goldsman’s own life, with Keyes’ book serving as inspiration. Kornél Mundruczó directed and executive produced, joined by Suzanne Heathcote.

The writing team included Goldsman, Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth, Heathcote, Cortney Norris, and Gregory Lessans. Holland was cast in the lead in April 2021, initially thought to be playing Billy Milligan but eventually revealed as Danny Sullivan, a character loosely based on Milligan. Goldsman said Holland was the first and only actor he approached for the part. Amanda Seyfried, Emmy Rossum, Will Chase, Sasha Lane, Christopher Abbott, and Emma Laird were added to the cast in February 2022, with Jason Isaacs and Lior Raz joining in May.

Principal photography started on March 31, 2022, in New York City, including at NBC Studios inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and concluded on September 28, 2022.