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The true crime genre has become one of the fastest-growing genres in TV in the past ten years. Not only have these shows become vastly popular, but they have also won over critics and audiences alike. Recently shows like Inventing Anna, The Staircase, and Love & Death have explored the genre and received acclaim and popularity. So you can imagine why we're so excited about the release of another haunting miniseries delving into one of the most gruesome and important cases in the US: The Crowded Room (2023). Based on the nonfiction novel by Daniel Keyes called The Minds of Billy Milligan, the show tells the story of the first person acquitted of a major violent crime on the basis of having dissociative identity disorder in the United States.
To tell this important story, the creators behind The Crowded Room have enlisted an all-star cast including the current Spider-Man Tom Holland in the lead, appearing alongside a supporting cast that includes the likes of Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout), Emmy Rossum (Shameless), Will Chase (Nashville), Sasha Lane (Conversations with Friends), and Christopher Abbott (On the Count of Three). From Akiva Goldsman, the writer of Oscar-nominated films like A Beautiful Mind and The Client, The Crowded Room looks all set to win Emmys and gain a large following. Here’s the official synopsis of the show, and for anybody wondering when, how, and where they can watch this terrifying miniseries, read on for our complete guide to watching The Crowded Room:
A psychological thriller set in Manhattan in the summer of 1979, when a young man is arrested for a shocking crime—and an unlikely investigator must solve the mystery behind it.
When Will The Crowded Room Premiere?
The Crowded Room will be released on June 9, 2023. The first three episodes will be released on the date of the premiere. After that, one episode will be released every week until the season ends on July 28.
Where Is The Crowded Room Streaming Online?
The Crowded Room is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Unfortunately, you cannot watch The Crowded Room without an Apple TV+ subscription, but it’s not too late to get one. You can get an Apple TV+ membership for as low as $6.99. Here's the link to the series' landing page on the service:
Watch the Trailer for The Crowded Room
A trailer for The Crowded Room was released on May 10, 2023. Right from the first frame, we see Tom Holland breaking out of his Spider-Man persona and embracing his darker side. Questioned by a lead detective played by Amanda Seyfried, Holland as Danny Sullivan begins to question what brought him to this point. He doesn’t seem like a dangerous killer and his history of being the weakest and most bullied kid on the street supports this. But on the fateful day that an older man decided to protect him, was it luck or a curse that he met him? Pretty soon, Danny is taken under his wing and people around Danny start disappearing. With blank spots in his memory, it’s hard to piece together what happened. Is Danny a stooge in a criminal operation he has no control over or is he a mastermind playing dumb?
How Many Episodes of The Crowded Room Will There Be?
The Crowded Room is set to have ten episodes in total and since it's a miniseries, those ten episodes will tell you the entirety of the story.
More Shows Like The Crowded Room That You Can Watch Right Now
To help you out while you wait for Apple TV+ to release this captivating new series, check out these three other shows that explore dark, twisted crimes:
Mindhunter (2017-2019)
When it comes to serial killer stories, there is no other director better than David Fincher. Between movies like Zodiac, which follows the real-life killing spree of the Zodiac killer in San Francisco and the subsequent obsession it induced in a newspaper cartoonist, and Se7en, a neo-noir thriller that goes from conventional detective drama to a disturbing tale of a fanatical killer, Fincher has practically reinvented the genre. His most prolific work, however, is not on the big screen. Mindhunter follows special agent Holden Ford and his partner Bill Tench as they investigate the country’s most dangerous serial killers to understand the mind and pathology of a serial killer. Featuring heart-stopping interviews with people like Charles Manson and Ed Kemper, Mindhunter asks its audience to suspend judgment and become a scientist observing the darkest of crimes.
Sharp Objects (2018)
Before Gillian Flynn wrote Gone Girl, a novel that birthed one of the most terrifying villains in both literature and film, her novel Sharp Objects haunted readers with its tale of small-town depravity. After the success of the 2014 David Fincher adaptation of Gone Girl, HBO greenlit the first small-screen adaption of Flynn’s work starring Amy Adams. The miniseries follows a troubled crime reporter, Camille Preaker (Adams) who has recently been released from a mental health facility. When she hears about a string of murders being carried out in her own hometown, she decides that despite her deeply troubled relationship with her mother and unwillingness to confront the past, she’ll have to go back home and uncover the secrets to these gruesome killings. Juxtaposing Camille’s dour home life and the heinously cruel crime scenes creepily underlines just how violent neglect can be. Featuring an all-star cast led by Adams and supported by Patricia Clarkson and Eliza Scanlen, this miniseries will have you questioning everything.
Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)
Coming off one of his best performances in film with Tick, Tick… Boom!, a musical that showed off his underappreciated singing talent, Andrew Garfield was able to make his follow-up just as intriguing but a lot more frightening. Under the Banner of Heaven spotlights a devoted and seemingly idyllic Mormon community and the dangerous fanaticism that lies beneath the surface. Garfield plays Detective Jeb Pyre, a devoted Mormon detective who begins investigating the brutal killing of a young mother and her defenseless baby daughter. After uncovering a web that leads back to a religious family with fringe views, he begins to doubt his own religious convictions and risks giving the Church he has been a member of his whole life a bad reputation. Created by Dustin Lance Black, the writer of the Harvey Milk biopic Milk, the series gives a much-needed history lesson on the history of the Mormon Church’s persecution and the ways in which isolation leads to radical ideas.