''Crashing'' is a British comedy series produced by

Big Talk Productions Big Talk Productions Limited is a British film and television production company founded by Nira Park in 1994. Big Talk was acquired by ITV Studios in 2013. Film Filmography Released Upcoming Critical reception Commercial performance ...

and written and created by

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge (born 14 July 1985) is an English actress and screenwriter. She is best known as the creator, head writer, and star of the BBC sitcom ''Fleabag'' (2016–2019), which was based on her one-woman show of the same name. ...

. Its six episodes aired from 11 January 2016 to 15 February 2016 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. It stars Waller-Bridge,

Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor. Known for his comedic, dramatic, and musical roles on stage and screen, he is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award and a nomination for a Evening Standard Theatre Award. Ba ...

Julie Dray Julie Dray is a French actress. She is best known to international audiences for her roles in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Crashing'' (2016), the HBO and Sky One science fiction series '' Avenue 5'' (2020), and the films ''Breaking the Bank'' (2014) ...

, Louise Ford,

Damien Molony Damien Molony (born 21 February 1984) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his television roles as Hal Yorke in BBC Three's '' Being Human'', DC Albert Flight in the BBC's ''Ripper Street'', DS Jack Weston in Channel 5's '' Suspects'', Jon ...

Adrian Scarborough Adrian Philip Scarborough (born 10 May 1968) is an English actor. He has appeared in films including ''The Madness of King George'' (1994), ''Gosford Park'' (2001), ''Vera Drake'' (2004), ''The History Boys'' (2006), ''The King's Speech'' (2010 ...

, and

Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...

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. The close personal relationships start to overlap, and the group navigates sexual tension and personal baggage before they are inevitably evicted.

Cast

Main

as Louise "Lulu", a childhood friend of Anthony, who moves into the hospital *

as Sam, a sex-obsessed friend of Anthony who grows closer to Fred *

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 *

as Anthony, a cook who is engaged to Kate and is a childhood friend of Lulu *

as Colin Carter, a divorced co-worker of Kate who becomes a "muse" to Melody *

as Fred Patini, a gay man who becomes close friends with Sam

Recurring

* 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.

Guest

Kathy Burke Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...

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 Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is an English actress and singer. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award ...

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. 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.”

Filming

The setting of the show was inspired by

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

, an abandoned hospital located in

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...

near the production company's offices. It was eventually filmed at a disused building of the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and s ...

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

Reception

W Magazine ''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film. W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine ''Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ori ...

'' called it Waller-Bridge's "twisted take on ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

''." ''

GQ Magazine ''GQ'' (formerly ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and ''Apparel Arts'') is an American international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though articles o ...

'' 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."

Recognition

* 2017 British Academy Television Craft Awards: Best Breakthrough Talent (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)

Releases

''Crashing'' was released on DVD by Simply Media on 3 September 2018.. Since 2016, ''Crashing'' is available to stream on Netflix.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=5295524, title=Crashing 2010s British comedy-drama television series 2010s British LGBT-related comedy television series 2010s British LGBT-related drama television series 2016 British television series debuts 2016 British television series endings Channel 4 sitcoms English-language television shows Television series created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge Television shows set in London