Tom Holland describes his experience as an executive producer on the Apple TV+ show, ‘The Crowded Room’

Tom Holland’s most recent release, The Crowded Room, premiered on Apple TV+ on June 9, 2023. The ten-episode series was faced with widely voiced criticism despite the anticipation and excitement around its release.

A lot of the hype, of course, was owed to the lead cast of the show, which included Tom Holland, Sasha Lane, Amanda Seyfried, and Emmy Rossum, among others. The psychological thriller series was adapted from a popular non-fiction book titled The Minds of Billy Milligan.
Tom Holland in The Crowded Room
The Crowded Room follows a prisoner, Danny Sullivan, who was imprisoned for his association with the New York City shootout in 1979. Through the course of the show, Danny gradually reveals the kind of life he lived and the events that led up to the massive crime.

However, the story quickly shifts focus onto Danny’s character and his life from the shooting itself. The things he reveals and the horrors that shake up the woman who decided to conduct a series of interviews with him.

The widespread criticism of Tom Holland’s OTT debut

Tom Holland in a still from the Crowded Room
Although the trope of The Crowded Room sounds like one that has been widely used by successful filmmakers in movies like The Silence of the Lambs and shows such as Mindhunter and Alias Grace, all of which involve in-depth interviews of protagonists who are now in prison for horrific crimes.

Most critics and even fans of the non-fiction book expressed their disappointment at how the series turned out. Performances and themes were widely accepted as up to the mark while the making and the pace of the show were regarded as inconsistent.

Considering that Tom Holland, one of the most beloved and popular stars in Hollywood currently, was the face of the show, the expectations surrounding the series shot up too high even before the release.

The Marvel star also donned the cap of executive producer for The Crowded Room, which made fans intrigued about the making. When the show was faced with widespread criticism, Holland was faced with numerous questions about what went wrong and how the show ended up such a disaster.

Tom Holland’s nightmare as an executive producer

Tom Holland in a still from The Crowded Room
Holland previously turned executive producer for his film Uncharted. However, his experience with The Crowded Room, as he has spoken of it, was not very enjoyable. One of the main reasons for this was also the lack of consistency caused by a variation in the directors directing each episode.

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Holland referred to the process as a logistical nightmare because each of the crews would have to be updated with the work of the other whilst maintaining a singular tone and mood.

He became responsible for ‘directing his directors’ as to what was going on, making it all the more difficult for him. Through the promotions for the show, Holland did express what a great learning experience acting in The Crowded Room was for him while the logistical end of it, was undeniably difficult to deal with.
“To be perfectly honest, it was a bit of a logistical nightmare because when you are doing scenes like that, you can’t have directors directing scenes from other director’s episodes.”