British Comedy Guide
Crashing. Image shows from L to R: Kate (Louise Ford), Anthony (Damien Molony), Colin (Adrian Scarborough), Melody (Julie Dray), Lulu (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Sam (Jonathan Bailey), Fred (Amit Shah). Copyright: Big Talk Productions
Crashing

Crashing

  • TV comedy drama / sitcom
  • Channel 4
  • 2016
  • 6 episodes (1 series)

Comedy about a group of people living in a disused hospital. Stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Damien Molony, Louise Ford, Jonathan Bailey, Amit Shah and more.

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Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 1

Crashing. Image shows from L to R: Kate (Louise Ford), Anthony (Damien Molony), Melody (Julie Dray), Sam (Jonathan Bailey), Lulu (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). Copyright: Big Talk Productions
It's practically peaceful in the disused hospital. That is, until the spontaneous arrival of Lulu, Anthony's oldest and least responsible friend.

Further details

Comedy about six twenty-somethings living together as property guardians in a massive disused hospital.

In among the asbestos and abandoned X-ray machines live sexually explosive estate agent Sam, frustrated French artist Melody, shy and excitable Fred, and happily engaged couple Anthony and Kate.

It's practically peaceful. That is, until the spontaneous arrival of Lulu, Anthony's oldest and least responsible friend.

Broadcast details

Date
Monday 11th January 2016
Time
10pm
Channel
Channel 4
Length
30 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Lulu
Damien Molony Anthony
Louise Ford Kate
Jonathan Bailey Sam
Amit Shah Fred
Julie Dray Melody
Adrian Scarborough Colin
Guest cast
Juliet Howland Woman on Bus
Susan Wokoma Jessica (Kate's colleague)
Writing team
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Writer
Vicky Jones Script Editor
Production team
George Kane Director
Josh Cole Producer
Kenton Allen Executive Producer
Liz Lewin Executive Producer
Matthew Justice Executive Producer
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Associate Producer
Mark Henson Editor
Dennis De Groot Production Designer
Oli Julian Composer

Press

In Crashing six disparate, oddball people are not squatting but "protecting" unoccupied premises, in this case a mothballed hospital. So far, so much the reflection of our loopy property values, and plenty were the nods to Fresh Meat and This Life, neither of which this is at all. Yet. Do give it time. There are great moments of comic timing - not least from Kate (Louise Ford) - and, actually, not a little to get excited about, and the second episode's even better.

Euan Ferguson, The Observer, 17th January 2016

In many ways Crashing is like a traditional house share sitcom with plenty of mismatched characters having little in common other than the space they live in. However what separates Crashing from the plethora of past flatshare sitcoms is that the characters are all living as property guardians in a disused hospital. I did find the way that Phoebe Waller-Bridge introduced this concept was quite heavy-handed in some respects as the strait-laced Kate (Louise Ford) and obnoxious estate agent Sam (Jonathan Bailey) attempted to explain their situation in one of the opening scenes. Meanwhile Waller-Bridge's Lulu arrived at the hospital as an old friend of Kate's fiancée Anthony (Damian Molony) and was presented as a possible threat to their future together. Of the characters my initial favourite has to be the uninhibited French artist Melody (Julie Dray) whose one-liners provided some of the only highlights of this first episode. Rounding up the group were nervous diabetic Fred (Amit Shah) and Kate's recently divorced colleague Colin (Adrian Scarborough) who has already formed an odd bond with Melody. I did feel that Waller-Bridge was fighting somewhat of a losing battle with the first episode of Crashing primarily as she had so much plot to get through and so many characters to introduce. As the opening episode was only about twenty-three minutes long I don't think I really got to know any of the leads and therefore I wasn't as invested as I possibly should have been. That being said there were flashes of greatness layered within the patchy first episode as Waller-Bridge revealed the complexities that lay behind the seemingly annoying Sam and the highly strung Kate. I personally feel that Crashing deserved a longer amount of time for its opening instalment as it suffered from rushed storytelling and under-developed characters. I think that Waller-Bridge's script showed flashes of promise and that's why I'm going to give Crashing a second go however it feels that if her show had a longer running time then the characters and story would be given more room to breathe.

Matt, The Custard TV, 15th January 2016

TV review: Crashing

A review of Crashing on Channel 4.

Alex Hardy, The Times, 12th January 2016

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's monologue Fleabag, told by a free-wheeling, porn-obsessed woman, marked her out as one to watch when it debuted in 2013. Crashing is her first TV script: a flatshare sitcom with a fresh lick of grimy despair. Set in an old hospital, it follows a gaggle of property guardians as they navigate lives made more testing by their dilapidated discount digs - and, perhaps, the fact that many of them are the sort of flamboyantly affected sociopaths comedy commissioners can't seem to get enough of these days.

Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 11th January 2016

Crashing is a funny, smart sitcom

If Friends is all about the enviable, dream flat-share, Crashing is about precisely the opposite. In fact, after just one episode of Channel 4's new series, your tiny rented hovel may suddenly seem much more appealing.

Kasia Delgado, Radio Times, 11th January 2016

TV Preview: Crashing

I guess the nearest comparison is not Peep Show or Friends, but Fresh Meat with a slice of Skins tossed into the mix for good measure.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 11th January 2016

Crashing, episode 1, Channel 4, review: 'clumsy'

This new comedy about twentysomethings living in a disused hospital was like a hipster take on Miranda, says Michael Hogan.

Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 11th January 2016

Channel 4 sitcom Crashing left viewers despairing

New Channel 4 show Crashing arrived on our screens tonight - and was met with near-unanimous distaste from viewers on Twitter.

Olivia Waring, Metro, 11th January 2016

Generation rent finds its comic voice

Frustrated by the scarcity of meaty roles for women, Phoebe Waller-Bridge - 'the British Amy Schumer' - wrote and stars in Crashing, a new TV comedy for the way we live now.

Elizabeth Day, The Observer, 10th January 2016

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