The Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room stars Tom Holland (Spiderman: Homecoming, Cherry) as Danny Sullivan, a young man arrested after a shooting at Rockefeller Center. However, an investigator notices that the details don’t add up, and she has to find the true shooter before he takes more lives. The series is based on the novel The Minds Of Billy Milligan.
The series has been blasted by critics, with it now sitting at a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. One of the many elements that critics were not a fan of is Emmy Rossum (The Day After Tomorrow, The Phantom Of The Opera) being cast as Holland’s mother, despite her only being ten years older than him.
“It’s no secret that my show has been so horribly reviewed,” Holland told Entertainment Weekly. However, Holland says that The Crowded Room is more about the message it carries to viewers about mental health. “The message of the show, which can address various issues, is that asking for help should be celebrated in our society,” Holland said. “It’s an act of bravery.”
Holland also discussed hoping that the series would inspire viewers to make a change. “If we can somehow empower people to say, ‘I’m not feeling good, I really need some help,’ then we’ve achieved our goal,” he said.
Holland also said that the show inspired him to take a year-long break from acting. “Learning about mental health and the power of it, and speaking to psychiatrists about Danny and Billy’s struggles, has been something that has been so informative to my own life,” he said.
Holland also hoped to compel viewers to “have more respect and more sympathy for people who are going through mental health issues.” He said, “I hope that people will feel educated about the powers of mental health, the struggles, [and] our incredible abilities to survive.”
The Crowded Room is available to watch on Apple TV+.