Apple TV+ has released the first trailer for “The Crowded Room,” a psychological thriller series starring Tom Holland, Amanda Seyfried and Emmy Rossum. based on the crimes of Billy Milligan, the show was created by Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind,” and is inspired by Daniel Keyes’s 1981 non-fiction novel, “The Minds of Billy Milligan.”
Set in the heat of Manhattan in the summer of 1979, “The Crowded Room” follows the arrest of Danny Sullivan (Holland) for his involvement in a shooting at Rockefeller Center. Danny works with investigator Rya Goodwin (Seyfried), who leads him to recall the past that drove him to commit his crimes.
Holland’s character is said to be loosely based on Milligan, who in 1979 was arrested for the rape of three women on the Ohio State campus. He told Entertainment Weekly he became so engrossed in the character that, after nine months of shooting, he found it hard to distinguish between himself and Danny Sullivan.
“I was seeing myself in him, but in my personal life,” Holland told Entertainment Weekly. “I remember having a bit of a meltdown at home and thinking, like, ‘I’m going to shave my head. I need to shave my head because I need to get rid of this character.’ And, obviously, we were mid-shooting, so I decided not to… It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
The series, made up of 10 one-hour episodes, also stars Sasha Lane, Will Chase, Lior Raz, Laila Robins, Christopher Abbott and Henry Eikenberry. The first three episodes are set to premiere on June 9 on Apple TV+, with subsequent episodes airing weekly.
Watch the trailer below.
