The Crowded Room creator wants to see a spin-off starring Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Abbott
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Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season finale of The Crowded Room, "Judgment."
The Crowded Room creator and showrunner Akiva Goldsman is sharing the potential spin-off he'd like to see starring Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Abbott.
The actors portray therapist Rya Goodwin and attorney Stan Camisa, respectively, in the Apple TV+ series. Although the characters initially butt heads, they come to form an unlikely alliance in the fight to obtain a not guilty verdict for their client Danny Sullivan (Tom Holland), a teen with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) who is on trial for the attempted murder of his step-father Marlin (Will Chase).
After Danny's mother Candi (Emmy Rossum) falsely testifies that her son was not sexually abused by Marlin, and denies Danny's subsequent suicide attempt, the series finale finds Rya and Stan searching for a new defense strategy that will prove Danny's innocence. While sharing a meal together, Rya realizes their only option is to put Danny on the witness stand and force him to face his childhood trauma head-on.
It's easier said than done, considering Danny's overbearing alter Jack (Jason Isaacs) thinks that getting him convicted is the safest option. Through a series of photographs and pressing questions, Stan helps Danny understand that his twin brother Adam, who Danny believed was the one assaulted by Marlin, was actually an alter within his system the entire time. He is subsequently found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental health facility.
Apple TV+ Christopher Abbott and Amanda Seyfried in 'The Crowded Room'
Goldsman tells EW in an interview conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike that he was instantly charmed by Abbott's performance in the series. "I too had this reaction to Chris Abbott, who comes in late to the show," he says. "You're just like, 'Well, now I just want to watch a show about him and Amanda solving low-stakes murder mysteries in New York.'"
A potential spin-off following the pair could be a hit. After all, they're perfect foils for each other — Rya is bright and disarming, while Stan is much more curmudgeonly and direct — and their opposing viewpoints have already proven to be crucial in solving complex legal matters. Plus, with Rya now working full-time as a therapist, she's likely able to take time off to lend a hand on a case or two.
Our only request? That officer Matty Dunne (played by Seyfried's real-life husband Thomas Sadoski) makes a return too — especially to see if his crush on Rya develops into something more than just the odd pizza date here and there.
It could also be a great way to tap into Stan and Rya's rich backstories. Both struggle with feelings of guilt and shame throughout The Crowded Room: Rya, a woman in a male-dominated field, finds it difficult to balance her career and motherhood. Meanwhile Stan, a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is unable to forgive himself for spearheading a mission that resulted in multiple casualties during the war.
"[Stan] brings with him his own guilt and the feeling of self-blame, which is so central to this whole piece," Goldsman remarks. "I guess, ultimately, it's about what we blame ourselves for and how important it is to forgive ourselves — and to forgive those around us after that — because this kind of guilt that we carry, this kind of shame that we carry, that we see in the mirror, is so debilitating."
The showrunner notes that those complex feelings are "so often not in any way based in any version of the truth" and are instead "something we've inherited" throughout our lives.
"[It's something] that somebody's put on us and we've taken it in and now we call it our own. If we can let go of that, well, great," Goldsman says. "And that's sort of what this show is trying to frame in different ways, with different characters, suffering their own shame."
The full season of The Crowded Room is streaming on Apple TV+ now.
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