It’s been incredibly difficult to write about the drama series The Crowded Room, which premiered earlier this month on Apple TV+ and airs new episodes weekly.
There are strict, extreme decisions from Apple TV+ when it comes to what constitutes a spoiler and can’t be discussed. But as I learned when speaking with Amanda Seyfried, who stars in the series alongside Tom Holland, Emmy Rossum, and Sasha Lane, that hasn’t kept the talent from freely expressing their enthusiasm over the show. “I love my character SO much,” she told me over Zoom, her eyes widening to add even more emphasis. It seemed, at least, to be genuine, earnest enthusiasm, too—not just PR speak.
It’s the PR aspect of things, though, that has made discussion of the show so hard.
The series spends each episode dropping clues, setting up a major late-season reveal. Holland plays Danny, a young man in the ’70s who is arrested after what appears to be his involvement in an attempted murder. When detectives suspect Danny may be responsible for a string of killings, they bring in a professor named Rya (Seyfried) to speak with him, as he tells his version of events and maintains total innocence.
Stephanie Mei-Ling/Apple TV+
Beyond that, Apple would not permit journalists nor the cast to reveal almost anything else about the plot of the series when the show launched. Specific words and phrases that include, in essence, the central conceit of the show—as in, what it is literally about—were banned. Allusions to its major themes, crucial information about character’s backgrounds, and what Rya’s profession is are all embargoed, until after the show’s big reveals actually occur. That means, even with five episodes having aired, journalists—and Seyfried—are forbidden from specifically discussing those significant plot points.
But this week’s Episode 6, airing Friday, is a major showcase for Seyfried—and finds the star delivering another powerhouse performance following her Emmy win earlier this year for her work as disgraced tech grifted Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu’s The Dropout. Not only do we learn consequential information about Rya’s past, which explains an intimate connection she feels to Danny, but there are also plot revelations that finally get into the heavy themes that, in a note to press ahead of the series premiere, creator Akiva Goldsman said he was excited to explore. (But he, again, forbade us from mentioning them specifically.)
“I thought it was very delicately crafted, to bring these characters together in this way and to reveal what the show is really about in the way that it did,” Seyfried said when I asked her what her first impression of the show was and the way it tackles those unmentionable themes.
While the not-so-glowing reviews from critics, who were exasperated by this protracted, drawn-out storytelling strategy, may offer a differing opinion, The Crowded Room’s approach to those plot developments reflects what Seyfried seemed to really respect about the show: its pace and careful attention to building a complicated dynamic between Rya and Danny. “It’s a slow progression, but what you come to realize is that these people are saving each other through just their presence, their engagement, and their care for each other,” she said.
As the season unfolds (Warning: What I consider light spoilers are ahead; Apple obviously considers them major), Rya is forced to temper her professional skepticism over Danny’s confusing cover-up stories and explanations, which have all seemed too “convenient” and are full of holes. It’s what she has to do in order to gain his trust, so that he is comfortable enough to share stories about the abuse he experienced as a child. From there, Rya is able to connect Danny’s past trauma to the stories that don’t seem to add up about the other characters in his life, whom he claims were part of the murder attempt he is facing accusations for.
“When you can trust somebody, you can be honest with them, and you feel like you can open up and break down in front of them,” Seyfried said of their characters’ unlikely bond. “It’s so empowering. It makes you feel like anything’s possible, because you have someone in your corner, someone who believes you. I love how the story reminds people of the power of someone just believing in you unconditionally.”
Without sharing too much about it, Episode 6, which is called “Rya,” depicts a professional risk the character takes in order to dig deeper into what’s going on with Danny, allowing Seyfried to show how quickly and subtly she can oscillate between quiet curiosity and more towering reaction in her performance.
In his press letter, Goldsman uses the word “empathy,” describing it as a key to his approach to making the series and tackling its subject matter. The word resonated with Seyfried as well. Especially in a show set in the ’70s, when a suspected serial killer is interrogated by an official, an approach like the one Rya takes is not expected.
Stephanie Mei-Ling/Apple TV+
“When you see someone investigate a crime, usually they’re adversaries [with the suspect], and the person asking the questions is usually trying to make the other person feel bad, or feel guilty, or feel alone,” Seyfried said. “In this case, Rya’s just really trying to help him. Whether it furthers her career or not, she sees this kid who needs help. She, at the foundation of her bones, just wants him to get better and wants him to trust her so she can help him. And she believes she can.”
Seyfried gets more animated as she talks about this, gesticulating more than she had earlier in our conversation and stressing words more passionately; it’s clear that this series and character had a personal effect on her.
“Compassion is just having unconditional support for somebody different from you,” she said referring to how Rya behaves with Danny throughout the show. “Accepting otherness as something beautiful and not something to be threatened by. And compassion is what makes the good world go round. It separates the good people from the bad people, the good people from the sociopaths. It’s scary to think that there isn’t enough compassion in the world. But it’s also not just compassion for other people, but essential to our well being is compassion for ourselves.
She beamed into the Zoom camera and completed her answer with gusto. “We need more Ryas!” she said, doing a recognizably Seyfried-y glance up at the ceiling, miming that she’s shouting to the heavens as she repeated: “I love my character so much!”
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