Crowded (TV series)

Crowded
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Suzanne Martin
Starring	Patrick Warburton Carrie Preston Miranda Cosgrove Mia Serafino Stacy Keach Carlease Burke
Theme music composer	Jesse Novak
Composer(s)	Chris Alan Lee
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	James Burrows Sean Hayes Suzanne Martin Todd Milliner
Producer(s)	Patrick Warburton
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	21–22 minutes
Production company(s)	Hazy Mills Productions SamJen Productions Universal Television
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Original release	March 15, 2016 – present
External links
Website

Crowded is an American sitcom created by Suzanne Martin. It is executive produced by Martin, Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner, through their Hazy Mills Productions, and is produced in association with Universal Television. Like their other series Hot in Cleveland, this multi-camera sitcom is recorded in front of a live studio audience. The series was greenlit to order by NBC on May 7, 2015.^[1] The show debuted on March 15, 2016, as a mid-season entry in the 2015–16 television season.^[2]

Premise

A newly-empty nest couple, Mike (Patrick Warburton) and Martina (Carrie Preston) Moore, put aside their plans to relish their newfound freedom when their two grown-up and graduate daughters Stella (Mia Serafino) and Shea (Miranda Cosgrove) unexpectedly move back into their Seattle area home. The girls do not know what to do in the post-college life and decide to return home to discover. At the same time, Mike learns his retired father Bob (Stacy Keach) and his stepmother Alice (Carlease Burke) are staying in town rather than following through on their plans to move to Florida. The family has to learn to live together again, despite the reluctance of Mike and Martina.^[3]

Cast and characters

Main

• Patrick Warburton as Mike Moore^[4]
• Carrie Preston as Martina Moore^[4]
• Miranda Cosgrove as Shea Moore, younger daughter of Mike and Martina, and a Astrophysics PhD graduate from MIT. ^[4]
• Mia Serafino as Stella Moore, older daughter of Mike and Martina. Stella has a degree in Theater Arts and is finding a way to use it.^[4]
• Stacy Keach as Bob Moore, Mike's father^[4]
• Carlease Burke as Alice Moore, Mike's stepmother^[4]

Recurring

• Clifford McGhee as Ethan, Alice's son and Mike's stepbrother. Ethan was once a successful golfer but after several poor investments, lost his fortune and has moved into the Moore household until he gets back on his feet.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	James Burrows	Suzanne Martin	March 15, 2016	101	6.52[5]
The first episode of the series introduces homeowners Mike (Patrick Warburton) and Martina (Carrie Preston) Moore. The couple's adult daughters, Stella (Mia Serafino) and Shea (Miranda Cosgrove), both move back in with their parents, while Mike's retired parents decide not to move to Florida.
2	"Present Tense"	James Burrows	Suzanne Martin	March 15, 2016	102	5.06[5]
Stella tries to help Shea meet a guy, but her methods differ greatly from Shea's usual approach. Meanwhile, Mike and Martina realize they haven't had sex since their girls moved back in, so each tries to resolve the issue in a different way.
3	"Brother"	James Burrows	Claudia Lonow	March 20, 2016	103	3.75[6]
Mike's step-brother Ethan comes to town, causing Mike to have to deal with Bob's blatant favoritism. Stella and Shea team up to beat their parents at family game night, after learning Mom and Dad had been letting them win all these years.
4	"RearviewMirror"	James Burrows	Sam Johnson & Chris Marcil	March 27, 2016	108	3.52[7]
Mike learns that Kyle (David Spade), a guy who bullied him in school, is now in prison. Shunning his father's advice, Mike decides to pay Kyle a visit (with Martina in tow) to show him how well his life has turned out. This inspires Stella to meet up with a nerd she once bullied named Elliot (Chad Jamain Williams) so she can apologize to him, but it leads to something else.
5	"Amongst the Waves"	James Burrows	Tom Hertz	April 3, 2016	105	3.47[8]
In an effort to hang out with people closer to their own age, Mike and Martina set up their recently separated neighbor John with a female co-worker of Mike's, then join them for a double-date. But the party takes a turn that Mike and Martina didn't expect. Elsewhere, Bob won't give Stella or Shea a reference for their resumes, so the girls ask if they can prove their skills by managing the bar while Bob takes Alice out for the evening.
6	"Nothing As It Seems"	Andy Cadiff	Kellie R. Griffin	April 10, 2016	106	4.19[9]
As the family prepares to watch a screening of The Bodyguard to honor Bob and Alice's first date, Mike finds a positive pregnancy test on the floor of the kitchen. After eliminating Martina and Stella, Mike worries that Shea might be pregnant, especially upon seeing that she and Ethan appear to be hiding something.
7	"The Fixer"	Andy Cadiff	Chelsea Myers	April 17, 2016	107	5.15[10]
Sandy (Betty White) and Gwen (Jane Leeves), a mother and daughter, are visiting Martina as patients. Sandy attends to an ill Mike when Martina blows it off, and Mike quickly treats her as his mother and Sandy won't leave. Meanwhile, Shea wants advice from Sandy on dating her fellow intern Nate (Sterling Knight), while Stella gives Gwen a makeover and tries to learn her British accent for an upcoming community theater role.
8	"Given to Fly"	James Burrows	Josh Greenberg	April 17, 2016	103	4.03[10]
Mike invites Bob to ride along in the helicopter on the same morning the local traffic reporter passes out from a long night of drinking. Bob ad-libs a traffic report which seems to go horribly, but to his and Mike's surprise, the TV station's audience actually enjoys Bob's politically-incorrect rants. Meanwhile, Martina and the girls try to locate Mike's mother, whom he hasn't seen in years. They track down a woman (Carol Kane) at one of Mike's old addresses who claims to be his mom, but it soon becomes clear that she's an impostor.
9	"Unemployable"	James Burrows	Sabrina Jalees	April 24, 2016	109	3.00[11]
Both Stella and Shea start earning money and actually pay rent to their parents. Mike and Martina learn that Stella is a Webcam girl and try to talk her out of it. Shea starts working at a burger chain and her smarts quickly move her up the ladder into a corporate office, but she soon learns her dream internship at an astrophysics lab has opened up. Thus, both girls go back to being broke. Meanwhile, Bob's end-of-life planning doesn't sit well with Alice.
10	"Better Man"	Andy Cadiff	Jack Moore	May 1, 2016	110	3.03[12]
11	"Daughter"[13]	TBA	TBA	May 8, 2016	TBA	TBD
12	"In Hiding"[13]	TBA	TBA	May 15, 2016	TBA	TBD
13	"Come Back"[13]	TBA	TBA	May 22, 2016	TBA	TBD

Production

In November 2015, James Burrows directed the series' second episode, which became the 1,000th television episode directed by Burrows throughout his career.^[14]

Reception

Crowded has received mixed reviews among critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 35% approval rating. The website's consensus reads, "A talented cast is left with no room to flourish in Crowded, a misfire whose dated feel is compounded by a pronounced lack of laughs."^[15] On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 45 out of 100 based on 16 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."^[16]

References

1. "Development Update: Thursday, May 7 - Comedies "Crowded," "Superstore" Heading to Series at NBC". The Futon Critic. May 7, 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
2. "NBC spring 2016 premiere dates: ‘Carmichael Show’ and ‘Crowded’ form Sunday comedy block". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
3. "About The Show". nbc.com/crowded. NBC. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
4. "Shows A-Z - crowded on nbc". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
5. Porter, Rick (March 16, 2016). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'Crowded' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
6. Porter, Rick (March 22, 2016). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Madam Secretary,' 'Carmichael Show' and '60 Minutes' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
7. Porter, Rick (March 29, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: ’60 Minutes’ adjusts up, everything else holds". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
8. Porter, Rick (April 5, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: ACM Awards and all scripted shows hold". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
9. Porter, Rick (April 12, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: ‘Once Upon a Time,’ ‘Simpsons,’ ‘Quantico’ adjust up; ‘Carmichael’ and ‘Crowded’ adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
10. Porter, Rick (April 19, 2016). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time,' 'The Good Wife' adjust up, 'Little Big Shots' and 'Crowded' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
11. Porter, Rick (April 26, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'Simpsons' and all others hold". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
12. Porter, Rick (May 3, 2016). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Little Big Shots' adjusts up, 'Carmichael,' 'Crowded' and ACC Awards adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
13. "Crowded: Episode Guide". Zap2it.com. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
14. Andreeva, Nellie (17 November 2015). "Veteran Sitcom Director James Burrows Hits 1,000 TV Episodes Mark". Deadline. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
15. "Crowded: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
16. "Crowded - Season 1 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 16, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Crowded at the Internet Movie Database