Crazyhead (TV series)

Last updated

Crazyhead
Crazyhead title card.png
Genre Comedy horror
Created by Howard Overman
Written byHoward Overman
Directed by
  • Al Mackay
  • Declan O'Dwyer
Starring
Composer Stuart Hancock
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
ProducerGareth Williams
Production locations Bristol, England
Cinematography
  • Rasmus Arrildt
  • Anna Valdez Hanks
Editors
  • Simon Reglar
  • Mark Thornton
  • David Barrett
Running time43–45 minutes
Production companyUrban Myth Films
Original release
Network
Release19 October (2016-10-19) 
23 November 2016 (2016-11-23)

Crazyhead (previously announced as Crazy Face) is a comedy horror [1] television series created by Howard Overman, [2] who also serves as an executive producer on the show with his company Urban Myth Films.

Contents

The six-part series premiered on E4 on 19 October 2016 in the United Kingdom, and internationally on 16 December 2016 on Netflix. [3] The series is filmed in Bristol [4] and is a Channel 4 and Netflix co-production.

In 2017, the show received three RTS West of England awards for Best Sound, Best Design and Best On-Screen Performance for Susie Wokoma as Raquel.

In July 2017, Wokoma confirmed that Crazyhead had been cancelled. [5] The series was later made available on Netflix in the United Kingdom on 16 February 2018. [6]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"A Very Trippy Horse"Al Mackay Howard Overman 19 October 2016 (2016-10-19)0.26
After being attacked by a demon only she can see, Amy is saved by Raquel, a demon hunter. From here she knows that she's not alone and isn't crazy, even though she has to see her psychiatrist Callum. Despite Raquel's quirks, Amy is desperate for her help when a demon passes on to its nearest host, Amy's best friend and roommate Suzanne. Together they need to perform an exorcism to free her, which fails and kills her.
2"A Pine Fresh Scent"Al MackayHoward Overman26 October 2016 (2016-10-26)N/A
After accidentally killing Suzanne, Amy and Raquel are forced into burying her in the forest. Upon arriving home, Raquel bumps into a man who once saved her before from demons; this man is her father and also a demon. Callum puts out a squad of demon henchmen to do his work and attack them all.
3"Shave the Cat"Al MackayHoward Overman2 November 2016 (2016-11-02)0.28
Suzanne returns from the dead as a revenant with a hunger for human flesh. Amy and Raquel take her captive and try to hide her in the country. Raquel meets Harry, a young man who seems to like her. Suzanne is captured by Callum.
4"Penguin or Cow?"Declan O'DwyerHoward Overman9 November 2016 (2016-11-09)0.30
Amy and Raquel attempt to rescue Suzanne, who is being forced to entice Amy to her location so the demons can kill her. Amy frees Suzanne but is locked in a lift with Suzanne, who is hungry. Amy feeds Suzanne her own blood, and the demons free her thinking Suzanne has killed Amy, leading Suzanne to jump out of a window with one of the demons, killing them both.
5"Downward Facing Dog"Declan O'DwyerHoward Overman16 November 2016 (2016-11-16)0.30
Raquel goes on a date with Harry, who turns out to be a demon hunter sent by Raquel's dad to protect her. However, when Amy has a premonition that Harry will attack her, Raquel foolishly refuses to believe her and breaks off their friendship. Amy and Jake are captured by the demons but are rescued by Harry and Raquel. Harry is shot and taken to hospital, where he is shown to be a demon in disguise and part of a plan to use Raquel to start the end of the world.
6"Beaver with a Chainsaw"Declan O'DwyerHoward Overman23 November 2016 (2016-11-23)0.27
Raquel foolishly ignores Amy's warnings against visiting Harry in hospital. When she arrives, she is captured by the demons and held at their Halloween party, where they plan to use her to start the end of the world and open the gates of Hell, releasing thousands of demons. Amy and Jake sneak into the party, but Amy is captured. When Harry plays his part, revealing he is a demon and not really a boyfriend, Raquel's heartbreak opens the gates of Hell. Amy talks her down and the gate is soon closed, though one of the 50 or so demons that do escape possesses Jake. Amy conducts a successful exorcism on Jake. A few weeks later, Suzanne is shown to have been revived, watching Amy and Raquel from a distance as they track down the remaining demons.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 100% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10.The website's consensus reads: "A brilliantly bonkers blend of comedy and horror, Crazyhead slays thanks in large part to Cara Theobold and Susan Wokoma's dynamic chemistry." [7]

The Guardian described the show as 'disturbing and excellent' as well as 'fizzy and fun.' They also praised the double act of Cara Theobold and Susan Wokoma. [8] The Daily Telegraph described the show as 'bright, punchy and [a] genuinely funny series'. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Sherman-Palladino</span> American television writer, director, and producer (born 1966)

Amy Sherman-Palladino is an American television writer, director, and producer. She is the creator of the comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), Bunheads (2012-2013), and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Curran</span> Scottish actor

Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in Underworld: Evolution, Doctor Who, Roots, and the Netflix historical epic Outlaw King. He appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: The Dark World (2013) as Bor and the second season of Daredevil (2016) as Finn Cooley. In late 2022, Curran starred in the BBC drama Mayflies.

Amy Beth Hayes is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Kitty in Mr Selfridge; Lucy in "The Entire History of You", an episode of Black Mirror; Ruth in Misfits; Clem in Shameless; Amy in The Syndicate; and Maxine Fox in Sirens. She has also appeared in Doctor Who and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonia Thomas</span> British actress

Antonia Laura Thomas is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Alisha Daniels in the E4 comedy-drama series Misfits, Evie Douglas in the Channel 4/Netflix comedy series Lovesick and Dr. Claire Browne in the ABC drama series The Good Doctor.

Arinzé Mokwe Kene is a Nigerian-born British actor and playwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Parkinson</span> British actor

Craig Parkinson is an English actor and podcaster. He has played Shaun in the E4 series Misfits, twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV series Whitechapel, and DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan in Line of Duty. He has also acted in several independent films, including Control, Soulboy, The Unloved and Four Lions.

Howard Overman is a British television writer, best known for creating the series Misfits which won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series and the police-procedural comedy Vexed.

Riann Steele is an American-born British actress. She began her career in theatre. Her films include Treacle Jr. (2010), Sket (2011), and The Creeping (2022). On television, she starred in the E4 comedy Crazyhead (2016) and the NBC series Debris (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Wokoma</span> British actress (born 1987)

Susan Indiaba Wokoma is a British actress, writer and director. She is best known for her roles as Edith in the Enola Holmes films, Cynthia in Chewing Gum, Raquel in the E4/Netflix show Crazyhead and Fola in Cheaters. Wokoma was listed as one of Europe's Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017 and named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit by an international jury the same year.

<i>Lovesick</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Lovesick is a British sitcom created by Tom Edge which was first broadcast on Channel 4 in October 2014 and stars Johnny Flynn, Antonia Thomas, Daniel Ings, Hannah Britland and Joshua McGuire. After the show was originally aired on Channel 4, it was made available by Netflix, who then commissioned a second season globally on 17 November 2016, where it was billed as a Netflix Original. The show concluded with a third season, which was released exclusively on Netflix on 1 January 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michaela Coel</span> British actress and filmmaker (born 1987)

Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson, known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a British actress, filmmaker and poet. She is best known for creating and starring in the E4 sitcom Chewing Gum (2015–2017), for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance; and the BBC One/HBO comedy-drama series I May Destroy You (2020) for which she won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress in 2021. For her work on I May Destroy You, Coel was the first black woman to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.

Cara Louise Theobold is an English actress. She made her debut as Ivy Stuart in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey (2012–2013). She has since starred in the BBC series The Syndicate and Together, the E4 comedy Crazyhead (2016), and the Amazon Prime thriller Absentia (2017–2020).

Chewing Gum is a British television sitcom created and written by Michaela Coel, based on her 2012 play Chewing Gum Dreams. It stars Coel as 24-year-old shop assistant Tracey Gordon, a restricted, religious virgin, who wants to have sex and learn more about the world. The show earned Coel the BAFTA for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme and Breakthrough Talent.

<i>Crashing</i> (British TV series) 2016 British comedy-drama television miniseries

Crashing is a British comedy series produced by Big Talk Productions and written and created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Its six episodes aired from 11 January 2016 to 15 February 2016 on Channel 4 and was released internationally as a Netflix Original series. It stars Waller-Bridge, Jonathan Bailey, Julie Dray, Louise Ford, Damien Molony, Adrian Scarborough, and Amit Shah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Hancock</span> British composer (b. 1975)

Stuart Hancock is a British composer of film, TV and concert music. Hancock is known for having composed the original soundtracks to series 2 of the BBC fantasy series Atlantis, the animated TV adaptation of We're Going On A Bear Hunt and the Netflix comedy horror Crazyhead. He won the BASCA British Composer Award in 2015 for his community song-cycle, Snapshot Songs.

Zombie Spring Breakers is a 2016 horror film written and directed by Andy Edwards. Premiered at London's FrightFest Film Festival in August 2016, the film stars Cara Theobold and Matt King. The story follows a similar plot to 2013's Go Goa Gone.

Lewis Reeves is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Jake in the comedy horror series Crazyhead, as Gareth Walker in the video games FIFA 17,FIFA 18 and FIFA 19, and as Eric in the Donmar production of My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot.

<i>Amityville Exorcism</i> 2017 American film

Amityville Exorcism is a 2017 American horror film directed by Mark Polonia, and written by Billy D'Amato. It was released direct-to-video, and is the eighteenth film to be inspired by Jay Anson's 1977 novel The Amityville Horror. The film stars Jeff Kirkendall as Father Benna, a Catholic priest who, with the help of a troubled father played by James Carolus, performs exorcism on the man's daughter after the girl is possessed by a demon that originates from 112 Ocean Avenue, a haunted house in Amityville, New York. It was followed by two sequels, Amityville Island in 2020 and Amityville in Space in 2022.

References

  1. "Crazyhead, new series from Misfits creator, to debut on E4 & Netflix". Channel 4 (Press release). 9 May 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Goldberg, Lesley (9 May 2016). "Netflix Nabs Exorcism Comedy 'Crazy Face' From 'Misfits' Creator". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  3. Christopher Hooten (9 May 2016). "Crazy Face: Misfits creator lands new E4 and Netflix drama about 'angst and exorcism'". The Independent . Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  4. "New E4 comedy horror CRAZYHEAD begins Weds 19th Oct". The Bottle Yard Studios . 18 October 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  5. Harp, Justin (18 July 2017). "It's official: E4's Crazyhead won't be back for a second series". Digital Spy . Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  6. "Info Page: Crazyhead". NewOnNetflixUK. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. "Crazyhead". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 18 June 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  8. Mumford, Gwilym (18 October 2016). "Crazyhead: the teen demons taking over TV". The Guardian . Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  9. Gee, Catherine (19 October 2016). "Crazyhead: bright, punchy and genuinely funny, review". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 26 January 2017.