Crisis in Six Scenes

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Crisis in Six Scenes
CrisisInSixScenes.png
Genre Comedy
Created by Woody Allen
Written byWoody Allen
Directed byWoody Allen
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producerErika Aronson
ProducerHelen Robin
Cinematography Eigil Bryld
Editor Alisa Lepselter
Production companies
Release
Original network Amazon Prime Video
Original releaseSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)

Crisis in Six Scenes is an American television miniseries written and directed by Woody Allen for Amazon Studios. [1] [2] [3] [4] Allen wrote and directed six episodes for the half-hour series, marking the first time he has done so for television. It is available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

Contents

The series premiered on September 30, 2016, [1] to generally unfavorable reviews. Allen himself denounced the series, calling it a "cosmic embarrassment," and stated that it would conclude with one season. [5]

Cast and characters

Main

Guest

Production

Development

The deal with Allen was seen as giving Amazon a possible advantage in its competition with Netflix and television networks. The series was announced within days of Amazon winning the Golden Globe Award for the comedy-drama Transparent , another original series. [6] Allen had last written new material for television in the 1950s, when he wrote for Sid Caesar. [4]

In a May 2015 interview, Allen said that progress on the series had been "very, very difficult" and that he had "regretted every second since I said OK". [7] [8] Allen has said of the series, "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price [the head of Amazon Studios] will regret this." [2] [3] [9]

Casting

In January 2016, it was announced that the series would star Allen, Elaine May and Miley Cyrus, and that shooting would begin in March. [10] In February 2016, it was announced that John Magaro and Rachel Brosnahan had joined the cast. [11] In March 2016, Michael Rapaport, Becky Ann Baker, Margaret Ladd, Joy Behar, Rebecca Schull, David Harbour and Christine Ebersole had joined the cast of the series. [12]

Filming

For about three weeks in early 2016, filming for the six episodes took place at 508 Scarborough Road, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. [13]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Episode #1.1" Woody Allen Woody AllenSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
A middle-class suburban home- all seems well until a dangerous intruder enters in the dead of night.
2"Episode #1.2"Woody AllenWoody AllenSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
An intruder causes terrible panic and tension in a usually placid household.
3"Episode #1.3"Woody AllenWoody AllenSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
Because of an armed intruder, after a home invasion, a married couple's life is turned upside-down.
4"Episode #1.4"Woody AllenWoody AllenSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
Romantic alliances fray and conflict in the suburban home reaches a boiling point.
5"Episode #1.5"Woody AllenWoody AllenSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
A middle-class husband and wife put their lives in jeopardy carrying out a dangerous assignment.
6"Episode #1.6"Woody AllenWoody AllenSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
Finally a resolution but not before chaos, surprising disclosures, police and guns come into play.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 18%, based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 4.72/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Woody Allen's filmmaking skills prove a poor fit for the small screen in Crisis in Six Scenes, a talk-heavy, unfunny, and overall disengaged production buried below numerous superior offerings." [14] On Metacritic, the series has a score 44 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [15]

Rodrigo Perez from The Playlist gave the series a D+ on an A+ to F scale, and described it as "Hamfisted and nearly unwatchable." [16]

Allen himself had openly expressed severe misgivings about the project. [2] [3] [17] At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Allen said in reference to the show, "It was a catastrophic mistake. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm floundering. I expect this to be a cosmic embarrassment." [18]

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