{ "id": "epgxfwc0b6", "slug": "crisis-in-six-scenes", "title": "Crisis in Six Scenes", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": 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"markdown": "# Crisis in Six Scenes\n\n**Crisis in Six Scenes** is a six-episode American comedy series written, directed by, and starring [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen), released on Amazon Prime Video on 30 September 2016.[1](https://epguides.com/CrisisinSixScenes/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/woody-allen-tv-sitcom-crisis-in-six-scenes) Set in a wealthy [Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/connecticut) suburb in the late 1960s, it follows Sidney J. Munsinger (Allen) and his psychologist wife Kay ([Elaine May](https://www.edgepedia.org/elaine-may)), whose comfortable lives are upended when Lennie Dale (Miley Cyrus), a self-described enemy of the establishment hiding from the authorities, shows up at their home.[3](https://app.powster.com/woodyallen/woody-allen/gb/other/television/crisis/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Six episodes, comedy, run time about 30 minutes per episode, one season[1](https://epguides.com/CrisisinSixScenes/) |\n| Release | All six episodes released 30 September 2016 on Amazon Prime Video (US)[1](https://epguides.com/CrisisinSixScenes/) |\n| Creator | Written, directed by, and starring Woody Allen as Sidney J. Munsinger[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/woody-allen-tv-sitcom-crisis-in-six-scenes) |\n| Main cast | Elaine May as Kay Munsinger, Miley Cyrus as Lennie Dale, John Magaro as Alan Brockman, Rachel Brosnahan as Ellie[1](https://epguides.com/CrisisinSixScenes/) • [3](https://app.powster.com/woodyallen/woody-allen/gb/other/television/crisis/) |\n| Origin | Amazon entered a deal with Allen in December 2014 to finance the program for its streaming service[4](https://www.sdnyblog.com/files/2019/02/19-Civ.-01169-Gravier-v.-Amazon-Woody-Allen-Complaint.pdf) |\n| Reception | Metascore 44 (mixed or average, 29 critic reviews); 18% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crisis-in-six-scenes/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/crisis_in_six_scenes-amazon) |\n| Status | Cancelled/ended; Amazon later severed its contract with Allen[1](https://epguides.com/CrisisinSixScenes/) • [7](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2019/feature-articles/woody-allen-television-as-crisis/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and setting\n\nThe series takes place during the turbulent years of the late 1960s. Sidney \"Sid\" Munsinger dreams of being an acclaimed novelist while pitching a television show, and Kay dispenses marital advice to bickering couples. They have taken in a houseguest, Alan ([John Magaro](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-magaro)), the son of close friends, as he finishes college before joining his father's investment firm; Alan is engaged to Ellie ([Rachel Brosnahan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-brosnahan)).[3](https://app.powster.com/woodyallen/woody-allen/gb/other/television/crisis/)\n\nThe household is turned upside down late one night by the arrival of Lennie Dale, a family friend's daughter who is hiding from the police after committing domestic terrorism.[3](https://app.powster.com/woodyallen/woody-allen/gb/other/television/crisis/) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/amazons-crisis-in-six-scenes-is-for-woody-allen-completists-only) Lennie hands radical literature to Alan and Kay, widening their political perspectives: Alan falls for Lennie, and Kay discusses Mao and Marx with her book club. As the authorities appear to close in on Lennie, Sid and Kay, determined not to be arrested as her accomplices, embark on risky adventures they had never thought possible.[3](https://app.powster.com/woodyallen/woody-allen/gb/other/television/crisis/)\n\n## Production\n\nAmazon's deal with Allen in December 2014 was part of the streaming studios' strategy to attract high-profile film directors to television; the series generated significant publicity because of Allen and the cast, including [Miley Cyrus](https://www.edgepedia.org/miley-cyrus), Rachel Brosnahan, and Elaine May.[4](https://www.sdnyblog.com/files/2019/02/19-Civ.-01169-Gravier-v.-Amazon-Woody-Allen-Complaint.pdf) For May, the role was her first credited acting appearance since Allen's 2000 film *Small Time Crooks*.[9](https://time.com/4508679/woody-allen-crisis-in-six-scenes-amazon/) Allen said he had first noticed Cyrus watching *Hannah Montana* with his children, remarking that \"she snaps those lines off so well.\"[10](https://time.com/4493125/woody-allen-amazon-show-crisis-in-six-scenes/)\n\nAllen himself was dismissive of the project. At Cannes in 2015 he called it \"a catastrophic mistake,\" and in production interviews he described it as \"meant to be light, a light comedy\" whose idea \"just popped into my head,\" adding that he never should have gotten into it.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/amazons-crisis-in-six-scenes-is-for-woody-allen-completists-only) • [3](https://app.powster.com/woodyallen/woody-allen/gb/other/television/crisis/) In another interview he said he had \"regretted every second since I said OK\" to Amazon.[9](https://time.com/4508679/woody-allen-crisis-in-six-scenes-amazon/)\n\nThe series was Allen's return to a medium that had launched his screenwriting career over fifty years earlier. He had previously completed the satirical mockumentary *Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story* for PBS in 1971, which proved too controversial to air, and wrote and directed *Don't Drink the Water* (1994) for ABC. After Amazon severed its contract with Allen, his return to television proved short lived.[7](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2019/feature-articles/woody-allen-television-as-crisis/)\n\n## Form and critical reception\n\nSeveral critics observed that the six episodes do not work as self-contained television. The *Dallas Observer* noted that the episodes are not particularly self-contained, with plot developments cresting and climaxing regardless of where each segment ends, and the review aggregator Metacritic recorded a metascore of 44, in the mixed-or-average band, from 29 critic reviews, against a user score of 6.3.[11](https://www.dallasobserver.com/uncategorized/the-longest-ever-woody-allen-project-pushes-him-someplace-new-8782302/) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crisis-in-six-scenes/) On Rotten Tomatoes the miniseries holds an 18% Tomatometer with 9 fresh and 41 rotten reviews, while the audience Popcornmeter stood at 65%.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/crisis_in_six_scenes-amazon)\n\n**Common criticisms.** Reviewers repeatedly cited pacing and structure. The *Guardian*'s [Mark Lawson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-lawson) argued that the series only speaks the language of movies rather than broadening its vocabulary for television.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/woody-allen-tv-sitcom-crisis-in-six-scenes) Nick Allen at RogerEbert.com called it a show for Woody Allen completists, arguing that Allen treated the TV narrative as a longer-than-feature runtime to be stretched out, with scenes played in the longest takes possible.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/amazons-crisis-in-six-scenes-is-for-woody-allen-completists-only) Time's review concluded that the series reveals Allen has little idea or interest in what makes TV special, and that importing a movie director at a premium price is not enough to make a show.[9](https://time.com/4508679/woody-allen-crisis-in-six-scenes-amazon/)\n\nSome reviews were more favorable. *USA Today* scored it 75, calling it a bauble and a light comedy that starts slowly but builds to a satisfyingly funny conclusion, and the *San Francisco Chronicle*, also at 75, praised the performances and cameo contributions.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crisis-in-six-scenes/critic-reviews/) Slate, at 50, found that the series gets better as it goes on.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crisis-in-six-scenes/critic-reviews/)\n\n## Place in Allen's career\n\nScholarly commentary has read the series as a self-reflexive statement on Allen's return to television, with television positioned early on as a conduit to the 1960s period setting; the scholar Sue Munt, writing in *Senses of Cinema*, notes that Allen's work frames the divide between film and television through binaries of art versus commerce and city versus domesticity.[7](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2019/feature-articles/woody-allen-television-as-crisis/) The series also continued Allen's parallels with the author [Philip Roth](https://www.edgepedia.org/philip-roth); the RogerEbert.com review compared it to a rinky-dink *American Pastoral*, sharing that novel's themes of a revolutionized 1960s America, a dysfunctional household, and a young woman whose radicalism shatters everyone's life.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/amazons-crisis-in-six-scenes-is-for-woody-allen-completists-only)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Crisis in Six Scenes (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides.com](https://epguides.com/CrisisinSixScenes/)\n2. [Mark Lawson, \"Crisis in Six Scenes: why Woody Allen's TV sitcom is a failure,\" The Guardian, 5 October 2016](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/woody-allen-tv-sitcom-crisis-in-six-scenes)\n3. [Crisis in Six Scenes synopsis and production notes, The Official Website of Woody Allen](https://app.powster.com/woodyallen/woody-allen/gb/other/television/crisis/)\n4. [Gravier v. Amazon, Woody Allen complaint, Case 1:19-cv-01169 (S.D.N.Y., filed 7 February 2019)](https://www.sdnyblog.com/files/2019/02/19-Civ.-01169-Gravier-v.-Amazon-Woody-Allen-Complaint.pdf)\n5. [Crisis in Six Scenes Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crisis-in-six-scenes/)\n6. [Crisis in Six Scenes, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/crisis_in_six_scenes-amazon)\n7. [Sue Munt, \"Woody Allen: Television as Crisis,\" Senses of Cinema, 2019](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2019/feature-articles/woody-allen-television-as-crisis/)\n8. [Nick Allen, \"Amazon's 'Crisis in Six Scenes' is for Woody Allen Completists Only,\" RogerEbert.com, 28 September 2016](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/amazons-crisis-in-six-scenes-is-for-woody-allen-completists-only)\n9. [\"Review: Woody Allen's Crisis in Six Scenes Reveals a Crisis for Streaming Services,\" Time, 29 September 2016](https://time.com/4508679/woody-allen-crisis-in-six-scenes-amazon/)\n10. [\"Watch the Trailer for Woody Allen's New Amazon Show,\" Time, 14 September 2016](https://time.com/4493125/woody-allen-amazon-show-crisis-in-six-scenes/)\n11. [\"The Longest-Ever Woody Allen Project Pushes Him Someplace New,\" Dallas Observer, 2016](https://www.dallasobserver.com/uncategorized/the-longest-ever-woody-allen-project-pushes-him-someplace-new-8782302/)\n12. [Crisis in Six Scenes critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crisis-in-six-scenes/critic-reviews/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 2010s cable and streaming comedies*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-in-six-scenes", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-in-six-scenes.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Crisis in Six Scenes\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-in-six-scenes. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Crisis in Six Scenes](https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-in-six-scenes)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-in-six-scenes](https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-in-six-scenes). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Crisis in Six Scenes\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-in-six-scenes. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Crisis in Six Scenes is a 2016 six-episode Amazon Prime Video comedy miniseries written, directed by, and starring Woody Allen, with Elaine May, Miley Cyrus, John Magaro, and Rachel Brosnahan, set in a late-1960s Connecticut suburb." }