# Crashing (British TV series)
**Crashing** is a British television comedy series written by and starring [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/phoebe-waller-bridge), first broadcast on [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) in 2016. Its six episodes follow six twenty-to-thirty-something adults living together as property guardians, people who occupy empty buildings cheaply in exchange for keeping them secure, in a disused hospital in London.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-crashing) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/crashing/) It was Waller-Bridge's first television series, made before her better-known *Fleabag*, and both shows premiered in 2016.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Channel and run | Channel 4, six episodes in one series, first shown from 11 January 2016 at 10pm[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/crashing/) • [4](https://www.channel4.com/press/news?msg_id=DM46478&nl_bid=1217222723&page=511) |
| Creator | Written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also plays Lulu; directed by George Kane[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/crashing/) |
| Production company | Big Talk Productions[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-crashing) |
| Premise | Six adults live as property guardians in a disused hospital, paying low rent to protect an unoccupied building[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-crashing) |
| Main cast | Damien Molony, Louise Ford, Jonathan Bailey, Amit Shah, Julie Dray, and Adrian Scarborough alongside Waller-Bridge[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/crashing/) |
| Critical score | Metascore of 73 on Metacritic, "generally favorable", from 19 positive and 3 mixed reviews[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crashing/critic-reviews/) |
| Later availability | Released internationally as a Netflix Original between 2016 and 2017[6](https://assets.website-files.com/66f41e715302390aef6911fd/6813e96a99e800e0e06f0bf3_fiwifuneberimu.pdf) |
## Premise and setting
The series is built on the real-world practice of property guardianship. In an age of unaffordable housing and high rents, guardians pay as little as £25 a week to live in unoccupied buildings in exchange for protecting the property from disrepair; Channel 4's publicity described thousands of people living this way.[7](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/looking-ahead-2016) In the show, the guardians occupy a large, derelict hospital, with medical equipment littering their makeshift bedrooms and a demolition site outside.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/19/crashing-review-frank-filthy-sad-and-weird-a-millennial-flat-share-comedy-with-edge) The Guardian's review called the characters "legal squatters, a generation-rent Friends for austerity Britain", noting that the setting removes the usual sitcom question of how young Londoners afford their homes.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/19/crashing-review-frank-filthy-sad-and-weird-a-millennial-flat-share-comedy-with-edge)
Guardianship comes with strict rules the characters continuously break: no parties, no cooking meals, no sex, no candles, and no smoking.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/19/crashing-review-frank-filthy-sad-and-weird-a-millennial-flat-share-comedy-with-edge) Novara Media described the series as the first fictional representation of property guardianship on British screens, while observing that a real hospital of that size would likely house far more than six guardians, since guardian companies maximize profit by filling buildings.[9](https://novaramedia.com/2016/02/04/5-things-c4s-crashing-tells-us-about-property-guardians-and-the-housing-crisis/)
## Cast and characters
The ensemble centers on Anthony ([Damien Molony](https://www.edgepedia.org/damien-molony)), a likeable but spineless chef, and his uptight fiancée Kate (Louise Ford), whose equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival of Anthony's oldest and least responsible friend Lulu (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), a ukulele-playing free spirit.[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/crashing/) • [10](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/crashing-channel-4-tv-review-a-noisy-sweary-fastpaced-show-a6833051.html) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-crashing) Around them live the sexually confident estate agent Sam ([Jonathan Bailey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-bailey)), the shy and excitable Fred ([Amit Shah](https://www.edgepedia.org/amit-shah)), the nihilistic French artist Melody (Julie Dray), and Colin (Adrian Scarborough), a depressed middle-aged divorcée taken in by Melody, who paints his pain.[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/crashing/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend)
Romantic entanglement drives the plot, particularly the tension between Anthony and Lulu alongside Anthony's relationship with Kate.[10](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/crashing-channel-4-tv-review-a-noisy-sweary-fastpaced-show-a6833051.html) Sam's storyline includes grief for his father and, when he develops feelings for a male flatmate, lashing out with laddish homophobia.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend)
## Production and broadcast
Channel 4 commissioned the series from Big Talk Productions, whose chief executive Kenton Allen called Waller-Bridge "phenomenally talented"; the channel's annual report placed the show in its 2016 push to premiere new writer-performers.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-crashing) • [11](https://assets-corporate.channel4.com/_flysystem/s3/2017-07/C4_Annual_Report_2015.pdf) Casting was announced in December 2015, with the six-part series set to premiere on 11 January 2016 at 10pm.[4](https://www.channel4.com/press/news?msg_id=DM46478&nl_bid=1217222723&page=511) Filming took place in and around Hackney Downs in London.[12](https://hackneypost.co.uk/tv-comedy-property-guardians-filming-hackney/) The series later circulated internationally on Netflix as a Netflix Original between 2016 and 2017.[6](https://assets.website-files.com/66f41e715302390aef6911fd/6813e96a99e800e0e06f0bf3_fiwifuneberimu.pdf)
## Reception
Critics received the series favorably overall. Its Metacritic metascore of 73 reflects 19 positive and 3 mixed reviews with none negative.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crashing/critic-reviews/) The Guardian's review praised its "tonal flips", calling it frank, filthy, sad, and weird.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/19/crashing-review-frank-filthy-sad-and-weird-a-millennial-flat-share-comedy-with-edge) The Independent's Sally Newall described a "noisy, sweary, fast-paced show" and noted that Waller-Bridge had cited the US sitcom *Friends* as an influence, while arguing the show transcended its millennial-skewed subject matter.[10](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/crashing-channel-4-tv-review-a-noisy-sweary-fastpaced-show-a6833051.html) The Los Angeles Times listed it as underrated, calling it a more immediately goofy show than *Fleabag* that still shared its concern with the awkwardness of sex and intimacy.[13](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-overrated-underrated-20170212-story.html)
## Relationship to Fleabag
Waller-Bridge had two television series premiere in 2016: *Crashing* on Channel 4 and *Fleabag* on [BBC Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-three), adapted from her 2013 Edinburgh Fringe one-woman show.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-crashing) *Fleabag* brought her Emmys, Baftas, and Golden Globes, while *Crashing* never received the same exposure.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend) Commentators have repeatedly read *Crashing* as a forerunner: the Independent's Binge or Bin segment called it a "great precursor" to *Fleabag* and praised Waller-Bridge's assembly of a stellar ensemble cast as one of her greatest strengths as a creator.[14](https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/culture/crashing-phoebe-wallerbridges-other-show-is-a-great-precursor-to-fleabag-b2184240.html) Reviewers identified overlaps in tone and character, with Kate seen as a progenitor for Fleabag's hyper-stressed sister Claire and Lulu sharing the chaotic sexuality and deflection of the later title character.[15](https://thecinemafix.com/2019/07/05/all-4-tv-review-crashing-2016/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend) The Guardian's 2020 retrospective described the show as sharp and darkly funny, "bursting with sad and self-conscious people awkwardly grappling for a connection", and noted that the cocktail of sex, grief, and deflection recurs in *Fleabag*.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend)
## References
1. [Foul-mouthed, frank, funny: generation rent finds its comic voice, The Guardian (9 January 2016)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-crashing)
2. [Crashing, C4 comedy drama, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/crashing/)
3. [Crashing: Phoebe Waller-Bridge's first TV series feels like catching up with a fun friend, The Guardian (15 April 2020)](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/16/crashing-phoebe-waller-bridges-first-tv-series-feels-like-catching-up-with-a-fun-friend)
4. [Casting announced for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's new comedy 'Crashing', Channel 4 Press (17 December 2015)](https://www.channel4.com/press/news?msg_id=DM46478&nl_bid=1217222723&page=511)
5. [Crashing critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/crashing/critic-reviews/)
6. [Crashing parents guide](https://assets.website-files.com/66f41e715302390aef6911fd/6813e96a99e800e0e06f0bf3_fiwifuneberimu.pdf)
7. [Looking ahead to 2016, Channel 4 Press (7 December 2015)](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/looking-ahead-2016)
8. [Crashing review: frank, filthy, sad and weird, The Guardian (19 January 2016)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/19/crashing-review-frank-filthy-sad-and-weird-a-millennial-flat-share-comedy-with-edge)
9. [5 Things C4's 'Crashing' Tells Us about Property Guardians and the Housing Crisis, Novara Media (4 February 2016)](https://novaramedia.com/2016/02/04/5-things-c4s-crashing-tells-us-about-property-guardians-and-the-housing-crisis/)
10. [Crashing, Channel 4, TV review: A noisy, sweary, fast-paced show, The Independent (25 January 2016)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/crashing-channel-4-tv-review-a-noisy-sweary-fastpaced-show-a6833051.html)
11. [Channel 4 Annual Report 2015](https://assets-corporate.channel4.com/_flysystem/s3/2017-07/C4_Annual_Report_2015.pdf)
12. [Property guardian TV comedy filming in Hackney, Hackney Post](https://hackneypost.co.uk/tv-comedy-property-guardians-filming-hackney/)
13. [Overrated/Underrated, Los Angeles Times (10 February 2017)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-overrated-underrated-20170212-story.html)
14. [Crashing, Phoebe Waller-Bridge's 'other' show, is 'a great precursor to Fleabag', Independent TV (21 July 2021)](https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/culture/crashing-phoebe-wallerbridges-other-show-is-a-great-precursor-to-fleabag-b2184240.html)
15. [All 4 TV Review: Crashing (2016), The Cinema Fix (5 July 2019)](https://thecinemafix.com/2019/07/05/all-4-tv-review-crashing-2016/)
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*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 › British sitcoms and comedy series › British sitcoms (2010s–present)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license