Since first debuting as everyone's favorite web-slinger in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom Holland is building up quite the enviable career. But while just about everything he's committed to thus far has been on the feature side of things, Holland is now setting up a big move to streaming TV that will happen at some point after the rumor-plagued Spider-Man: No Way Home is fully in the can. But what about that "taking an acting break" plan the actor talked about?
Here's what we know: Tom Holland has signed on for the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room, which will actually be an anthology with stories changing from season to season. It sounds like Holland could technically be involved for more than just the initial batch of episodes, but for now, he'll be the lead star and an executive producer.
Produced by Apple Studios and New Regency, The Crowded Room will spend each season exploring true and inspirational tales about those who have encountered the ups and downs of mental illness, while also learning to triumphantly cope with the troubles. In the first season, Tom Holland is set as both an executive producer and as lead actor, and he'll take on the real-world role of Billy Milligan.
The first season of The Crowded Room serves as a gripping thriller that will take place across ten episodes, and it's based on the acclaimed biography The Minds of Billy Milligan, as written by Daniel Keyes. For those unaware, Milligan is noteworthy as being the first person who was ever acquitted of a criminal charge due to a diagnosis of Multiple Personality Disorder. Though the condition's name has been changed to Dissociative Identity Disorder, the seriousness behind it remains the same.
Tom Holland caused some ripples recently when he claimed he would be taking a break from acting after wrapping production on Spider-Man: No Way Home, having also just gone through the promotional process for his Apple TV+ film Cherry. Granted, he didn't say he was taking a decade off or anything drastic like that, but it's still curious that this new project has been locked into place so soon after he talked about a relaxing hiatus from superhero training. He'll probably need some mental relief before digging into such a complex role for The Crowded Room.
Serving as the creative force behind the scenes for The Crowded Room is Akiva Goldsman, who is also quite familiar with the world of superheroes, though on the DC side. As one of the co-creators of HBO Max's Titans, Goldsman is also a major creative force in Paramount+'s Star Trek series, from Picard to Strange New Worlds, and he's also developing Larry Niven's Ringworld series for TV.
It's unclear when The Crowded Room will make its way into Apple TV+'s growing library of original content, which is growing bigger by the week. With recent releases such as the bonkers-spooky and unique horror Calls and the Israeli thriller Losing Alice, and upcoming releases like Samuel L. Jackson's The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Jake Gyllenhaal's Snowblind and many more, Apple TV+ is quickly becoming a quality go-to source for new shows and movies. And I'm betting Tom Holland's name will draw more than a few customers over, especially if the show drops somewhere in the vicinity of Spider-Man: No Way Home's release.
