| WeCrashed | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Based on | WeCrashed by Wondery |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Christopher Nicholas Bangs |
| Opening theme | "Happy Man" by Jungle |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 48–61 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Apple TV+ |
| Release | March 18 – April 22, 2022 |
WeCrashed is an American biographical comedy-drama television miniseries created by Drew Crevello and Lee Eisenberg that premiered on Apple TV+ on March 18, 2022. Based on the podcast WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork by Wondery, it stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as Adam and Rebekah Neumann, the married couple at the heart of WeWork, a coworking space company which claimed a valuation of $47 billion (in an internally produced prospectus) in 2019, before crashing as a result of financial revelations.
Cast and characters
Main
- Jared Leto as Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork
- Anne Hathaway as Rebekah Neumann, former chief brand and impact officer of WeWork and founder of WeGrow
- Kyle Marvin as Miguel McKelvey, co-founder of WeWork
Recurring
- Kelly AuCoin as Scott Galloway
- Steven Boyer as Matthew
- Cricket Brown as Chloe Morgan
- Andrew Burnap as Phil
- Anthony Edwards as Bruce Dunlevie
- O. T. Fagbenle as Cameron Lautner
- America Ferrera as Elishia Kennedy[1]
- Asmeret Ghebremichael as Renee
- Troy Iwata as Damian Saito
- Peter Jacobson as Bob Paltrow[2][3]
- Kim Eui-sung as Masayoshi Son
- Campbell Scott as Jamie Dimon
- Theo Stockman as Jacob
Development
WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork, a six-part podcast, is the basis for the series.[4] WeCrashed: The Director’s Cut podcast is a remake of the podcast, with David Brown by Wondery.[5]
Production
After Lee Eisenberg signed a multi-year overall deal with Apple, it was reported that a drama series based on the story of WeWork was in development in February 2020.[6][7] It was announced in December 2020 that Apple TV+ had put the series into development, with Jared Leto in negotiations to star. Damien Chazelle was initially supposed to direct and produce, but was sidetracked by his film Babylon and dropped out.[8] He was replaced by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello were set to create and write the series.[9] The series was given an eight-episode series order the next month, with Leto confirmed to star alongside Anne Hathaway; both will serve as executive producers.[10][11] In April 2021, Kyle Marvin was cast in a lead role, portraying Miguel McKelvey, another co-founder of WeWork.[12] In July 2021, America Ferrera was added to the cast.[13] In August 2021, O. T. Fagbenle was added to the cast in recurring capacity.[14] In December 2021, Theo Stockman was added to the cast in recurring role,[15] with Anthony Edwards noted as being cast in February 2022.[16]
Episodes
| No. | Title [17] | Directed by | Written by [18] | Original release date [19] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "This Is Where It Begins" | John Requa & Glenn Ficarra | Drew Crevello & Lee Eisenberg | March 18, 2022 |
| 2 | "Masha Masha Masha" | John Requa & Glenn Ficarra | Eleanor Burgess | March 18, 2022 |
| 3 | "Summer Camp" | John Requa & Glenn Ficarra | Eva Anderson | March 18, 2022 |
| 4 | "4.4" | Cory Finley | Zenzele Price | March 25, 2022 |
| 5 | "Hustle Harder" | Cory Finley | Elissa Karasik | April 1, 2022 |
| 6 | "Fortitude" | Tinge Krishnan | Mark Stasenko | April 8, 2022 |
| 7 | "The Power of We" | Tinge Krishnan | Eva Anderson & Eleanor Burgess | April 15, 2022 |
| 8 | "The One with All the Money" | Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini | Elissa Karasik & Zenzele Price & Mark Stasenko | April 22, 2022 |
Release
A portion of the series previewed at South by Southwest on March 12, 2022.[20]
The series premiered on Apple TV+ on March 18, 2022.[21]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 65% approval rating based on 48 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "The pacing can be frustrating, but WeCrashed still works thanks to its compelling central relationship and Anne Hathaway's knockout performance."[22] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 21 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[23]
Naomi Fry in The New Yorker called the show "genuinely funny" but complained that the business scenes, which become more frequent toward the end of the show, lack dramatic stakes. She did praise Leto's performance, saying "I don’t think I've ever seen a better impression of an Israeli's accent and mannerisms done by a non-Israeli, and I say this as an Israeli."[24] A number of reviewers criticized the series for not exploring the deeper issues raised by the WeWork story, such as "how thin the line in Silicon Valley can be between visionary and fraudster,"[25] or how Neumann's success came in part because he managed "to tap into a specifically millennial sense of longing for meaning and community."[26]
Historical accuracy
WeCrashed contains a mix of real and fictional characters and events, although the fictional elements tend to have a basis in reality. For example, the character Elishia Kennedy is fictional but largely based on SoulCycle co-founder Julie Rice.[27] The episode "Summer Camp" involves Rebekah Neumann making an onstage comment at a 2014 "Summer Camp" event that antagonizes many of the female employees, leading to a session in which they vent their frustrations at her. In reality, she did make the comment, but at a 2018 Summer Camp, and there was no corresponding discussion session afterwards, although many of the sentiments expressed had been stated publicly or privately by female employees at various times.[28]
Bloomberg News reporter Ellen Huet felt the show was inaccurate in portraying WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey as "a clueless punchline," when in reality "many former employees saw him as a key architect of the company culture."[28]
Further reading
- Wiedeman, Reeves (October 20, 2020). Billion Dollar Loser. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-5293-8506-9.
- Brown, Eliot; Farrell, Maureen (July 22, 2021). The Cult of We: WeWork and the Great Start-Up Delusion. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-00-838941-3.
See also
References
- ^ Walsh, Savannah (April 1, 2022). "America Ferrera Channeled 'Dynasty' for Her Shocking 'WeCrashed' Exit". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
Unlike Adam and Rebekah, Elishia is a fictional character in the Apple TV+ series.
- ^ Kranc, Lauren (March 24, 2022). "Rebekah Paltrow Neumann Has Not Given Up on Her WeWork School Dreams". Esquire. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ Walsh, Savannah (March 18, 2022). "WeCrashed: Inside Rebekah Neumann and Gwyneth Paltrow's Relationship". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "WeCrashed". ART19. Retrieved April 17, 2022. RSS
- ^ "WeCrashed". Wondery. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (January 14, 2020). "'Little America' Co-Creator Lee Eisenberg Sets Apple Overall Deal". Variety. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (February 27, 2020). "WeWork Series in the Works at Apple From Lee Eisenberg, Drew Crevello". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- ^ "'We Crashed': Jared Leto On Initially Being "Seduced" By Damien Chazelle, His "Perfect Partner" Anne Hathaway & More [Interview]". theplaylist.net. June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (December 16, 2020). "Jared Leto Circling Apple Series 'WeCrashed' Based On Podcast About WeWork Downfall; Glenn Ficarra And John Requa On Board To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (January 29, 2021). "Apple TV+ Orders Limited Series 'WeCrashed' Starring Jared Leto And Anne Hathaway". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (January 29, 2021). "Anne Hathaway Joins Jared Leto in Apple WeWork TV Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (April 26, 2021). "Kyle Marvin Joins Anne Hathaway, Jared Leto in Apple WeWork Series 'WeCrashed' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ Cordero, Rosy (July 21, 2021). "America Ferrera Joins Cast Of AppleTV+ Limited Series 'WeCrashed'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ Petski, Denise (August 16, 2021). "'WeCrashed': O-T Fagbenle Joins Apple TV+ Limited Series As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ King, Aidan (December 16, 2021). "WeCrashed: First Image Features Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway in WeWork Apple TV+ Drama". Collider. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 2, 2022). "Tales Of The Walking Dead: Anthony Edwards, Parker Posey, Terry Crews, Poppy Liu, Jillian Bell To Star In TWD Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ "Apple TV+ – WeCrashed". Apple Inc. March 17, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "WeCrashed". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ "Shows A-Z – WeCrashed on Apple+". The Futon Critic. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "WeCrashed". SXSW. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ Complex, Valerie (January 19, 2022). "'WeCrashed: The Rise And Fall Of WeWork;' Apple TV+ Drops Teaser Trailer For Limited Series Starring Jared Leto And Anne Hathaway". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ^ "WeCrashed: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "WeCrashed: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ Fry, Naomi (March 28, 2022). "The Comforts of "WeCrashed" and the Modern Grifter Series". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022.
- ^ Kang, Inkoo (March 18, 2022). "Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway's 'WeCrashed,' about WeWork's fall, is as essential as a WeWork in a pandemic". The Washington Post.
- ^ Thompson, Jessie (March 12, 2022). "WeCrashed review: WeWork drama feels too much like hard work". Evening Standard.
- ^ Malivindi, Diandra (March 25, 2022). "How The 'WeCrashed' Cast Looks Compared To The Real People They're Playing". Marie Claire.
- ^ a b Huet, Ellen (March 18, 2022). "What the New WeWork Show Gets Right and Wrong". Bloomberg News.
