The central premise is a Reconstructed, financially realistic Roommate Com. The series follows a group of half-a-dozen twenty-somethings who live together on the same floor in a disused London hospital under a scheme called Property Guardians, where tenants pay cheap rent in exchange for watching over uninhabited buildings that would otherwise be occupied by squatters or fall prey to vandalism. The place is run down and definitely not up to health codes, but its cheap, making it a desirable home for broke oddball young adults.
Spontaneous and irresponsible Lulu (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) arrives at the hospital to catch up with her childhood friend and long-standing crush, Anthony (Damien Molony), who's living with his fianceé Kate (Louise Ford), who is uptight and awkward despite her best efforts. Living on the same floor is the electric and caddish estate agent Sam (Jonathan Bailey), the shy but excitable Fred (Amit Shah), and the dry-witted, self-possessed artist Melody (Julie Dray). And then there's Colin (Adrian Scarborough), a maudlin, middle-aged divorcé suddenly thrust into the hospital's madness.
It consists of a single six-part series that premiered on 11 January 2016.
The series provides examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Expansion: The series was based on two short Will They or Won't They?-themed plays — one about Anthony and Lulu, and one about Sam and Fred — that Phoebe Waller-Bridge expanded on for the production company Big Talk.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge: The stimulus for [the plays] was to find the moment something exciting could have happened between two people but doesn't because they bottle it at the last minute. I always wanted to write about what happened to these people after this moment. - Armor-Piercing Question: Even not knowing who he is when he calls on the hotline, Will is able to read Sam well enough to figure out the key question to ask him: "What happens when the laughter stops?" Sam is so rattled by this he hangs up.
- British Brevity: 1 series, 6 episodes in total.
- Cock Fight: An interesting Gender Inverted example. Sam and Will are two overtly masculine men, competing over Fred, a somewhat less masculine man. Will is Fred's boyfriend; Sam is Fred's best friend who has a crush on him. Sam and Will increasingly dislike each other; Sam as a Crazy Jealous Guy, and Will because Sam's both kind of a dick, and flirting with his boyfriend. The twist is that — because these are two men competing over a third man — the homoerotic elements of the relationship between the suitors is highlighted. While Sam and Will can't stand each other, they do seem turned on by each other sometimes. They Almost Kiss, and then later actually kiss. While they're actually in a Love Triangle over Fred, it plays out as Belligerent Sexual Tension between them.
- Coming-Out Story: Over the season, Sam slowly comes to realize he has romantic feelings for Fred.
- Creator Thumbprint: Crashing is Phoebe Waller-Bridge's earliest work that made it to screen. Some of the motifs from it can be seen again in her later works.
- Lulu and Kate are obvious proto-versions of the sisters in Fleabag. A pair of Foils, one a "vulnerable rascal", an endearing but dysfunctional Hard-Drinking Party Girl and Lovable Sex Maniac, projecting bravado as a protective shield; the other an uptight Control Freak who has her life more put together, but is jealous of the rascal's charisma.
- A Lovable Sex Maniac has recently lost a parent to cancer of a sexual body part. There's a genetic component, so alongside their grief, the child is also haunted by the possibility of getting the disease themselves. They could be killed by this sexual aspect of their own body that they prize so highly, or alternatively, they might have to amputate that part to beat the cancer, which would cause a total breakdown of identity and lifestyle for this person. Here, it's Sam, his dad, and testicular cancer. In Fleabag it's the protagonist, her mom, and breast cancer.
- Melody and Colin are a less-obvious proto-version of Villanelle and Eve in Killing Eve. A slightly-inverted May–December Romance where a hot young woman sets her eyes on a frumpy middle-aged person and decides that this is who she vehemently, unambiguously wants. The middle-aged love interest is the more ambivalent half of the relationship, partly intrigued and partly confused by her interest in them.
- Lulu and Kate are obvious proto-versions of the sisters in Fleabag. A pair of Foils, one a "vulnerable rascal"
- Cringe Comedy:
- A subplot of episode 4 sees Lulu, in need of money, visiting her aunt with Anthony. Said aunt seemingly intentionally gets both of them drunk, is oddly touchy with Lulu, and fixated on figuring out how to get her out of overalls. This does not deter a strapped for cash Lulu in the slightest.
- Episode 5 has a hungover Lulu vomiting into a pot of curry Anthony is preparing, trying to cover it up with spices, and then watching Anthony serve the dish to Kate.
- Everyone Can See It:
- Everyone knows Lulu an Anthony aren't the strictly platonic friends they claim to be.
- Lulu—jokingly—offers to let Sam call her "Fred" in bed.
- Foreshadowing: The idea that they can be evicted with no recourse is established in the first episode.Melody: You're not allowed to have parties, cook meals, light candles, have sex, express emotion, claim any rights, argue if they want to throw you out with only two days' notice, or smoke.
- Friend Versus Lover: Kate, Anthony's fiancee, is jealous of his relationship with childhood friend, Lulu. Sam is also jealous of Will and often acts out to get Fred's attention instead. Subverted Trope in both cases, and both "friends" actually have crushes on their friend, and that's why they're jealous.
- From Roommates to Romance: From housemates to romance, as the main characters are only six of a number of property guardians who all live in the abandoned hospital. Nevertheless, tension develops:
- Lulu reconnects with her childhood friend Anthony, even if he is living in the place with his longtime girlfriend Kate.
- Sam develops feelings for fellow housemate Fred, who also doubles as a Closet Key.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Sam glaring daggers at Fred's boyfriend while he sings about Fred.
- I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Melody desperately wants to have sex with Colin, but he won't oblige, which she finds compelling in a "poetic agony" type of way.Melody: He just wants to be small and good, and because of that he is huge and beautiful. Everyone wants to be big. It's bullshit. And he won't fuck me, which I love.
- The Lad-ette: If anyone in the main cast is going to burp, fart, get piss drunk, or hook up with someone random, it's going to be Lulu.
- Left Hanging: The final episode ended with Kate telling Anthony and Lulu she's "not fucking stupid" after Anthony and Lulu spent a night together and then kissed minutes before Kate came into the kitchen.
- Like Brother and Sister: Zig-Zagging Trope. Childhood Friends Anthony and Lulu swear up and down that they're Like Brother and Sister. They say it so often and so insistently that you might briefly consider the possibility it could be true. But they also flirt with each other constantly. When Lulu tries to get with other guys, Anthony responds like a Crazy Jealous Guy. They go so far as to confess their feelings for each other and then cover it up with "Just Joking" Justification. The other characters treat their relationship as suspect because Everyone Can See It. At the end of the season, they hook up.Anthony: The idea of having sex with Lulu always has and always will make my penis want to go all the way back up inside. It would be like touching up a monkey I raised myself.
- Like Parent, Like Spouse: In episode 5, Colin notices he and all of Melody's former muses bear a striking resemblance to her father.
- Love Dodecahedron: Sam and Lulu hook up, but Sam has a crush on Fred, who's dating Will, who later kisses Sam, and Lulu is in love with Anthony, who's into her in return but also engaged to Kate.
- Meaningful Echo : Fred and Sam
- In one of their first conversations in Episode 1:Fred: I don't think you're very happy, mate.
Sam: Don't say "mate".
Fred: You say "babe".
Sam: I'm an estate agent. I'm meant to sound like a twat. What's your excuse? - In their last conversation in Episode 6…Fred: Can I have a sip of your coffee, mate?
Sam: Ugh. Don't say "mate."
Fred: Okay… babe.
- In one of their first conversations in Episode 1:
- Mistaken for Gay: Lulu, Jessica, and Anthony all variously seem to find the idea of Kate as a repressed lesbian to be plausible. Her attraction to her fiancé Anthony seems tenuous at best. She isn't comfortable with him seeing her naked, he struggles to make her orgasm, and she drunkenly confesses that she doesn't love him. If she were a lesbian, Last Het Romance would provide a very convenient, no-blame way to end their relationship. But Kate's not a lesbian. This makes the situation with Anthony much… stickier.
- Mistaken for Suicidal: Early in the season, Colin — fresh off a divorce — sings a spontaneous song about wanting to die most mornings and seems familiar with how the crisis hotline Will works at operates. In the final episode, Melody has him pose by an open window. She leaves him alone to confront Sam, and when they return Colin is unconscious on the ground below. Melody assumes he jumped. When Colin comes to, he admits that he really did just lose his balance and fall out the window.
- The Muse: Melody strongarms Colin into becoming the inspiration for her art. It's an Inverted or Gender-Inverted Trope in that the hot young woman is the artist and the plain-looking middle-aged man is the muse, and that inversion is Played for Laughs. By the end of the series, though, they're weirdly the least messy pairing among the group.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Anthony tells Sam that Lulu is off-limits and frequently tries to stop them from hooking up. All the other main characters tell Anthony it's none of his business.Anthony: I grew up with her. She is Red Zone. She's basically my sister.
- No Bisexuals: Despite having had - and seemingly enjoyed - lots (and lots, and lots) of sex with women, everyone assumes Sam is gay once he develops feelings for Fred.
- Non-Residential Residence: The characters reside in an abandoned hospital under the Property Guardians scheme (which really does exist). Tenants pay cheap rent to live as sanctioned squatters, watching over uninhabited buildings that might otherwise be occupied by non-sanctioned squatters. They're supposed to follow a strict set of rules (the whole point is to prevent the vandalism that is associated with non-sanctioned squatters) but no one actually follows them.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Lulu is called Louise exactly once: when she's applying to be a guardian.
- Quirky Ukulele: Lulu is a young woman who plays the ukulele and she's desperate to be more unconventional than she truly is deep down. She calls her instrument her "uku-Lulu" and plays some strange bits for fun. Lampshaded when she meets Kate:Kate: Wow! A ukulele! Quirky.
Lulu: Thanks, I try. - Real Men Cook: Anthony works as a chef, and throws a dinner party for all his neighbors.
- Roommate Com: The show follows the lives of a half-dozen twentysomethings metropolitan neighbors. The twist is that it's a Reconstruction of the financial aspects of this trope. It Averts the usual "Friends" Rent Control and instead has the characters living together on the same floor of a disused London hospital as as sanctioned squatters under a scheme called Property Guardians.One review: They are legal squatters, a generation-rent Friends for austerity Britain. There are no niggling questions about how these twentysomethings can afford designer flats and a lifestyle above their means: the shelves are falling off the walls, medical equipment litters their makeshift bedrooms, the ground outside is a demolition site and, in this second episode, Kate narrowly avoids electrocution from a light while in the bath.
- Secretly Gay Activity: We've got our sexual tension between a gay guy and a "straight" guy, but it's an Inverted Trope. Our gay guy, Fred, is quiet and shy and would probably never have the nerve to flirt with Sam. It's "straight" Sam who's flirting at every turn, leaving Fred perplexed. Fred is, if anything, trying to ignore his friend's flirting and continue pursuing a relationship with his openly gay boyfriend instead.
- Standard Office Setting: Kate works at a London company called Something Events where Kate works, along with her Colin and Jessica. Lulu gets a Nepotism job there as a secretary, and Kate doesn't like having her both at home and at work. It has a bullpen setup that makes it easy for characters to communicate and interact.
- Stepford Snarker: Sam's a twat, and he doesn't hesitate to play the "dead dad" card to get his way in the first episode, but Episode 2 shows he's taking his father's recent passing pretty hard and acting obnoxious to hide his grief.
- Team Mom: Kate perceives herself as such. In actually its fairly downplayed, but everyone turns to her when something breaks in the hospital.Kate: Oh okay, fuck you all! Oh, yeah, yeah, sure, I'll fix the danger bath, put up another shelf, set up dates for my fragile work colleagues, before running to work—where I don't even have a receptionist—and yes, I am supposed to be sorting that out as well!
- The Tease: Lulu is always flirting with Anthony, and Sam is always flirting with Fred. Both try to play it off as "just how they are"—they're always flirting with everyone! But both actually have a crush on said person.
- Vulgar Humor: Sam calls Fred all manner of flippant, homosexually-themed epithets. Will calls him out on it at one point.Will: It's not cool how you talk to Fred. Calling him "bitch" and "pencil prick" and "freaky tits". I'm not a gaping arsehole — I know it's just for laughs — but that sort of language is actually pretty... insidious. I just think you should just dial it down a bit, before it starts making a dent.
- Will They or Won't They?:
- Lulu and Anthony are forever playing a Game of Chicken, daring each other to confess their feelings and make a move — and before it can get too real, they do an about-face, mock the idea it could've been real, and claim "Just Joking" Justification to cover it up. Ostensibly their constant flirting with each other is just some sort of weird Inside Joke.
- Sam loves to tease and cuddle Fred, and monopolize his time, openly flirting — all the while claiming he's straight and there's nothing to it.
- Melody and Colin are a much more downplayed version than the others, but they cycle ambiguously through muse and artist, friends, and potential lovers.Melody: He's not my lover! He's my muse!
