Crashing is a semi-autobiographical comedy series following the travails of struggling stand-up comedian Pete (Pete Holmes). Pete and wife Jess (Lauren Lapkus, Orange is the New Black) seem to have the perfect suburban life—the couple first met when they were teenagers at summer camp and have been together ever since. Jessica works as a third grade teacher, supporting her husband as he pursues a career as a comedian. Pete spends his nights at clubs in the city, hoping for an unpaid chance to practice his craft in front of a live crowd. One morning, when Pete arrives home, he discovers his wife in bed with grungy art teacher Lief (George Basil), and his whole world changes. With his relationship in shambles, Pete decides to throw himself full on into his career. But without any money and no place to call home, he’s constantly begging other comedians to crash at their apartments.

While Crashing is based on real events from star/series creator Pete Holmes’ life, things have been heightened somewhat to increase the comedic impact. Many stand-up comedian shows in the past have focused on the stars once they’ve “made it”, but this series provides a fun, interesting look into the normally-unseen world of what eager, up-and-coming comedians must go through just to get their shot to be seen. Usually that involves barking for comedy clubs, trying to get people to show up, just to get 5 minutes on stage at the end of the night when there is hardly anyone left in the crowd. And even when Pete does manage to catch a break, it isn’t long before something else happens to mess things up once again. The title of “Crashing” serves dual purpose—both in the idea that Pete now finds himself crashing at various friends’ and acquaintances’ apartments each night, but also in the idea that his once seemingly-perfect life is now crashing before him.

Judd Apatow serves as executive producer/writer/director on the series, and the show also has some talented guest stars who should be instantly be recognizable to fans of comedy and stand-up. Artie Lange, T.J. Miller and Sarah Silverman all play heightened versions of themselves, while Dov Davidoff (Shades of Blue), Aparna Nancherla & Jermaine Fowler (Superior Donuts) all play fellow aspiring comics who befriend Pete. Other guest stars who pop up over the course of the season include Jeff Ross, Rachel Feinstein, Gina Yashere, Keith Robinson, Dan Naturman, “Big Jay” Oakerson, Gina Gershon, Hannibal Buress, Marina Franklin, Audrie J. Neenan, Fred Applegate, Ashlie Atkinson as Schmitty, Rachael Ray and husband John Cusimano, Ron Funches, Henry Zebrowski, Allan Havey, David Juskow, Steve Agee, Dave Attell, Vanessa Bayer and Jim Norton.

I was pleasantly surprised by this series when I first watched it as it aired on HBO. I wasn’t that familiar with Pete Holmes and his sometimes self-deprecating style of humor before checking out this series—I had only seen him on a few episodes of @midnight. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the series the first time around, and it was a lot of fun binging it again on Blu-ray. The series has a great blend of humor and heartwarming drama. You find yourself really rooting for Pete to succeed, and feeling devastated whenever things go wrong or don’t work out for him. The series doesn’t feel scripted—the dialogue feels very natural and adds a sense of realism and believability to the series.

The Blu-ray presentation of this release is excellent. The picture remains crisp, clear and detailed, no matter if the scenes are taking place inside a dark club, out on the streets of New York, or whether it’s daytime or night time. The audio provides clear dialogue, and also makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to add ambiance to scenes. This is particularly noticeable in the comedy club scenes, where you feel like you are right there in the club. The episodes are split across two discs, which also include about 20 minutes of bonus scenes and behind-the-scenes material as well as a hilarious hour-long Pete Holmes stand up special. The discs come packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. The release also includes both Digital HD and UltraViolet copies of the episodes and bonus material (except for the stand-up special).

What’s Included:

Episodes: (3:54:33)

Blu-ray:

• All 8 episodes of the first season:
  “Artie Lange”, “The Road”, “Yard Sale”, “Barking”, “Parents”, “Warm-up”, “Julie”, “The Baptism”
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS Digital Surround 5.1,
  Spanish DTS Digital Surround 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Digital HD (Redeem by 12/31/2022):

• Digital HD copy redeemable via iTunes or Google Play
• UltraViolet Digital HD copy redeemable via Vudu, Flixster or FandangoNow

Extras:
All of the bonus features, except for the comedy special, are also included with the digital copies

• Guest Star Fan Club
  Pete Holmes talks about what it was like working with some of the show’s amazing guest stars. Disc 1 has a Play All option for the first 3 items:
  • Artie Lange (2:08)
    Pete talks about the Artie’s audition and what it was like working with him. (Episode 1)
  • T.J. Miller (2:16)
    Pete talks about his real-life friendship with T.J. during the time of his divorce and the details that were worked into the show. (Episode 2)
  • Hannibal Buress (1:44)
    Pete talks about working with Hannibal, and watching him tell the same joke over and over again for the cameras. (Episode 4)
  • Sarah Silverman (2:55)
    Pete talks about how he met Sarah Silverman, punching up her jokes, and writing episode 6 specifically for her. (Episode 6)
• Comedy Extras (5:41)
  Extended stand-up comedy sequences. Play All or select from:
  • T.J. Miller (1:09)
    T.J. Miller warms up the crowd, making Pete nervous to follow him. (Episode 3)
  • Aparna & Pete (4:33)
    Aparna does a short set on about garbage, then Pete follows with a short Robo-Cop-inspired set.
    (Episode 5)
• Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds (57:02)
  HBO stand-up comedy special starring Pete Holmes. Filmed live in Chicago, this special originally aired on December 3, 2016.
• About Crashing (1:48)
  A short behind-the-scenes look at the series with star Pete Holmes and executive producer Judd Apatow. Also includes interviews with Artie Lange & T.J. Miller.
• The Art of Crashing (2:38)
  Comedians Pete Holmes, Artie Lange, Hannibal Buress, Henry Zebrowski, Jermaine Fowler, Marina Franklin and Dov Davidoff talk about the tough things they had to go through while trying to make it as desperate young comedians.

Final Thoughts:

Crashing is a fun, delightful series with an excellent blend of drama and humor. The first season is easily bingable and rewatchable—I enjoyed it just as much, if not more, the second time around! The Blu-ray looks and sounds great and includes a small set of behind-the-scenes/extended scene bonus features as well as a full-length comedy special. The release also includes Digital and UltraViolet copies of the episodes and most of the bonus material. This comes highly recommended—after re-watching this series and the stand-up special, I will definitely be seeking out more of Pete Holmes’ work. I’m really happy that HBO has already renewed the series for a second season!