# The Crew (2021 TV series)

The Crew is an American comedy television series created by Jeff Lowell for Netflix that premiered on February 15, 2021. The series stars Kevin James as the crew chief of a NASCAR race team. In July 2021, the series was canceled after one season.

## Premise

The series takes place in a NASCAR garage where the crew chief butts heads with his new boss and "tech-reliant millennial" staff when his owner decided to retire and let his Stanford-educated daughter take over the racing team.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Kevin James as Kevin Gibson, the crew chief of Bobby Spencer Racing
* Jillian Mueller as Catherine Spencer, the new CEO of Bobby Spencer Racing and Bobby Spencer's daughter
* Freddie Stroma as Jake Martin, the driver of Bobby Spencer Racing
* Gary Anthony Williams as Chuck Stubbs, the car chief of Bobby Spencer Racing
* Dan Ahdoot as Amir Lajani, the chief engineer of Bobby Spencer Racing
* Sarah Stiles as Beth Paige, the office manager of Bobby Spencer Racing

### Recurring

* Bruce McGill as Bobby Spencer, the owner and the old CEO of the racing team
* Paris Berelc as Jessie De La Cruz, a young racing driver that Catherine is considering hiring to replace Jake
* Mather Zickel as Frank, Beth's boyfriend who is a financial analyst at Kinnane Brothers

### Guest starring

* Kim Coates as Rob, the racing team's biggest sponsor
* Ryan Blaney as Himself
* Austin Dillon as Himself
* Jamie Little as Herself
* Cole Custer as Himself
* Lesli Margherita as Morgan Conrad, the owner of Fake Steak and Kevin's love interest

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "I Guess That Cake Did Need to Be Refrigerated" | Andy Fickman | Jeff Lowell | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 2 | "My Name's Kevin and I Care About Feelings" | Andy Fickman | William Vallery | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 3 | "Hot Mushroom Meat" | Andy Fickman | Teleplay by : Jeff Lowell Story by : Burke Johnson & Alexandra Melnick | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 4 | "You Seem Like a Perfectly Serviceable Woman" | Andy Fickman | Jessica Kravitz | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 5 | "Your Face Is a Baby" | Andy Fickman | Chelsea Catalanotto | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 6 | "We're Gonna Be Okay. We're Gonna Be Okay." | Andy Fickman | Monica Hewes & Diana Gettinger | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 7 | "Ooof, Someone Throw a Robe on Grandma" | Andy Fickman | Rock Reuben | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 8 | "Good Things Happen to Handsome People" | Andy Fickman | Pete Correale | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 9 | "Monkeys and Bears Riding Bicycles" | Andy Fickman | Kenan A. Kel | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |
| 10 | "No One Likes You. No One." | Andy Fickman | Michael Loftus | February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15) |

## Production
### Development

On September 4, 2019, Netflix gave the production a series order. The series is created by Jeff Lowell who also executive produced alongside Kevin James, Jeff Sussman, Todd Garner, Matt Summers and Tim Clark. On July 2, 2021, Netflix canceled the series after one season.

### Casting

Upon series order announcement, Kevin James was also cast to star in the series. On December 17, 2019, Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Ahdoot, Freddie Stroma, Sarah Stiles, and Jillian Mueller joined the cast as series regulars. On January 30, 2020, Mather Zickel was cast in a recurring role. On January 15, 2021, it was reported that Paris Berelc and Bruce McGill were cast in recurring capacities.

### Filming

The Crew was filmed at Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, New York, but it is set in Charlotte, North Carolina.

## Release

The series was released on Netflix on February 15, 2021.

## Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 40% based on 10 critic reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".