Set in a single room of an American roadside motel, each episode explores different characters passing through Room 104, ranging widely across horror, thriller, and comedy genres.
Production
The series received a 24-episode order and all the episodes were shot back-to-back as a cost-saving measure, and they were split into two 12-episode seasons. In a December 2018 interview, co-creator Mark Duplass revealed that the third season had already been filmed and edited, and he was writing season 4. According to Duplass, episodes of Room 104 are made for "a quarter" of the cost typically expected for HBO series. Episodes are conceived in a "think tank" by the writers where they come up with dozens of ideas, and then they reach out to filmmakers that they are interested in to direct the episodes. Episodes are filmed in a "fast and loose" manner; for example, Josephine Decker directed her episode in two days only using an iPhone. For the editing process, directors do not receive final cut, and Duplass screens the episodes to a group of 20 people who work at their company for feedback.[2]
The series debuted July 28, 2017, on HBO.[3] A twelve-episode second season aired between November 9 and December 15, 2018.[4][5] On February 8, 2019, HBO revealed that a third season had been filmed and that the network were in talks for a fourth season renewal.[6] The show's twelve-episode third season premiered on September 13, 2019.[7] Filming for season 4 was completed by September 2019.[8] HBO announced in May 2020 that the fourth season would conclude the series, which started airing July 24.[9] and concluded on October 9, 2020.
Reception
Room 104 has received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 65 out of 100 based on 22 reviews.[10] On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 87% approval rating with an average score of 6.85 out of 10 based on 39 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Room 104 uses its anthology structure to its advantage, telling a series of short, eclectic stories that hit their marks more often than they miss."[11]
Reviewing the entire second season, Ben Travers of IndieWire gave it a positive review with a "B+" grade. He wrote, "the variety of storytelling on display builds such tingly anticipation, each new episode is worth it even when the narrative disappoints" and that it is "such remarkable, refreshing television that even when it's bad, it's good".[12]
Meg is hired by a man to babysit his pre-teen son Ralph for one night in Room 104. She is initially amused when Ralph warns her that "Ralphie", a bad boy, is locked in the bathroom, and that they need to keep quiet so they do not wake Ralphie. Thinking he is an imaginary friend, Meg at first humors Ralph, but becomes scared after Ralph goes into the bathroom dressed normally but returns in only underwear and a towel as a cape calling himself Ralphie; he attacks her. Ralphie goes back to the bathroom and Ralph returns dressed normally. Ralph tells Meg that he and his dad say his mother hanged herself but he says the true story is Ralphie killed her. After talking too loudly, Ralph says Ralphie has woken again. This time both Ralph and Ralphie emerge from the bathroom at the same time. Ralphie suffocates Ralph to death on the bed and then attacks her on the floor. Meg overpowers Ralphie and strangles him to death. Ralph's father returns to find Meg strangling Ralph and when she looks to the bed sees no body there and sees the body she was strangling was dressed as Ralph.
A pizza delivery boy is drawn into a couple's bizarre sex game where the wife attempts to seduce the delivery boy while the husband goes to get cash to pay for the pizza. She leaves when the husband returns and he accuses delivery boy of having sex with the wife and ties up the delivery boy. The wife returns and the couple have sex, apparently aroused by their fight and by having someone watch. After sex the delivery boy is seen wearing a suit, he offers the couple pointers on their performance and pays them, the whole situation having been one of the "delivery boy" auditioning actors to perform immersive sexual role play for his voyeuristic clients.
A spiritually-hungry woman is visited by a cult priest. She remembers that when she was a child, a boy showed her his penis and she hit it with a rock.
A 42-year-old guest, whose wife wants to split up with him, seeks advice from the ghost of his college best friend who accidentally drowned in his early twenties.
In 1997, a young Indian man desperately tries to teach his mother, over the phone, how to use his laptop to send a copy of the novel he has been writing. She accidentally deletes his novel, so he tells her to take it to a computer shop so that the staff can try to retrieve it.
In 1969, the sole (apparent) survivor of a plane crash finds herself in the room, covered in mud, cuts and bruises. She contemplates whether to go back to her old life with her husband.
An alcoholicCroatian retired tennis player forms a bond with a housekeeper when he reveals memories of his tortured past growing up in war torn Croatia during the early 1990s while she in turn reveals her status as an undocumented immigrant.
A young man planning to detonate an explosive at a political convention is interrupted by an air conditioning repairman, causing him to reconsider his plan.
Two female MMA fighters collude to earn a bigger payout by throwing their upcoming match. They engage in a private competition to determine who will win the fight.
Decades in the past, a brother and sister have a tense meeting regarding the development of the hotel that will contain Room 104, complicated by the arrival of a demonic transient.
A documentary about real-life father and son artists who, invited to use the Room 104 set as a canvas, discuss the personal struggles in their past and the nuances of their craft.
A dying man with unique abilities attempts to settle his affairs with his daughter, who was reluctant to learn his powers, and his son, who misused them.
Two actors who co-created a 1970s horror television series reunite and discuss their falling out, but when old tensions resurface, the show proves to be much more than mere fiction.
Fifty years after a woman sells her soul to the devil to live a rebellious rock-and-roll lifestyle, she strikes a mutually beneficial deal with his disgruntled assistant.
When exposure to a mysterious plant specimen transforms Room 104 into a lush jungle ecosystem, a scientist tries desperately to preserve the phenomena within.
An eccentric, troubled musician performs for a group of five friends, but his dark past causes tension. Cast : Mark Duplass, Hari Nef, Logan Miller, Pablo Castelblanco, Kenton Chen, Michael Sturgis
A woman with an extensive history of drug addiction must confront and learn from her past mistakes before it's too late. Cast : Jillian Bell, Jon Bass, Bernard David Jones
A therapist tries to help her patient, a retired professional wrestler, remember the specifics of traumatic events in his past. Cast : Dave Bautista, Natalie Woolams-Torres, Tim Gilbert, Eric Girard
A magical pair of scissors helps a recently divorced woman come to grips with her desire for stability in her life. Cast : Melissa Fumero, Vivian Bang, Finn Roberts, Adam Shapiro, Breeda Wool
Two friends taking a break from a cross-country hike must reconcile a potentially permanent rift in their friendship. Cast : Shannon Purser, Kendra Carelli
An arrogant game show host gets more than he bargained for during an arranged meeting with his self-proclaimed biggest fan. Cast : Linda Lavin, Jennifer Kim, Terrence T. Terrell, Gary Cole
Told as a musical, a pair of time-traveling warriors build towards a climactic and revelatory final battle.Cast : Kevin McKidd, Desean Terry, Suzanne Nichols, Tom Michelsen, Zakary Risinger, Michael Ray Taylor
A man attempts to use an old video game to revive his relationship with a childhood friend, but the two must confront some uncomfortable truths in the process.Cast : Leonardo Nam, Lily Gladstone
Presented in an animated format, two teenage girls in 1987 must use the abilities at their disposal to defend themselves against an unruly high school boy they invited to their hotel room.Cast : Jordyn Lucas, Natasha Perez, Jake Green
After decades of painful experiences aboard a spacecraft as part of a lifelong mission, a man reluctantly prepares for a culminating ceremony.Cast : Ntare Mwine, Rebecca Hazlewood, Susan Park, Kristina Hanna, Saidah Ekulona Arrika, Christopher Farrah, Kaya Rose Davis
See also
Hotel Room, another HBO series with a similar premise, which aired in 1993
Inside No. 9, a British series with a similar premise, produced by the BBC
