Apple TV+ The Afterparty (1 Viewer)

[Josh Dial]

If you are a fan of murder mystery shows like Knives Out, Glass Onion, and Only Murders in the Building, you might like The Afterparty.

The show is produced by (Phil) Lord & (Christopher) Miller, though only Miller is credited as the creator.

The first season ran from January to March 2022, so you can binge it all now (I did). Five of the 10 episodes in the second season have aired, so there is time to "catch up" if you want (I did).

The non-spoiler plot is pretty simple. Someone dies in the first minute of the season. The rest of the season is spent solving the murder. The cast is impressive, including Sam Richardson, Zoe Chao, Tiffany Haddish (who can often be a tad...much...but is great here), Ben Schwartz, Dave Franco, John Cho, Ken Jeong, and Anna Konkle. Of course Channing Tatum has a cameo because of course he does.

Each character is given their own episode to tell their version of the story (but not quite Rashomon-style). The central conceit is terrific fun: each character's episode is told in a very specific "genre" style. So there's a rom-com, a musical, a Fast and the Furious-style action flick, a high school party movie, a heist, a noir. I could go on.

In almost every case the team absolutely nails the genres. The Wes Anderson episode was so perfect if you told me it was directed by Wes Anderson himself I would believe you.

And unlike almost every other murder mystery, we the audience are actually given clues and puzzles (some quite elaborate) to solve in each episode, and solving the murder is actually possible from your own arm chair!

The show is fun and funny. Really well done. Crafted with love by people who clearly hold these genres dearly.

I think a lot of people on the forum will really like this.

 

[Tommy R]

My wife and I went through the first season a few weeks ago and loved it. I have no idea what they’ll do with a second season, as it feels like a one-off, but we’re planning on going through the second season once it’s done.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Somewhat backlogged with a few other series right now, but I've been intending to give this a try.

- Walter.

 

[joshEH]

Yeah, can confirm that this show is indeed legit great. Rewatched the first season in anticipation of the new one, and it's some hysterically-funny stuff, with a stacked cast in each season.

 

[Tommy R]

Five episodes in to season two and I find it very disappointing. Hard to follow the characters, their motivations, and it all comes off convoluted and confusing. I’ll finish the season, maybe it’ll get better…?

 

[uncledougie]

Five episodes in to season two and I find it very disappointing. Hard to follow the characters, their motivations, and it all comes off convoluted and confusing. I’ll finish the season, maybe it’ll get better…?

Sorry to hear your take on this; we’ve been putting it off to binge the whole season 2 series after enjoying season 1. I find when mystery writing is overly complex, it’s frustrating rather than fun trying to piece the clues together. And the ultimate payoff thereby is diminished. I hope it comes together in the end; we will still give it a shot. Tiffany Haddish was a good choice for the lead investigator we thought and enhanced the surroundings. The credited supporting cast for the new season didn’t seem to have but a limited number of familiar faces, so that’s usually an issue keeping character relationships straight unless the actors are in some way distinctive enough to make an impact. Thanks for your perspective. Forewarned is forearmed.