Tune In Or Tune Out: ‘The Afterparty’ Brings Together Grandiose Guests And Mild Mystery
The Afterparty rages on as a star-studded second season of this comedy murder mystery ramps up to its conclusion on Apple TV + next week. Following a different mystery each season, Aniq (Sam Richardson), Zoe (Zoe Chao), and Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) are the only characters to return. They reunite at Zoe’s sister Grace’s (Poppy Liu) wedding to solve the murder of her rich husband, Edgar (Zach Woods). Each episode that follows is a Rashomon-esque “mind movie” (as Danner calls them) in which each character recounts the leadup to the murder from their point of view, telling a slightly different version in a different genre. The series has certainly not run out of ideas for genres to play with, satirizing Wes Anderson, Jane Austen adaptations, and TikTok videos, to name a few from the current season.
The new characters are also fresh and unique, with stars like John Cho (Harold and Kumar) and Ken Jeong (The Hangover) bringing their own special brand of wackiness to the series. The humor is still a mix of dry, awkward, and silly, reminiscent of showrunner Christopher Miller and executive producer Phil Lord’s past projects; the two wrote and directed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as directing 21 Jump Street (2012). The combination of an all-star cast, Miller and Lord’s penchant for heartwarming, goofy humor, and the surprisingly comforting genre of murder mysteries makes The Afterparty a light yet thoroughly entertaining watch.
Meet Danner, Aniq, and Zoe
As a murder mystery anthology, the cast really carries the series. Haddish (Girls Trip) brings her familiar brash, spirited energy to Danner, which is nicely balanced by Richardson’s (Veep) awkward, rational portrayal of Aniq. Aniq spends more screen time with Danner this season, and while their chemistry isn’t electric, it’s enough to provide a solid foundation for the season. Zoe’s parents and sister serve as the emotional center of season two, and they deal with a variety of family issues first independently, and finally together. Jeong, playing Zoe’s father Feng, moves away from the erratic roles he’s known for and reveals the pain and drive around Feng’s desire to do right by his family. Feng’s episode is a highlight of the season. It includes an extended reaction shot of Feng as he watches videos of the weekend; his eyes moisten as he thinks about his children growing up, trying to support them, and his relationship with his wife, drawing the audience into his character. Jeong deftly switches gears to bring the laughs with an overeager goofball of a character.
Cho leans into the overdramatic as Zoe and Grace’s too-cool-to-be-true uncle, and Woods (Silicon Valley) plays an awkward and downright strange man that will be familiar to those who know his work. Jack Whitehall (Bad Education), Anna Konkle (PEN15), Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya), and Elizabeth Perkins (Sharp Objects) round out the cast. While each character is clearly defined and exaggerated in the classic murder mystery fashion, they do not fall into stale archetypes, nor are they flat. Each has a genuine, relatable motivation — love, family, success — and, just as in the first season, there is hope of redemption for all (except maybe the murderer).
The exaggerated personalities of the characters are a main source of laughs, as is the twisting and satire of media genres and tropes. The series uses all its ridiculousness to make murder funny. For example, there is a scene where two characters try to prop up Edgar’s dead body and hold his eyes open so they can use his face to unlock his phone. The humor is silly, strange, and a bit dry. There are lines that comment on just how weird the circumstances are, ones that play into the awkwardness of situations, and truly bizarre dialogues that lay bare the oddities of each character. The show is cleverly written and goes into some outlandish territory, but the jokes do not get too dark and the wholesome relationships between and motivations of the characters almost make The Afterparty a feel-good show.
Was it Tune In or Tune Out?
The series is not just a madcap character study, keeping suspense high throughout the plot. New information is revealed every episode and the season is steadily structured around the revelation of clues. There are small clues sprinkled throughout and big clues at the middle and end of each episode that point to the next person to be interviewed. Some of the significant questions raised take a few episodes, or even until the end, to be answered. Each answer is novel and arises organically in the course of a character’s recount, sometimes intertwined with another sub-conflict; this adds to the dexterous construction of the plot, rather than the mysteries being hurriedly explained away.
That being said, if a viewer wanted to guess who the murderer was, knowledge of how plots are typically constructed would be more helpful than using the clues from each episode. Since most of the major clues are eventually explained, that leaves only tiny clues to point to the true killer (as was the case in Danner’s reveal of the murderer in the first season). As each episode’s clues also point to the next episode’s focus, there is a relatively linear structure as opposed to a twisting and turning mystery. However, the humor does a lot to carry the show and in keeping to a more formulaic mystery structure, The Afterparty makes for a solid comfort watch.
The added layer of interpersonal conflicts outside of the murder also adds a bit of emotion and a chance for redemption at the end. The conflicts of the season mostly center Zoe and her family, as well as Zoe’s relationship with Aniq. This overarching conflict helps keep the plot moving throughout the season. However, if you are more interested in the jokes and suspense as opposed to the more emotional element, then the interpersonal conflicts could get in the way.
Who will like it?
The Afterparty is quality comfort viewing. The jokes are silly, awkward, and bizarre, as are the mysteries around the murder. While there’s no intense suspense, the clues regarding the killer can be too small to notice, and the structure is rather linear, there is a steady stream of questions to be answered and jokes to keep the show engaging. The characters balance being genuine and hyperbolic, and if you are a fan of any member of the cast, you won’t be disappointed with their screen time. The cast is strong, the script is clever, and the jokes land, so if you’re looking for a fun way to spend a quiet night at home, pull up The Afterparty. The last of the 10 episodes of season two drops on Apple TV+ September 6th.
