With the long history of great mystery shows throughout the years combined with the on-fire true crime genre, getting a detective show to break the mold from the pack can be a challenge, but Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Apple TV series The Afterparty may have stumbled onto the right formula.
It’s a show that refuses to stick with one structure or even genre between episodes, and that could flat-out destroy a show if it was tackled by a less talented crew of writers. This show handles its influence shifts well on top of being just a smart comedy- the humor is goofy, but not too absurd to where the actual drama of the plot is derailed.
As the title says, it takes place during a post-high school reunion after party, which was hosted by Xavier, played by Dave Franco as an egotistical and garish pop star/actor- before he was found dead at the rocks of his lakeside mansion, having been knocked off by one of the party guests. Tiffany Haddish plays Detective Danner, who takes it upon herself to solve the crime to the annoyance of her captain, considering it too big for a less experienced officer.
She and her partner Culp (John Early) interview the various attendees, both as a group and individually, and we learn that all of them would possess some motive to whack the guy. Each of them has some sort of history with Xavier, and in most cases, he’s irritated most of them in some fashion to where the culprit isn’t immediate. (So does that make the name of Early’s character a sly pun?)
An escape room developed named Aniq, played with nerdy charm by Sam Richardson, blames Xavier for not being able to enter his hoped college. Xav’s also been flirting with Zoe (Zoe Chao), the ex-wife/high school boyfriend of Brett (Ike Barinholtz, throwing his machismo everywhere), and Brett’s quite pissed over it. Ben Schwartz is Yasper, an AV guy and former ska bandmate of Xavier’s before he went pop, wondering why Xav hasn’t gotten in touch with him to start making music again. And Chelsea is just dealing with a lot of personal self-esteem issues, with Ilana Glazer lending the character some funny paranoia. Jamie Demetriou is Walt, who only wants to be noticed.
One special feature of this series is how it adjusts the tone of each episode based on each character’s personality. Aniq’s is pretty much a romantic comedy, Brett’s temperamental attitude lends itself to a short action film, while Yasper’s is a giddy and optimistic musical rooted around his hopes in Xavier collaborating on one of his songs. Chelsea’s paranoia gives us a suspenseful episode that almost has slasher-movie tones as if something’s constantly out to get her.
Walt recaps a past high school party with the gang as your typical teen flick, and aspiring artist Zoe’s is an animated trip-out with her alter-egos manifesting itself into strange creatures. Danner has a flashback in the form of a TV police drama to a past rivalry with a confessing-seeking detective at her old department, and Maggie’s story, being told through the eyes of a small kid, is basically a Nick Jr. show.
Richardson and Chao have some notably sweet chemistry with each other, with one standout moment being Aniq stumbling through a mangled version of “My Neck, My Back” on karaoke with improvised lyrics about Marion Barry. Schwartz gives his usual brand of enthusiasm to Yasper, still believable in his calmer scenes, but there are periods when a bit of Sonic the Hedgehog will pop out of him. Haddish’s little reactions to some of the stories the guests tell also had me in stitches.
What I especially enjoyed was how many of these characters are incredibly flawed but still entertaining to watch. It’s easy to root for Aniq to get with Zoe, but he’s not exactly what you’d call a functional drunk. Chelsea needs to get a grip, but she’s funny. Brett seriously needs anger management help, Yasper can’t dial it back and Xavier is basically what would happen if the Miz decided to go into pop music instead of pro-wrestling. It didn’t get to where the cast got obnoxious, rather there’s a strong balance of goofball humor and solid character development as the series progresses. (I died laughing when Brett chucked away Xavier’s hat- he knows it was a douchey and butt ugly overpriced hat, that was the idea!)
Fortunately there’s more After Party coming, something I’m quite happy about because it’s been a while since I saw a comedy series that was willing to take so many gambles and have them successfully pay off. For those seeking a light-hearted but still compelling whodunit, you should certainly give this show some of your time. As always, swing my FAN’s social media spots to let us know your feelings on it!