![]() ![]() It’s a lot like Apple TV+’s musical series “Schmigadoon!” in that way, which is a good, cozy quality. “The Afterparty” splits the difference between a hard-labored production (all of those costume styles, those intersecting storylines!) that’s meant to be viewed as light comedy. Yes, we get to see Cho dance his heart out in the process, enjoy Konkle dead-panning like the best of them, and savor Walter Hauser's loving flipside of " Richard Jewell." And yet the show’s collective charisma and self-amusement can only create so much intrigue in place of a delayed big reveal.īut taken in total, as a binge for after a party, it’s still plenty of fun. It's " Clue," not "Monopoly." Across its 35-minute character studies, "The Afterparty" is prone to spend a lot of time with details that read as simply extraneous or actually are. But by structure, it’s all just too drawn out or indulgent for the exciting juggling act that comes with an ensemble whodunit. Having family secrets adds to juicier backstories than last season, and complicates the possible motivations for Edgar's demise. But in the plainer game of which one's funnier, Season One had more laugh-out-loud moments that made me want to exclaim, "How great is this party?!" This sequel, which has the likes of Anu Valia, Eric Appel, and Peter Atencio directing in place of season one’s Miller, moves a little faster in comparison and has even more twists. The writing makes a larger effort to be less contained than the second season, with Aniq & Danner and Zoe & Grace enacting their own frantic investigations, creating more comparable momentum. “The Afterparty” proves how many of its stars (like Cho, Walter Hauser, Konkle, and Perkins in particular) can do it all. Overall, the ensemble is an excellent batch of actors who can bend to different forms (as they appear in each other’s worlds) while staying sincere to their core psychology. Tiffany Haddish returns to investigate as Officer Danner, to add commentary and levity on top of more levity, while getting another episode that can be just indulgent as in the previous season (but considering how it has her hamming it up with an erotic thriller starring Paul Scheer and Michael Ealy, it’s pretty funny all on its own). The suspects include Hannah, Edgar’s sister by adoption ( Anna Konkle) Ulysses ( John Cho), Zoe’s world-traveled “funcle” who shows up on horseback Zoe’s mysterious mother Vivian ( Vivian Wu) Edgar’s mother Isabel ( Elizabeth Perkins) Jack Whitehall’s snooty Sebastian, Edgar’s former business partner Zoe’s father Feng ( Ken Jeong), who runs a baobing company Travis ( Paul Walter Hauser), a delusional ex of Grace’s. Also, Edgar’s beloved gecko Roxana is dead. ![]() The deceased is wealthy crypto-weirdo Edgar ( Zach Woods), whose dead body is discovered by his new bride Grace ( Poppy Liu), Zoe’s sister. Season Two takes place on a wedding weekend, in which our adorkable underdog Aniq ( Sam Richardson) and his now-girlfriend Zoe ( Zoe Chao) are caught up in another murder mystery. But the reason we keep returning to it all-the who-did-it-can be pushed too far out of center focus. This season features, in no particular order, a bunch of clever filmmaking send-ups: a shot-for-shot Wes Anderson parody, a TikTok-ready found footage comedy built from stream of consciousness a noir film with soft lighting and hardcore conspiracy theories, a courtship tale with Jane Austen-ready formalities, and more. That formula returns with even more star power, twists, jokes, and episodes in this second season, which begins today on Apple TV+. ![]()
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