The Afterparty

I've seen quite a few murder mysteries lately, so I'm glad this series does something different. By shaking up the murder mystery genre, each episode is...a different genre. Seeing a mystery unfold from different characters perspectives isn't entirely new, but the way it's presented in the show is. All the characters are pretty interesting and all have motive. The cast has great chemistry with each other. The show isn't quite excellent but it's a fun mystery to solve and I was genuinely surprised by the ending.

Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Ben Schwartz and Sam Richardson. I may be a little biased but anything these guys do has me on board. Its not for everyone, but Ben and Sam are seemingly allowed free reign with their ad libbed, improv style comedy. If this type of thing is at all your cup of tea you might enjoy it. Also Ike barenholtz is always a treat.

I thought The Afterparty was going to be some corny comedy with juvenile humor. I was wrong. It is so much better than I expected. This is actually a pretty good murder mystery and the casts are terrific for both seasons. I love how each episode is told through the perspective of a different character, it makes the show seem original and clever and not just another who dun it show. It's almost impossible to guess the killer for each season (which makes it that more interesting). The best way to watch this is to binge it. As much as I was looking forward to this second season after how good the first one was, I still waited for all the episodes to drop before I started it. I suggest you do the same for future seasons because the story just flows better not having to wait a week between episodes. I really hope they keep doing new seasons with all new casts, kind of like what they do for The White Lotus. I think they can keep this going for several more seasons before it gets repetitive.

I almost watched season 2 first because it had all the actors I had been seeing in the advertisements, and I didn't even know there was a first season. I kind of wish that I had watched in reverse, because season 1 was so good and season 2 fell flat. While season 2 appears to have a bigger budget, and it is more cinematic, it just doesn't have what season 1 had... humor.

Actually if I had watched season 2 first, I probably would have just turned it off. Season one feels like a real murder mystery, but it's also funny, the characters are likable, the music is great (Xavier's closing credits track is a legit banger), and it pulled me in so well that I binged the whole first season in a day.

Season 2 has been difficult to get interested in. After finishing an episode I have no desire to watch another, so I turn it off for a few days. You do not feel as attached to the characters as S1, so you don't really care who is the killer. In S1 I found myself guessing, but also hoping that it wasn't a character I liked. Also, in S1 I felt that any one of the characters could potentially be the killer, same way I felt watching Scream as a kid. But in S2, no one's motive seems strong enough to kill for really, and again, I don't really care enough because you do not feel as attached to the characters as S1.

Maybe it is because S1 takes place after a high school reunion, so the bonds feel more real. The story of these people having history and long term grudges is more believable and better explained. S2 takes place at a wedding where virtually everyone is a stranger, even the bride and groom. The relationships are flimsy, the grudges are silly to none existent, and the sense of urgency is gone.

As of writing this, only 7 episodes of S2 have been released, and I've watched them all. By the 7th episode (not counting the whole S1 I just watched) I should care about the characters and the story, but I don't. This is not to say they're bad, because they aren't. The actors are great, and they've done some cool episodes which are each a nod to a style of film, but the magic isn't there.

I highly recommend season 1 and the song from it "Imma live Forever" by Xavier. Season 2 is neat but meh.

This is a funny, clever whodunnit with smart writing and an A-List ensemble of comic actors - but I had never heard of it - I am bombarded by trailers and promos for shows 24/7.

I don't know what the folks at Apple TV+ were thinking by slipping this ingenious gem under the promotional carpet.

It's a playful, smartly constructed mystery from The Lego Movie guys, with each episode being told from the point of view of a different suspect - each in a different movie genre style: romcom, action, thriller, musical, animation, and so on.

Everyone in the cast is at the top of their comic game, and they all seem to be having a great time. Now stop reading this and go watch it.