Nowadays, writers often bemoan the decline of the studio comedy. The cause has been variously attributed to the rise of streamers, shifting cultural attitudes, and Hollywood’s abandonment of mid-budget films. But despite the genre’s endangered status at the movies, comedy hasn’t exactly disappeared; it has simply relocated. Action-oriented hybrids like “The Suicide Squad” and “Red Notice” are virtually studio comedies in disguise. Meanwhile, plot-driven TV mystery series like HBO’s “Search Party” and Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” rely on comedic writing and performances to power their high-concept premises.
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It was only a matter of time before Apple TV+ entered the fray with its own take on the comedic whodunnit. The first season of “The Afterparty” is a murder mystery set at a high school reunion, designed in the Agatha Christie tradition. There’s a Poirot-like inspector and a coterie of potentially guilty suspects, each presumably with their own esoteric reason for having committed the crime. (The first season’s eight episodes are each built around a different character’s version of events.) And Season 2 appears to be a similar endeavor, but this time at a wedding. The ensemble cast is once again led by Tiffany Haddish and features the return of Sam Richardson and Zoë Chao. They’re joined in Season 2 by John Cho, Paul Walter Hauser, Ken Jeong, Anna Konkle, Poppy Liu, Elizabeth Perkins, Jack Whitehall, Zach Woods, and Vivian Wu.
The series was conceived by Christopher Miller, who along with Phil Lord directed “21 Jump Street” and “The Lego Movie,” genre-bending crowd-pleasers that also scored points with critics. Lord serves as an executive producer and showrunner for “The Afterparty.” The project’s binge-worthy concept and impressive collection of talent on both sides of the camera make it one of Apple TV+’s most appealing offerings yet.
Season 2 of “The Afterparty” debuts on July 12. You can watch the trailer below:
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