The Afterparty Season 2 Review: A Fresh Cast Of Unusual Suspects Worth Rounding Up
- The actors are all fantastic
- The costumes and sets are well done too
- The story is well-told, in all its permutations
- The story could do without the "fat guy falling over" laughs
The first season of "The Afterparty" introduced us to the premise of the show: Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) looks for clues while a slew of suspects who may or may not have something to do with the murder tell her their stories of the night in question (and any other backstory they care to divulge) in the unique genre of their choosing. In the process, Danner solves the case and (almost) everyone goes home happy. Season 2 works on much the same premise, except Danner is no longer a cop and, besides her, the only two holdovers from the first season are Aniq (Sam Richardson) and Zoe (Zoe Chao).
Aniq and Zoe are attending the wedding of Zoe's little sister, Grace (Poppy Liu), who happens to be marrying one of the most eligible bachelors in Silicon Valley, Edgar Minnow (Zach Woods). But Edgar ends up dying on the night of their marriage. The suspects are plentiful — there's Grace, of course, but also Zoe and Grace's parents, Feng (Ken Jeong) and Vivian (Vivian Wu), and their "funcle" Ulysses (John Cho). Then there's Edgar's mother, Isabel (Elizabeth Perkins), and adopted sister, Hannah (Anna Konkle), Grace's former flame Travis (Paul Walter Hauser), and Edgar's British friend, Sebastian (Jack Whitehall). It's a lot of people to work through and ample opportunity for a wide variety of stories.
Not only do the individual storylines play in different genres, they're all different from last year. This year there's everything from romance for Grace to a detective story for Travis to Wes Anderson twee for Hannah. Yet they all touch on the night of Edgar's demise through a fractured lens that doesn't entirely add up. That's the beauty of this "Rashomon" kind of story — while the foundation of each tale is the same, the individuals who are telling them make them all different, and funny in their own ways. I can't comment on how it all turns out, because Apple TV+ provided only nine of the ten episodes for review, but I can say that the story becomes more layered and interesting as new characters add their unique voices to it.
New season, new twists
While the basic outline of the story is very similar to last season, the setting and the players (outside of Aniq and Zoe) are quite different. Though the players aren't as funny (at least not in the same ways), the mystery is actually a little better, partially because it centers on a groom on the night of his wedding and not a disliked rock star like last season.
That's not to say the show is no longer funny. It all remains quite amusing, although some stories are far more amusing than others. Some may be more relatable than others — Aniq's story of trying and failing to impress Zoe's parents will probably play better for many than it did for me. It all depends on what you find funny, and that tends to be different things for different people. What I do object to is the number of laughs gained from Paul Walter Hauser falling down. He's a big guy, and while that doesn't necessarily affect most of the comedy his character is involved in, there are gags that are uncomfortably cringe-inducing in the way they play on his girth.
That said, most of the comedy is not of the "fat guy falls down" variety, but the laughs — especially those provided by the quirky groom in flashback or Hannah and Funcle Ulysses in the here and now — are often quirkier than last year. That often makes the comedy less obvious. That said, there is plenty to laugh at while you're attempting to suss out who did it. And that question is still part of the DNA of the show, even if the parameters have changed.
Changed parameters
While Detective Danner is still the one solving the case, she's no longer on the force. Now she's just an author — and apparently not a good one, considering she hasn't written one word in her tell-all about last season's case. In fact, the police don't enter the picture until the last scene of episode 9, so we don't know how they'll switch things up. Meanwhile, Danner is just trying to do something that matters after she quit the force following a case gone wrong. And with Aniq as her "partner" trying to solve out the murderer, she's got her work cut out for her, as his perspective is colored by Zoe's need to protect her family.
In fact, part of the reason that the show is more involved in the mystery this season is that Danner, Aniq, and Zoe are all focused on solving the murder. Zoe runs her own investigation in the name of exonerating her sister, and manages to turn up some valuable intel. Even Travis and Ulysses get in on the act, proving that the poison that killed Edgar acts fast.
All of the different players' stories are backed up by perfectly constructed costumes and sets. From the top hats and tiaras of Grace's story to the flapper dresses and dapper suits of Travis', the costumes are all specific and appropriate for each suspect's tale. The sets are also excellent. Everything from a lavish house in Silicon Valley to an impoverished village in Patagonia are brought to life in astonishing detail.
"The Afterparty" was created by Christopher Miller and the fingerprints of Miller and his frequent creative partner Phil Lord all over the show. It's clever, it's funny, it's creative. It's also a great diversion. All in all, the second season of "The Afterparty" is fantastic with an amusing and clever premise. The attention to detail in the individual stories of each character are well done, and everyone acts the hell out of their distinct roles. Your mileage may vary depending on what you find funny, but everyone should be able to find something to love in "The Afterparty."
The first two episodes of "The Afterparty" Season 2 premiere Wednesday, July 12 on Apple TV+, with one episode premiering each Wednesday thereafter.