David Farnor | On 28, Jan 2022

“Nothing can ruin this night,” declares Aniq (Sam Richardson) as he rocks up to his high school reunion. Cut to: the dead body of a former student being discovered on the beach by his luxury mansion. That’s the kind of playfully dark silliness you can expect from The Afterparty, Apple’s new murder mystery comedy – and if you don’t think the words “murder mystery comedy” can go together, trust Christopher Miller and Phil Lord to prove you wrong.

The duo are the kings of self-aware comedy, pulling off the unlikely success of not only The LEGO Movie but also the 21 Jump Street reboot, both managing to retain their anarchic self-awareness even as they spawned commercial sequels. The Afterparty marks the long-awaited realisation of a dream project for Miller, who serves as showrunner and director, and turns the tropes of a classic detective story on its head – by telling the story eight times over, each time from a different perspective. And, just for LOLs, through the lens of a different film genre too.

The dead body, we swiftly learn, belongs to Xavier, a famous pop star who arrives at the party by helicopter and whisks all the cool people back to his home for the titular soiree. Played by Dave Franco with just the right amount of cringe-inducing slime, he’s a wonderfully loathsome figure as he tries to hit on Zoë (Zoë Chao), now a teacher. That doesn’t exactly endear him to Aniq (Sam Richardson), an escape room designer who dreams of confessing his long-held feelings to school crush Zoe.

Aniq’s plans, though, aren’t helped by the distracting support of his old friend, Yasper (Ben Schwartz), who was once in a band with Xavier but now mostly works installing other people’s AV systems. Also present at the party are Ilana Glazer as the dishevelled Chelsea, the awkward outsider Walt (Jamie Demetriou), whom nobody can remember, and Zoe’s ex-husband, Brett (Ike Barinholtz). In other words, there’s no shortage of suspects to choose from, which prompts detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) to take each one aside to tell their version of events – less because she wants to solve the case and more because she just enjoys the gossip.

The result is an entertaining rogue’s gallery of stereotypes and suspicious sorts, and the cast are clearly having a ball as they each act as sinister as possible whenever they pop up in the background. But it quickly becomes clear that the murder mystery side of things isn’t Miller’s priority, as he knowingly thaws up absurd cliffhangers with every episode’s climax, preferring to lean into the laughs than the suspense.

The laughs, though, are often and inspired, partly thanks to the witty writing, which sends up each target genre with an onslaught absurdity – and Miller’s direction, which immerses us in the look and feel of everything from a glossy, warm rom-com to a blue-tinted action flick. Daniel Pemberton’s soundtrack doesn’t miss a beat either, juggling each tone seamlessly.

But it’s mostly thanks to the cast, who are all clearly game for the chance to play around with conventions – and, in the show’s best moments, complete change our perceptions of what their characters are like. Sam Richardson holds together the whole group as the sweet, goofy “adorkable” nerd and Zoe Chao has fun finding new sides to her arty creative. Ike Barinholtz, meanwhile, delivers a career-best turn as Brett, swaggering about in sunglasses and a Mark Wahlberg haircut – and even starting a peeing contest with Xavier – before undercutting it all with an intense, sweet fatherly concern (watch out for an inspired play on the word “koala”). Ben Schwartz is hysterical as the would-be music star, getting his own musical episode that includes two genuine bangers – Two Shots and Yeah, Sure, Whatever (by Jon Lajoie and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Jack Dolgen). In between them all is a scene-stealing John Early as Culp, Danner’s partner in crime-solving, while Tiffany Haddish grounds the whole thing as the world’s worst interviewer.

The result is a smart riff on the way that everyone’s individual biases and viewpoints colour their own memories and worldview, but most of all it’s an excuse for some very funny people to be funny all in the same room. Throw in a Saul Bass-worthy title sequence and you have Apple TV+’s answer to Only Murders in the Building – and, while this may not (based on the first three episodes) have the warmth and depth of that show, it’s got energy and imagination to spare.

 

The Afterparty is available on Apple TV+, as part of a £4.99 monthly subscription, with a seven-day free trial. For more information on Apple TV+ and how to get it, click here.

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