Genre-Bending Comedy The Afterparty Is the Next Show You Should All Be Watching
The Afterparty is the latest Apple TV+ comedy that has put its hooks into me and refuses to let go. The show, created by Christopher Miller, follows a group of friends attending their high school reunion but when their pop star former classmate ends up dead, they each have to be interviewed by a detective (Tiffany Haddish) and her partner (John Early).
Not only is the show funny and clever, but we also have an all-star cast to keep us entertained. With Sam Richardson, Ben Schwartz, Ilana Glazer, Ike Barinholtz, and more, the cast is stacked with our comedy favorites bringing us their all while still making their characters completely real in their own stories. Because the twist is that each character has a different view of the events of Xavier’s (Dave Franco) death.
What makes this show so fascinating is the fact that every “interview” is a different genre.
Playing with genre
Each episode takes us on a story for the character in question. We start with Aniq (Richardson) and his romantic comedy, telling of his night at the reunion with Zoe (Zoë Chao). His episode is filled with romanticized versions of the night and reconnecting with an old crush. But then, when we get Brett’s telling of the night (played by Ike Barinholtz), and his is more in the world of The Fast and the Furious movies, it’s clear that each person has a movie in their head about what happened.
From Yasper’s (Schwartz) musical movie to Chelsea’s (Glazer) and her David Fincher-inspired story, each episode brings us a new look at the case through someone else’s cinematic frame of mind, and it is fascinating not only to see how the characters view each other but how the different style of storytelling helps to push the narrative forward.
It came full-circle last week with Chelsea’s story. In the first three episodes, she was seen as their “mess” of a friend who was a drunk and who could barely keep herself together. In fact, they sort of shrugged her off for the most part because of her relationship with Brett (who cheated on Zoe with Chelsea if Chelsea’s version of events is to be believed), so when we finally did get Chelsea’s story, it was clear she isn’t the “mess” they all saw her as. She, instead, was coming after Xavier for revenge for something that happened at a party years ago that seemingly ruined her life, but as she tells the detective, she chickened out.
All of this to say that the use of swapping genres in the show gives us intricate looks into each of these characters and their relationships with the others around them while also helping us build our own theories about who is responsible for killing Xavier.
Christopher Miller and company have captured magic in The Afterparty and have audiences on the edge of their seats with each new episode. I can’t wait to see what other genres the series tackles and where we’re headed and, until then, I’m just along for this wonderfully fun ride.
(image: Apple TV+)
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