Search Party (2016)

E! | TBS | HBO Max | Release Date: November 21, 2016

8.2	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 26 Ratings

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DelayedReviewsJan 30, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you must, watch the show until they find Chantal and save yourself the trouble after. Then go watch Only Murders in The Building to rinse your brain of the garbage pile you had to endure. Currently finishing Season 3 and it has become a guilty pleasure dumpster fire. Since Episode 1 I cared for none of the characters. The actors tried really hard to give life to the characters, but none of them actually learn anything or experience any major change THROUGH THREE SEASONS.

Whenever there is a dramatic montage, the inspirations for it are way too obvious. Seeing the ghost of someone you killed/falling slow-mo into water, it's all been done before, and done better than how this show executed it. When Dory gets in some sort of mental breakdown, it happens so much, and plot never develops through them, so I roll my eyes. This isn't arrested development or a family sitcom where each new episode is the start of a new loop. The plot is constantly moving, yet none of the characters learn in any way, and people keep getting away with things. Whenever the stakes were raised, it's abruptly brought back down. After season 2, it feels like the writers did not even suspect the show to last any longer, because every episode in season 3 feels like the writers only wrote one episode at a time without planning the next one out beforehand. Around Season 3, the joke writing became so lazy, they are cringe-worthy. The jokes do not fully come off as written by out-of-touch boomers, but do not fare much better. Every minor character seems two dimensional and trope-y. I started yelling at every character for not learning anything and every character for being generally frustrating. I don't need to like anyone, but give me a reason to keep watching. There are some fun cameos here and there, but they end up feeling like mere distractions. In summary, the cinematography is uninspired, the characters are all bumbling idiots, no one learns a thing, I don't know how this is reviewed so highly or got 5 seasons, when Kimmy Schmidt, Ozark, and Russian Doll are all way better and have less seasons. What a dumpster fire of a show. Were the writers blackmailed into working on this show? Oh and I just remembered, when Drew was learning Chinese on an app to work in Shanghai, the voice actor they hired for the Chinese app obviously didn't speak Chinese. You'd think the writers would know one Chinese person in their circles to offer some insight on Shanghai-ese or at least decent Mandarin.

In today's age where there are so many quality tv shows of all genres, Search Party is a complete waste of time, devoid of substance. I never actually devoted my time into this show exclusively while watching it, and I am very glad I did not. Watch Atlanta. Watch Euphoria. Watch Brooklyn 99. Watch Curb. Killing Eve. Hell, I'd put 13 Reasons Why over this mess.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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truerockJan 10, 2022

I've completed watching all 5 seasons of Search Party.
Again, I find the casting to be among the best efforts I have experienced.
Casting directors Gayle Keller, Seth White, Cody Beke did exceptional work. The acting, directing, writing,I've completed watching all 5 seasons of Search Party.
Again, I find the casting to be among the best efforts I have experienced.
Casting directors Gayle Keller, Seth White, Cody Beke did exceptional work.
The acting, directing, writing, costumes, makeup, etc all came together to result in one of the most satisfying serious I have ever experienced.
I always find it hard to give comedies high ratings - but, I'm rating this series a 9 which I believe is probably the highest rating I have ever given a film of this genre.

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I am in the middle of season 3 and I have returned for the second time to raise my rating. I almost never rate any film - and definitely not comedies as high as a 9. The casting and directing of Search Party blows me away. This is one of the very few series I have rated as high as a 9. Acting and writing are solid 7s to 8s.

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Search Party is a sit-com involving a group of gen-z friends searching for a missing friend. I had never thought I would watch this series - but, it consistently gets favorable reviews - so, I watched season 1.

The casting is very good and makes me wonder why so many films have such bad casting.
Gayle Keller was the casting director and, in my opinion, she is one of the prime reasons Search Party is of such high quality. Seth White, Cody Beke continued the excellent casting in seasons 2 through 5.

Regardless, the good acting and good writing mesh well and make for some entertaining distraction.

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I'm halfway through season 3 and I came back to Metacritic to raise my rating from 7 to 8 - primarily on the strength of the directing.
But, the casting continues to empress me. In a scene near the end of season 3, episode 3 there is a meeting of 21 women. I re-watched the scene a couple of times because there was exactly 1 actor who was bad. She didn't have a speaking part - but, she stood out so much because she was surrounded by well cast actors. The bad actor was just sitting there doing absolutely nothing and almost ruined the scene.
I think casting directors think they can slip bad actors into a film and it won't make too much of a difference - but, it does.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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infinJul 11, 2020

This show is brilliant, outrageous and hilarious. It beautifully encapsulates the tragic narcissism of self-obsessed millennial types. There is even a gay wedding with the theme: Attention. Don't miss this show!