The Afterparty

There are a lot of moving pieces in The Afterparty and under the guidance of Miller, he makes it all look effortless. With its remarkably clever casting, its genre-jumping style, and hilarious comedy mixed with an exciting mystery, The Afterparty shows that nothing is too difficult for Lord and Miller to accomplish in what is already one of the best TV debuts of 2022.

The show makes excellent use of physical comedy and visual gags throughout its run, and the scripts are filled with lighthearted shenanigans that at times feel reminiscent of Psych, the long-running USA series that also experimented with style and excelled at bringing humor to the murder mystery genre while examining its lead’s arrested development.

There’s satisfying dexterity to the conceit, though “The Afterparty” still reads as subdued compared with other productions bearing the Lord & Miller name.

Television is often discussed as a collaborative medium, but few programs take full advantage of each employed artist. Like any good shindig, “The Afterparty” depends on every person involved to bring their best stuff, and then together, they turn it out.

With this must-watch series, Chris Miller and Phil Lord prove once again that they're amongst the most exciting storytellers working today.

The show carefully calibrates shtick and insight. “Tell the story a certain way,” Zoë says to Danner, solemnly, “and any one of us could’ve done this. But tell the story in a different way, and none of us did this.” Lines like that—blatant exposition, not of plot but of premise—could easily wear thin. But just as the show starts to seem overly enamored of its conceit, it remembers its own genre: comedy.

I’m loving “The Afterparty” on Apple TV+ for its playful approach to the whodunit. ... The cast also makes it fly, not surprisingly, with Tiffany Haddish, Ilana Glazer, Dave Franco, and Ike Barinholtz in the mix. Ben Schwartz — he was Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on “Parks and Recreation” — is joyfully nuts, with a song-and-dance episode that elevates the whole series.

Given that A-list talent, it’s not as consistently funny as one might expect, but there’s simple joy in watching these people do what they do so well on a program that’s buoyant, funny, and engaging.

An exceedingly delightful, cleverly constructed, adeptly acted comedy-mystery set around a 15-year high school reunion.

Within its limited lane, The Afterparty delivers. It’s pure, lively, slapstick fun.

The mystery’s at least fun to unpack along the way as each character lets slip something new. And for as much as the format trickery forms the spine of “The Afterparty,” the show becomes more intriguing and much funnier than it might’ve been thanks to the sharp actors embodying each different genre.

Lord and Miller are among the most reliable names in the business for whip-smart meta-comedy, and this playlist-on-shuffle of genres so far seems to be up there with their best work — with a head-scratcher of a murder mystery to boot.

It’s smart, with thoughtful ideas to offer those who feel like engaging with them — but it’s concerned first and foremost with having a good time.

Some techniques play out better than others; Zoe’s 2D animated story is a swing and miss. On balance, though, “The Afterparty” is a witty satirical experiment so entertaining I’d be in favor a second season with a whole new reunion-murder.

It’s a compelling mashup of tropes not only on an episode level but on a character level, because the show is also playing around with high school archetypes; maybe the bully isn’t as aggro as everyone assumed, and maybe the frazzled one-time ace student hasn’t gone entirely off the deep end in adulthood.

Musical and animated gags are particularly well-executed, with canny lighting cues and hair, makeup and costume variations throughout. In both subtle and outrageous ways, “The Afterparty” is an enjoyable act of doing the same thing over as differently as possible — as best as you can get away with it.

More situationally and character-driven funny than jokey funny, “The Afterparty” offers a decent enough blend of humor and mystery.