The Afterparty Season 2 Trailer: The Genre-Bending Murder Mystery Is Back For Another Round
Don't call it a sequel! Christopher Miller and Phil Lord's "The Afterparty" debuted on Apple TV+ in early January of 2022, immediately charming viewers and critics alike with its hilarious and whip-smart writing, an ensemble cast of all-stars who brought all sorts of depth and humor to their roles, and a clever premise that allowed for each episode to take massive risks in form and genre on its way to figuring out who actually was the murderer at the eponymous afterparty. It was such a clear hit, in fact, that it almost felt like a waste to think that any future season could bring in a whole new cast — with the exception of Tiffany Haddish's Poirot-like Detective Danner, of course — for a whole new crime.
Well, Miller, Lord, and their team of writers clearly felt the same way because (some of) the gang is back together again, reunited by another death. This time, instead of Dave Franco's obnoxious Xavier ending up dead at his own high school reunion afterparty, season 2 goes back to the classic setup of a murder at a wedding. Is it a little hard to believe that any of the same group of friends would coincidentally wind up at the wrong place at the wrong time for another major whodunnit? Yeah! But do we really care when Sam Richardson's Aniq and Zoë Chao's Zoë were such standout highlights the first time around? Not one bit!
Check out the new trailer for season 2 below.
Another season, another death in The Afterparty season 2 trailer
Here we go again. Putting a new twist on "Til death do we part," "The Afterparty" season 2 shifts the setting from a hacky playboy's mansion to an idyllic wedding, where the groom ends up murdered and everyone on the guest list — all with convenient motives to see him dead, of course — becomes a suspect. Unsurprisingly, it looks like a total riot.
Season 2 follows the same framework established in season 1, which took a "Rashomon"-like approach to reliving the same fateful night through the eyes of multiple characters. But the brilliant twist, of course, meant that everyone filtered their recollections through their unique personalities, leading to a new genre and a fresh visual language implemented with each episode. In last year's debut season, that included episodes told through the lens of an action movie, an extravagant musical, a psychological thriller, an animated episode, and, of course, a typical "NCIS"/"Law & Order" spoof. Based on the trailer for season 2, however, we can expect an even more expanded storytelling approach featuring what looks like an ode to '80s Hong Kong cinema, a black-and-white neo-noir, and even a riff on Wes Anderson movies.
"The Afterparty" season 2 sees Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, and Zoë Chao all reprising their original roles alongside John Cho, Paul Walter Hauser, Ken Jeong, Anna Konkle, Poppy Liu, Elizabeth Perkins, Jack Whitehall, Zach Woods, and Vivian Wu. It will debut on Apple TV+ on July 12, 2023.
In season 2, a wedding is ruined when the groom is murdered and every guest is a suspect. Detective Danner (Haddish) returns to help Aniq (Richardson) and Zoë (Chao) solve whodunnit by questioning family members, star-crossed lovers and business partners, and hearing each suspect's retelling of the weekend, each with their own unique perspective and visual style.