The way to get noticed in the world of competitive streaming? Follow the Netflix model and/or the model that all up-and-comers take: spend a lot of money and hire popular creators, throw more money at them to get big casts and watch the critics flock to your service because they’ll feel obligated to cover the content. That’s basically what everyone is doing and what Apple TV+ has done with “The Afterparty”—hiring Phil Lord and Christoper Miller (the ‘Spiderverse’ and ‘Jump Street’ franchises) to create something that looks a little “Knives Out”-inspired. It’s a murder mystery with a “Rashomon”-like perspective whodunnit shift, set in the world of adults getting together again years later for a high school reunion.
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Oh, and it stars a stellar cast. “The Afterparty” features a who’s who of great comedic talent, Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Ben Schwartz, Ike Barinholtz, Ilana Glazer, Dave Franco, Jamie Demetriou, and John Early (from “Search Party”). Haddish, Schwartz, Richardson, Franco, Barinholtz, Glazer, Chao, Early, Lord, Miller? That sounds like something you don’t want to miss. Here’s the official synopsis:
The Afterparty is a murder-mystery comedy set at a high school reunion afterparty. Each of the eight episodes will feature a retelling of the same night told through a different character’s perspective, each with its own unique visual format and film genre to match the teller’s personality.
Honestly, Lord and Miller have yet to really let us down, and they’re known for taking premises that are seemingly old and stale and putting a wonderful, fun spin of them. So, while there are plenty of all-star ensemble-led streaming series hitting every month, “The Afterparty” might just be something special and unique.
There isn’t a release date yet, but this new teaser says the show will begin streaming in January 2022 on Apple TV+. Watch it below.