In the dark comedy/mystery tradition of “Knives Out” and “The White Lotus” and “Only Murders in the Building” and you could throw in “The Flight Attendant” and quite a few others in there as well, Season 1 of the Apple TV+ series “The Afterparty” kicked off with a murder of a pop star in the aftermath of a high school reunion in Marin County, and then doubled back as a number of prime suspects recounted events from their point of view. Each episode took on the style of a particular genre, from action movie to musical to animation to teen drama to police procedural. Think “Rashomon” meets affectionate genre parody meets Agatha Christie.
It was a clever premise, and thanks to the creative drive of showrunner Christopher Miller (“The Lego Movie,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”) and the wildly talented cast, nearly every episode was a gem. Now comes Season 2, which follows the same format and features a handful of recurring characters and a cast brimming with familiar and enjoyable comedic talents. While it’s a little bit more of a hit-and-miss effort than the premiere season, the sophomore season of “The Afterparty” is still well worth attending.
