Have you binged through Barry? Finally finished Girls? Watched all of Breaking Bad for the 900th time? May we recommend an underrated TV series that combines them all and then some?
Search Party aired on TBS for two 10-episode seasons, crafting a suspense-filled murder mystery at a breakneck pace — while still being riotously funny in the process. The cast, featuring comedy vets like Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) and John Early (Late Night), is aces. The contrasting tones are deftly handled by showrunners Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers (Fort Tilden) and co-creator Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer). And yet, not enough people watched it, even with TBS’s unorthodox distribution method of programming each season in bingeable marathons. The comedy network ordered a new season in 2018, and we’ve heard no further updates until now: Season 3 of Search Party is moving to HBO Max, the upcoming premium streaming service. And they’re getting a season 4, too!
Image via Warner Bros. Television Distribution
For Kevin Reilly, chief content officer of HBO Max, acquiring Search Party was a no-brainer. The show always did better in digital platforms with younger audiences. By moving to an exclusively digital network, Reilly believes “we have the unique opportunity to continue this brilliant, acclaimed series and connect with even more of the younger, digital natives who have worshipped it the most.” Bliss and Rogers are similarly excited, saying, “You’re going to love the two new seasons, but if for some reason you don’t, then you’ll get your subscription fee back. Actually, that’s not true. That’s a joke. We don’t have that kind of power.” Okay, that might be a joke, but do they have the power to make Netflix stop asking me if I can skip the intro? I always wanna watch the intro, Netflix!
If the jaw-dropping plotting of seasons 1 and 2 are any indication, season 3 will likely take the self-obsessed, in-over-their-heads heroes (anti-heroes?) of Search Party into unpredictable directions. Plus, they’re adding Louie Anderson, who won an Emmy for his gender-bending role on FX’s Baskets, as a sweet but simple lawyer, and that just sounds perfect. Check out the official synopsis below, and get ready to stream the heck out of this addictive series when it comes to HBO Max.
Season three finds the gang swept up in the trial of the century after Dory and Drew are charged for the semi-accidental murder of a private investigator. As Elliott and Portia grapple with whether or not to testify as witnesses, the friends are pitted against each other and thrust into the national spotlight as notorious public figures. As Dory’s sanity begins to fracture, it becomes increasingly clear that they may not have brunch together for quite some time.
For more on Search Party, check out our season 2 review from all the way back in 2017.
