The Afterparty S2 review: Apple's whodunnit keeps you on the edge of your seat

• 📺 Where to watch The Afterparty Season 2: Apple TV+ from 12 July - launching with two episodes
  

• ⭐️ Our rating: 4/5
  

• 🍿 Watch it if you liked: Knives Out, Knives Out 2: The Glass Onion, Clue, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile
  

• 🎭 Who's in it?: Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Zoe Chao, Paul Walter Hauser, Elizabeth Perkins, Ken Jeong, Jack Whitehall, John Cho, Poppy Liu and Anna Konkle
  

• ⏰ How long is it? 9 x 40 minute episodes
  

• 📖 What’s it about? With the murder of tech mogul Edgar Minnows (Zach Woods) casting a pail over his marriage to Zoe's (Zoe Chao) sister Grace (Poppy Liu). Aniq (Sam Richardson) decides to call in Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) before the perpetrator can make their exit.

Lacking in life signs on every level, Edgar Minnows (Zach Woods) opens season 2 of The Afterparty still suited and booted in his wedding bed.

With both eyes open but most definitely deceased, his widow Grace (Poppy Liu) is busy screaming the place down while a house full of family members wait in earnest for the arrival of Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish).

Read more: John Cho says Hollywood is opening up to Asian actors as 'part of a larger trend'

Just as creator Chris Miller did with his opening season, audiences soon find themselves in a classic murder mystery, seeking out clues and questioning suspects as puzzle pieces slowly come together.

However, instead of petty rivalry pushing people to commit murder at a high school reunion, this time Aniq (Sam Richardson) teams up with Detective Danner to systematically question family members over motive.

Whether that might be Grace’s ex-boyfriend Travis (Paul Walter Hauser), who fancies himself quite the private investigator, or Edgar’s suave business partner Sebastian (Jack Whitehall) with all that charm but no substance — it seems everyone has a reason for wanting Edgar dead.

It's a fact which never forces Chris Miller to do anything other than keep audiences guessing, as each episode plays out the same events in flashback. However, every fresh interrogation brings with it another cinematic homage, as film noir makes way for costume drama, before segueing subtly into more specific examples from certain mainstream directors.

Either way, his approach to the whodunnit ensures this sophomore season succeeds without falling back on tried and tested tropes, or better yet giving them a complete movie centric makeover.

Leading the charge as Detective Danner, Tiffany Haddish is still a powerhouse performer in her element, while Sam Richardson effortlessly slips back into character creating a tag team chemistry that gives Aniq more substance.

Read more: Jack Whitehall is terrible at keeping secrets

Elsewhere, Jack Whitehall equips himself well as oily business partner Sebastian, giving his creation equal amounts of roguish masculinity alongside that full on charm offensive. Wooing and wowing anyone in his eyeline, while his only competition on the flamboyancy front is Jon Cho’s Ulysses — a new age family member with all the charisma of a matinee idol.

As the levels of invention continue unabated and Detective Danner gets closer to catching her culprit, every indication points towards a third season, as The Afterparty mark two deviates just enough to keep audiences wanting an encore.

The Afterparty season 2 is available to stream on Apple TV+ from 12 July with two episodes, and new episodes weekly on Wednesdays.