Search Party (2016–2022) User Reviews

Pure creative genius until the last season

[averesailles · 8/10 · 20 January 2022]

I could not get enough of season one through four. The characters are absolutely hilarious. Elliot's character may be one of the best characters ever created. The last season is cringe worthy, hard to watch and leaves you totally annoyed and disappointed. Just like the last season of GOT, the last season needs a rewrite.

Wish I stopped after season 3

[Nevergivea10 · 7/10 · 14 January 2022]

Seasons 1-3 deserve about a 7.5 rating. It is a dark satirical comedy about self absorbed millennials. Season 4 drops to about a 5. It's a little darker and less funny. I stopped watching season 5 after two episodes. It's like a different series. Once they added a robot boy, I was out.

I have never been less prepared to guess how a show would end based on the first season

[crryan-93110 · 8/10 · 8 January 2022]

Every season, in way, felt like a totally different show and a different genre. The main cast does such a great job working within those different genres and adapting their characters to them, and none better than Alia Shawcat. Dory became so many different people throughout the series, from altruist searching for a lost girl, to complete narcissist, murderer, Stolkholm syndrome victim, cult leader-and Alia Shawcat was so good at embodying each of those, while still being so distinctly Dory Seif.

The series has some weak points. Trying to make Julian a main character was so weird and poorly executed. All of season 4 (save for the last episode) was a bit of a snoozefest. Aspen in season 5 contributed nothing meaningful. Keeping up with Chantal's family was usually boring.

Overall, though, I enjoyed it a lot. The show keeps viewers on their feet and at no point does anything expected. From the first episode, which shows us a vaguely self-centered hipster deeply unsatisfied with life and searching for meaning, to the last episode, which shows us a well-meaning cult leader on the search for enlightenment get caught up a zombie apocalypse of her own creation, there is so much absurdity and hilarity that it can be hard to pause. The chemistry between the main cast is so fun to watch and consistently turns the most ridiculous scenes up to even higher levels of ridiculousness. The show is fun. The characters are awful, but you love to hate them. The storylines get messy, but you have to trust that it pays off.

SO good!!!

[erolsabadosh · 9/10 · 23 November 2016]

7 episodes in and I'm hooked! This show is absolutely HILARIOUS!!! The style of humour is somewhere between Broad City and Louis; it's quite dark and weird at times but also fun and irreverent. The cast is awesome, doing a really good job portraying characters who are deeply flawed and making them entertaining to watch. A lot of the comedy stems from making fun of them and the often ridiculous things they do but it's not mean spirited; the show has a real charm to it that makes it ideal for binge watching. Every episode adds another layer to the mystery and we watch the characters unravel and get into ever-increasingly bizarre situations that all had me laughing out loud and often cringing too. One of my new favourites!

Hilarious Original Comedy With Great Scripts

[ActorMan22 · 9/10 · 23 November 2016]

I have no idea what the other three reviewers were watching, but I truthfully could not stop laughing. I'm 51, so I doubt this show was aimed at my demographic (according to advertisers, the fact that I'm past the age of 49 means I either I don't exist or I don't consume, or both).My bete noir is bad scriptwriting, where every scene can be predicted, and the characters are one dimensional; this show didn't fall into that trap ONCE! After the first scene, I assumed that the Drew character, Dory's boyfriend, was a narcissistic simp, but as the first episode continued, he was shown to be an OK guy, who truly loves Dory, or at least, really cares for her. I have watched eight episodes on On Demand, each one is funny and touching; touching because Dory is such a vulnerable, relatable, 3 dimensional character. Give it time, and make sure you're actually watching "Search Party" and not the apparently horrible show the above reviewers watched.

It's coming back!

[doubleobird · 9/10 · 29 May 2020]

I fell in love with this show when it first aired and then after season two, nothing for years! Now we are getting two additional seasons from HBO Max. This show is so smart and unique. The characters are shallow and so selfish but you can't help but want to see what happens next. Alia Shawkat as Dory is amazing at portraying her characters guilt and struggles with the decisions that she has made. Just watch it! You won't regret it!

Maybe the darkest comedy series ever created.

[pridgeondesigngroup · 9/10 · 2 January 2021]

There have been dark comedies in the past but this is one of the most engaging. As you get deeper into the episodes the viewer is forced to examine their feelings about the characters they have grown to love and identify with. You pull for them to escape the punishment that they all deserve but should you? This series toys with your emotions, and you know what? I am finding that very enjoyable . As you are laughing out loud, your inner dialogue is asking, "should I be laughing at this?" Then you realize that you are laughing out loud, and that's rare these days.

If I were just reviewing seasons 1-3, it would be a 9 or 10

[manateefella · 6/10 · 1 April 2021]

The first 3 seasons are hilarious, inventive and, at times, genuinely suspenseful. Unfortunately, season 4 has one of the steepest quality drops I've ever experienced. Almost everything enjoyable about the show is altered, and every episode is an absolute slog. The focus shifts to a new, uninteresting and obnoxious character who undermines 3 seasons of development for the characters who the viewer has come to enjoy.

Such a catastrophic misstep in direction.

You will not see this show coming.

[adtshxc · 10/10 · 11 January 2022]

This show is the comedic Twin Peaks. If you can handle comedy at it's most ridiculous and are still able to take things at least relatively seriously when the stakes get higher, you will be invested in this show entirely.

No matter what youre expecting, your expectations will be exceeded. A superb modern comedy thriller series that went out while it was on top, in my eyes. HBO has a lot of top-tier content, but this will be my favorite for years to come. Above Westworld, Barry, Righteous Gemstones, you name it.

Was intriguing but skip Season 5

[SexyActorsJunkie · 7/10 · 31 January 2022]

The first episode of this series had my curiosity piqued, although right off the bat, I didn't care for the obviously shallow and phony characters of Elliot and Portia. At that point, I didn't quite get that this was supposed to be a dark comedy, I guess. Even so, I chose to keep watching more episodes as the story drew me in (but not necessarily the characters.) But yet I HAD to know what was going to happen next. So I binge watched all 5 seasons.

Although Season 1 is based on trying to find a missing woman, it's really what happens during the search that is intriguing.

The surprising season one ending where Keith gets killed was a great episode. The fallout from that act dominates Season 2, which was also great overall, even though we see Dory spiral more and more into someone who lies convincingly to others and maybe even to herself. Phoebe Tyers gave a fabulous performance as the unhinged neighbor April and her twin June. Dory winds up killing April because April threatens to expose the details of the murder of Keith. The show was still quirky and entertaining throughout Season 3.

Season 4 was pure psychological horror to watch, as Dory became Chip's prisoner. But the performance of Cole Escola as Chip is worth watching the entire series for- he's fantastic as the terrifyingly manipulative Chip.

Near the end of Season 4 of this show it becomes apparent that ideas were running out and it was time for jumping the shark when Dory dies and then envisions her own funeral. How on earth could the series come back from that kind of story arc, unless they had actually gotten rid of the main character Dory? Of course that wasn't going to fly so welcome to Season 5, the most annoying and outright ridiculous of all. Dory came back from being dead for 37 seconds and then has some sort of epiphany where she wants to spread love and healing to everyone in the world. She's clearly off her rocker and so is the entire storyline that follows. What REALLY angered me about Season 5 was SO much. I hated how Dory became a nauseatingly new age-ish guru, how incongruous 5 was to the other 4 seasons but even worse than that, the show had to sink so low into ending with a zombie apocalypse. Seriously?!?!?!!? Had I known that was going to be the way the series wound up, I would NEVER have watched this series at all. I didn't sign up for some brainless zombies-are-taking-over ending.

But why did I watch this series obsessively? Why should anyone? What's to like about it? In the end, it was for me the high quality of the acting which kept me engaged -and about being kept on the hook desperately wanting to know what would happen next. All the cast did a wonderful job with their respective roles, even if their characters were flawed individually in various ways. The many minor or background characters were also distinctive and entertaining, including Dory's lawyer and the prosecuting D. A. I just really hated Season 5 from the beginning of it and just slogged through it, unfortunately at that point wanting to get the series over with already. The final episode of the series was the worst of all and ultimately slapdash and unsatisfying.

Finding Dory

[bregund · 10/10 · 26 August 2017]

I think that some of the negative reviews of this show were a little harsh, of course these characters are ordinary, there's nothing special about any of them, that's the point. They're stuck in the millennial haze of social-media-obsessed society, and nothing they do seems genuine, to the point where Elliott's charity event seems superficial and disingenuous. So when the mystery of Chantal's disappearance gets dumped in Dory's lap, of course she's going to make more of it than it really is, and the results are ultimately hilarious. Dory's overactive imagination is the result of desperately looking for meaning in her life. How rare to find a show that makes you think, for once.

Update for season 2: I upgraded my rating for this show because season two is even better than season 1. This show proves what can happen when you focus on the writing, create compelling characters, and balance the unexpected or the absurd with the mundane. Every scene from season 2 is a gem; that whole cupcake scenario was brilliantly written and performed. At first glance the characters in this show appear to lack any depth, but all of them are working some angle for their own benefit. When Julian catches Dory coming out of her apartment and asks for her help, her reaction is priceless...she's dealing with some heavy issues but once she learns that Julian's boss is harassing him, she boldly asks if there's any way to get money out of it.

I finally found a new favorite show, and I can't wait for season three.

Good up until season 4

[betogotdajuice · 6/10 · 3 February 2021]

The show is decent, but took a nosedive season 4. First 3 seasons were a good mix of comedy and drama, but S4 is all about Dory and Chip's crazy asses and I just wanted it to be over.

First 2 seasons are good.

[You_PopCorn_ · 5/10 · 19 July 2022]

The first 2 seasons of this sitcom are really good.

The sound track is also really good.

The remaining seasons 3-5 are ridiculous & boring. The sitcom writers should be fired.

A breath of fresh air

[jyao-44116 · 9/10 · 23 November 2016]

If you go into this for a cookie-cutter Bones, SVU, CSI type show or constant one-liners you will be disappointed. The characters aren't meant to be likable, but serve to rustle up emotions like annoyance and frustration. The brilliance of this show is its commentary on what it means to search for meaning, fulfillment, and actualization in a post-modernist society. The jokes are subtle and character based. There is a heady dose of nihilism, which is done in a style unlike any other show I've seen, and it's deeply existentialist. This show serves as a mirror into our own lives. That's the kind of mindset it should be viewed in--don't expect to like the characters or a mystery.

One of the most refreshing shows this fall

[hardflopy · 9/10 · 23 November 2016]

I usually do not bother to write a review and leave that to others, but every single review I found on this here was negative and in no way representative of how people I know perceived this show. I seriously question the (lack of) taste of the previous reviewers. If this is not your genre than don't review it.

I am TV show addict and am always on the look out for something new, something that puts my mind in motion and moves me or something that just makes me laugh. Stumbled across "Search Party" yesterday and binge watched all available episodes. It's a refreshing take on dark comedy. The casting here is phenomenal and so is the script and story.

The main character is portrayed by Alia Shawkat, which you should remember from the classic "Arrested Development". She's grown up now, and her acting has grown with her. This is definitely one of her best performances. I could talk about the rest of the cast here but this review would get too long. Rest assured they live up to the standards set by Alia.

In a nutshell I would summarize this show as an inside look at American culture of this generation. The main character is in search of herself, and I don't think the "friends" she has are helping her move forward. An old college acquaintance goes missing and she takes it upon herself to figure out what happened to her (in order to fill a void in her own life). That's it! A simple proposition that generates a lot of interesting and funny situations. The characters in this show are hilarious ranging from the uber-gay, the fake, two faced, and the paranoid.

I strongly advise you give this a try and form your own opinion. I can assure you that this is a well worth addition to the fall TV scheduling. Probably one the most refreshing and stylish shows this season. Can't wait for the next episode. Enjoy!

Compelling Mystery and Main Character

[violettesla · 10/10 · 22 November 2016]

Search Party isn't a non-stop laughfest, nor is it a dreary ID crime investigation, and it certainly isn't a perfect blend of the two. What it is, however, is a realistic journey of self-trust.

This isn't a show where the main character is a genius and can link clues at a rapid pace or where a team of expert analysts know exactly where to find the next missing piece. This is a show where an everyday woman with nothing to lose puts herself in charge of her own life and throws everything she has into this mystery.

Each episode doesn't give leaps and bounds of clues for the mystery, like investigations in the real-world. Dory is an everyday woman, and Search Party follows her personal conspiracy and investigation in a real-to-life pace.

The characters are flawed, just like real people, and if you find them distasteful it's because they were written to be that way. The whole opening theme is that Dory finds herself stuck in life. Stuck with a dead-end job, stuck with lackluster friends, and stuck with a unsatisfactory boyfriend, but the one thing she does have, (as another character notes), is this conspiracy of a girl from her past who goes missing.

If you want an action show watch Hawaii Five-0, if you want a comedy watch Angie Tribeca, but if you want a realistic underdog story this is the show for you. You're not supposed to be recovering minute-to-minute from drama or laughter, real people don't have that every waking moment of every single day, you're slugging it out with Alia Shawkat (who SHINES) and witnessing Dory make something out of herself.

It's a must watch!

[zarahperenoss · 9/10 · 18 January 2019]

It's hard to see the humour at first, through all that darkness, but after a couple of episodes, it is savage. There's no holds barred in it's criticism of modern narcissism, shallowness and fakery as this gang of self-absorbed twenty somethings play Nancy Drew.

Dark meta-comedy on millennial self-absorption

[Hughmanity · 7/10 · 15 July 2021]

Search Party's comedy stems from the exploration of four friends' millennial-themed need for attention and external validation. They each go down their own unique path of moral decay while desperately seeking to turn their personal narrative into something meaningful, with the possible exception of Drew who just wants a boring and steady life.

The social currency of victimhood and their attempts to either cast themselves in the victim role or affiliate themselves with victims is particularly poignant. The interaction between the friends as their victim narratives come into conflict with each other is brilliant meta commentary.

In juxtaposition to all the narcissism is the overwhelming guilt that each character feels for their actions, which drive a range of emotions from self-loathing to a rabbit hole of temporary insanity. This may not sound like a "comedy" but the show finds a good balance between the laughs and the darkness that is slowly overwhelming them.

I really enjoyed seasons 1-3 as the show found intelligent ways to evolve the storyline, characterization and social dynamics between the group of four. Unfortunately, Season 4 was a disappointing drop off. With the lead character no longer in a position to play off the other three, and instead stuck with someone not nearly as fun, it was mostly a joyless slog.

The show was renewed for Season 5 so I hope it can return to former heights with a reunion of the gang of four.

Update: Season 5 is also terrible. The show has jumped the shark in every way from plot to dialogue, sets to costumes. I watched about half the season and couldn't do it anymore, sad that a once really good show is now just painful.

Excellent

[jasonaball · 10/10 · 26 January 2021]

This is what television should be. Absolutely addictive. Smart story. And absolutely fun with an Amazing cast.

did no one else notice

[joelkydd · 6/10 · 15 February 2021]

Why is the show about a murder in Canada is on trial in New York?

It's insane and I love it.

[niko1990 · 8/10 · 28 February 2022]

I started watching this show because I thought it would be an easy background show to put on. At first I wasn't sure about the characters but stuck with it out of plot curiosity. But as each season passed it became more and more absurd and I completely fell into it. It is unpredictable, very dark yet light, smart yet ridiculously stupid, and made me laugh til I cried. I have never seen anything quite like it. If you have a quirkier mind and sense of humour, I think you'll eat this up.

Probably should've quit at the end of Season 3

[ben-82146 · 6/10 · 7 January 2023]

The first three seasons are fantastically addictive. The plot twists are engaging and impossible to predict; the satirical humour is on-point; and the characters are overt caricatures - but somehow loveable, relatable and endearing.

Season 4 starts to teeter as the plot begins to strain and stretch to stay relevant to the previous three, and the trademark humour of the previous seasons wanes.

Season 5 - wtf? It's as though the writers completely threw out the previous four seasons and wrote something entirely different from scratch. The characters seem to undergo a complete reset and the storyline has virtually nothing in common with the past seasons.

To be frank, the last season is a real let-down that ruins the fantastic build-up of Seasons 1-3. The series should probably have ended at Season 4, or maybe even Season 3.

Started off good and then went horribly wrong.

[fsu1985 · 5/10 · 9 February 2021]

The first 3 seasons were pretty good. Tense at times, funny at times with great characters. Then there was the fourth season. TOTAL STUPIDITY! Midway thru the 4th season I started wishing it was over. Then I started fast forwarding to hurry up and finish it. I would say watch thru the third season and then use your imagination.

Sooo goood!!

[awesomexxxgirl · 9/10 · 22 January 2021]

Love it sooo much soo underrated definitely worth a watch the twists never ends love the dark humor

Hipster-heavy Whimsy

[kaideneve · 8/10 · 6 February 2022]

Just finished watching the final season and can finally give a comprehensive review. Right from the start, it's apparent that this series was made by an east coast hipster crowd. I'm not complaining at all as I enjoyed the characters and the soundtrack was great. The script, although ultra ridiculous, really cracked me up at points. If you're into fashion at all though you might get suspicious as to why these broke 20-somethings with nary a job are decked out in high-level designer clothing (Elliott being the worst offender). Gotta call out the costume department on that one.

Towards the end the storyline was reaaally reaching, but still maintained the silly nonsensical vibe, and as long as you don't take it too seriously, it's a good time. Solid 7 generous 8.