The Afterparty's Sam Richardson And Zoë Chao Tease Season 2's 'High Stakes' And Twisty New Murder Mystery
The next time Zoe and Aniq dress to the nines for a formal event, they should really consider skipping The Afterparty.
Apple TV+'s murder mystery comedy returns Wednesday, July 12 with its first two episodes, and no surprise here: Season 2 is deadlier than ever. After attending Zoe's (Zoë Chao) sister's wedding, she and Aniq (Sam Richardson) find themselves smack dab in the middle of another murder scene when the groom (Zach Woods) is poisoned and the guests are left to piece together the night's events. Luckily, the new couple knows exactly who to call to help them nail the guilty party.
"The stakes are high!" Chao tells TVLine. "Zoe's family has become suspects, and Zoe, Aniq and Danner scramble to figure out whodunnit."
And this time, sparks aren't just flying between Zoe and Aniq; they've gone ahead and made things official as a couple. The cherry on top: This wedding weekend-gone-wrong serves as Aniq's very first introduction to Zoe's mom and dad (played by Ken Jeong and Vivian Wu). Tiffany Haddish's Danner is, of course, back to help crack the case, only she's a tad more suspicious of Zoe's family than Aniq. The investigation eventually puts him in an extremely uncomfortable position... because no one gets to leave this afterparty without an in-depth interview and some strict scrutiny. Not even the bride, Grace (Poppy Liu), or the women's parents.
"At the end of Season 1, we see that Zoe and Aniq have rekindled, or sort of kindled [Laughs] and we're hoping they allow themselves to fall in love," teases Chao.
Richardson can't help but laugh himself at Chao's very broad, very hesitant description of their characters' relationship. "'At the end of Season 1, they come together, so then here we are in Season 2!'" he says, jokingly paraphrasing his costar.
While we can't spill too many specifics just yet, the actors did clue us in on what to expect from the second season's 10-episode run. Just like last time, the series will dabble in various genres and filming styles, delivering a different guest's story each episode to get his or her perspective of the night in question.
"I loved the period genres we got to play," says Chao. "There's Hitchcock, film noir, a Jane Austen episode... in Season 2 we got to go further into these genres with wigs and costumes. That was just such a delight. And figuring out who your character is from 10 different angles and the perception of your character from 10 [other] characters is a unique exercise."
"Everything is really fun, visually and thematically," adds Richardson. "Some cool costumes come up in this, especially in the Jane Austen episode."
As seen in the Season 2 trailer, Danner promptly begins grilling the guests for their "mind movies," as flashes of different genres flood the screen, from the aforementioned period pieces to horror, epic adventures, romance and more.
"I love the Hitchcock paranoid gaslighting thriller," says executive producer Phil Lord. "[There's] three-strip technicolor. I love the aspect ratio change. There's split diopter shots in it and some great lighting gags. I just like the texture of how that episode's put together, and it's a great showcase for Elizabeth Perkins [who plays the deceased groom's mother], who puts just enough spin on the ball to let you know she's in on the joke."
Anna Konkle (PEN15) is another new cast member who gets her own spotlight episode. She plays Hannah, the dead guy's sister, in an episode that feels just like a Wes Anderson short film. It's also one that creator Chris Miller calls "really special."
"Pulling off something like that is much harder than it looks," he says. "The fact that we were able to do a little stop motion bit in there was really fun, and getting to do little maquettes of all the characters in that was really charming and delightful. And Anna Konkle is really engaging. You can't take your eyes off of her. You're with her in that journey."
Intrigued to see what The Afterparty is serving up for its second course? Let us know if you'll be watching by dropping a comment below.