Search Party

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.

Series 5 is bizarre and Series 4 weak, but I still gave it 9 stars as Series 1-3 are brilliant and overall, it was one of the most addictive and entertaining shows I have seen in a while.

Great characters that are somehow horrifying and likeable in equal measure, plot twist after plot twist and very good acting. Really original!

IMDB insists I add more characters so I will also comment on Alia Shawkat. Her acting in particular stands out. The range of emotions she can portray is brilliant. A failure in Series 5 is the sudden changes to the main characters' personalities. However, Alia manages to pull it off and is pretty convincing as the tortured guru.

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.

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.

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.