Search Party

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.

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.

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.

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.