HBO Max has a variety of comedy series that have done remarkably well with audiences, including Veep, The Righteous Gemstones (which just revealed Season 2’s mastermind) and Curb Your Enthusiasm. But one series that’s consistently overlooked is Search Party, which finished its five-season run in January. Many HBO Max viewers don’t seem aware the series even exists, making the dark comedy the most underrated series on the streaming service.
Search Party has the ability to reach “cult classic” status because the show has an amazing cast, including Alia Shawkat, John Reynolds, John Early, Meredith Hagnar and Brandon Micheal Hall. The plot of Season 1 starts when a group of 20-somethings band together to find an old college friend after discovering she’s gone missing. The protagonist of the series is Dory Sief (played by Shawkat), who’s the unofficial leader of the search. Soon into the series, her character completely transforms and falls right off the rails.
One of the most interesting and entertaining parts of the show is that unraveling. In Season 1, Dory’s just another young woman living in New York, trying to make ends meet at a job that brings her no fulfillment. Her romantic relationship is lacking, too, since the connection between her and Drew is portrayed as incredibly awkward and mismatched. The search for Chantal brings excitement into Dory’s otherwise dreary life, making her mild interest shift into obsession. Similar to the villainous descent of Breaking Bad‘s Walter White, Dory turns into a self-absorbed egomaniac.
As Search Party goes on, she continues to seek dangerous situations even when the rest of the cast tries to stop her. Every decision she makes strongly increases the detriment to their lives. She eventually becomes drunk with power, wanting to play the puppet master to those around her. All of this blows up in her face when there’s a drastic — and horrifying — change for her in Season 4, throwing audiences for a loop and making the story much darker than before. At that point, Search Party balances terror and comedy similar to the movie The Truman Show. Dory ultimately dug a grave for herself in the first three seasons, ensuring that no one seemed to care that her life became a living nightmare by Season 4.
The other characters in Search Party each have their moment to shine, too. Each character has a quirky trait, making them entertaining to watch as they reach their own ultimate levels of fame — and then drastically succumb to similar levels of self-absorption and self-sabotage as Dory. Although her decisions directly impact them, they still don’t take accountability for their shortcomings, shouldering Dory with all the blame. The dynamic is interesting to watch unfold as Dory’s shame leads her to psychotic breaks. Their scapegoating techniques also add to her villainous progression in the show, rivaling other self-sabotaging protagonists.
Search Party is a wild ride filled with funny characters, psychologically thrilling storylines and genuinely horrifying moments. Since the series is complete, that makes it the perfect binge-worthy comedy for viewers who need a new obsession — just like Dory.
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