TBS' 'Search Party' is Ambitious While Searching for Itself

With the first season of HBO's new hit drama "Westworld" coming to a close in a few weeks, it's clear now that its creators, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, made the sci-fi western to feed the Internet's fervent hunger (namely Reddit users) for those who want to watch TV to solve puzzles and mysteries.

The recent wave of true crime series and even fictional crime show like "True Detective" and "The Night Of," showed there is a large group of TV watchers who seek entertainment in solving (real and fictional) murders and crimes from their sofas and behind their keyboards. Just this week it was reported Brendan Dassey, one of the subjects of Netflix's wildly popular "Making a Murder" docu-series, may be released from prison after receiving a life sentence for his involvement of the murder of Teresa Halbach. Adnan Syed, the subject of Season 1 of the "Serial," was recently granted a new trial after the podcast became a national phenomenon.

That social media and Reddit sleuths had a hand in shaping the cases of Dassey and Syed is clear. Over the last few years, Internet users also played a part in solving other crimes that did not grab national headlines. Becoming obsessed with a real life murder mystery, or dedicating your free time to figuring out what the hell is going on with "Westworld," is something of a sport in 2016 and it's what makes TBS' new comedy "Search Party" a delight.

However those coming to "Search Party" to engage in a show like "Westworld" will be very disappointed.. Created by Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers (co-directors and co-writers of the 2014 comedy "Fort Tilden") and Michael Showalter ("Wet Hot American Summer") "Search Party" invites Internet detectives: A group of friends become entangled in a mystery involving the disappearance of a former college acquaintance.

Unlike the "Westworld" or "Making a Murderer" sub-Reddit pages, which are flooded with fan theories and speculations, it's doubtful "Search Party" will garner up the same kind of speculative attention. That's because the series uses the mystery as a plot device. At it's core, "Search Party" isn't about trying to find a missing millennial, it's about getting to know the relationships between self-absorbed twenty-somethings, who they are and why they want to find Chantal.

Spearheading the search party for Chantal is Dory (Alia Shawkat), an aimless but cute wallflower. She, along with her doofus live-in boyfriend Drew (John Reynolds), and her BFFs, the bubbly actress Portia (Meredith Hanger) and gay hipster-elite Elliot (John Early), went to college with Chantal -- except they don't really know her; they know of her.

The gang's non-existent relationship doesn't stop them from personalizing the tragedy, however. After first learning of Chantal's disappearance, Elliot scoffs, telling a bitchy anecdote about the only interaction he's probably ever had with her. He then pulls out his phone and tweets about how devastated he is about his missing "close friend," sparking followers to offer their condolences.

This scene captures what "Search Party" does best: The comedy is like "Girls" meets the "The Babysitters Club." Set in Brooklyn, the self-involved hipsters manage to make light of Chantal's vanishing but use it to their benefit at every turn - whether its in a social situation to draw pity out of acquaintances or to further their careers.

Dory's determined plight to find Chantal carries a lot of emotional weight. Dory works a dead-end job as a personal assistant to a wealthy and lonely Upper West Side woman played by Christine Taylor. She's not satisfied with her relationship with Drew and is looking for a purpose. Bringing Chantal home, despite not even knowing her middle name, gives Dory something to look forward to; a reason to get up in the morning.

Dory's fascination with Chantal's disappearance is a distraction at first but as "Search Party" goes on, we see Dory go to dark places, becoming totally obsessed with the vanishing. Like a Reddit sleuth devoting their days to solving a cold case, it's hard to tell if Dory is determined or deranged.

"Search Party" is an ambitious, wonderfully stylized series that doesn't always hit its mark but is charming enough to keep you engaged through all 10 half-hour episodes. Airing the week of Thanksgiving, TBS will show two episodes a night starting Nov. 21, allowing viewers to binge the series in five days over a slow holiday week. (The first episode is available to watch for free on YouTube, which can be found at the end of this story.)

Throughout the first season, "Search Party" struggles to find its voice but its supporting cast and cameos (Ron Livingston, Rosie Perez, Judy Gold, Parker Posey) make up for any major stumbles. John Early and Meredith Hanger are the show's breakouts, with Hanger as delightful and effervescent as Kristen Wiig.

It's impossible to have a series set around solving a singular mystery. Even David Lynch and Mark Frost couldn't make it work on their seminal show "Twin Peaks." (Most of Season 2 is a slog.) But "Search Party" avoids that trap by making the mystery a backdrop. It's never really about finding Chantal: it's about Dory, Drew, Elliott and Portia finding themselves - through each other's narcissistic and hilarious personalities.