The streaming platform Apple TV+ announced that they have given an order to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s (The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) new murder mystery television series The Afterparty, via Deadline. The college friends turned filmmaking duo have worked together over live-action comedy films such as 21 Jump Street and won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The two filmmakers have recently signed a five year deal with Sony Pictures Television back in 2019 and this new series marks the first project to be taken on during this deal. The series will be overseen by Miller as he will act as its showrunner in addition to being executive produced by Lord and himself with one of their frequent collaborators Aubrey Lee (Bless the Harts) coming on as a producer.
The Afterparty is set to follow the events of a high school reunion and its subsequent afterparty which is the setting for a murder. The Apple TV+ series will begin with an eight-episode season where each episode details different characters’ telling of their stories from the night. The murder mystery will change its presentation and genres between each episode in order to match the characters and their personalities as they retell their perspective. Currently, according to Deadline, the show is in the beginning stages of finding a lead actor, yet there are no names being publicly floated around.
The Academy Award-winning duo has kept busy with their recent success with their role as executive producers for the Fox animated series Bless the Harts which stars Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Maya Rudolph (The Way Way Back), Kumail Nanjiani (Big Sick), Ike Barinholtz (Eastbound & Down), and Jillian Bell (Workaholics) in voice roles. Additionally, they have executive produced another animated series in Netflix’s Hoops which features Jake Johnson (New Girl, Jurassic World) in a voice role. Currently, their new series The Afterparty has yet to have an attached premiere date or cast. Interested television fans can subscribe to Apple TV+ starting at $4.99 per month in order to access original shows such as The Morning Show, Central Park, and Defending Jacob in addition to upcoming originals such as The Afterparty and Foundation.