Search Party star Meredith Hagner teases that season 5 will be its craziest, most fun season yet. The dark comedy first premiered on TBS in 2016 before eventually finding its home on HBO Max following its season 3 renewal. Set primarily in New York City, the show follows a group of rather self-absorbed friends who become entangled in an ominous mystery surrounding the disappearance of a former college acquaintance. Search Party has been praised by fans and critics for its humor and satire, as well as the performances of its cast, who manage to portray flawed, yet relatable and likable characters, such as Hagner’s Portia Davenport. Other series stars include Alia Shawkat, John Reynolds, John Early, and Brandon Michael Hall.
The last season of Search Party, season 4, saw Dory being held captive in a basement serving as a replica of her Brooklyn apartment after an attack by super-fan turned stalker, Chip Wreck. Chip kept her at his Aunt Lylah’s and insisted that he was a better influence than her friends. After being found and recovered by Drew, Portia, and Elliot, Dory began to present signs of Stockholm Syndrome, ultimately leaving her friends behind and returning to Lylah’s home. Chip dismissed her requests to be taken back and Lylah locked her in the basement again before burning the house down, resulting in Dory’s friends believing she perished. Given the critical success and fan reactions surrounding season 4, HBO Max renewed Search Party for a final season 5, which is set to premiere January 7 and is expected to pick up right where season 4 left off.
E! News recently reported on how the cast of Search Party felt heading into the final season. Shawkat noted that it is hard having to accept the end of a series, while Hagner joked that she is not doing well. In discussing Search Party season 5, John Reynolds teased that as with each season prior, it gets “campier and campier.” Hagner backed this up, praising the series’ creators and writers, Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers, for making it “a s–t show of epic proportions.” Shawkat added:
“It definitely gets a bit loopy this season. It gets more extreme … It definitely has a technicolor rainbow, kind of like, surreal, psychedelic vibe to it this year.”
While the specifics of the Search Party season 5 plot remain unknown, fans can anticipate the show will handle its cliffhanger season 4 ending fairly early in order to make way for any other surprises in its “loopy” story. One change many have been excited about comes in Jeff Goldblum’s Search Party casting announcement. The actor is set to star in the show’s final season 5 as Tunnel Quinn, a tech billionaire who enters into a business partnership with Dory. A previous Search Party season 5 trailer focuses on Dory’s near-death-experience and sees her dealings with Goldblum’s Quinn turn her into a full on cult leader.
The stage has certainly been set for Search Party and its cast of actors to once again pull out all the stops and deliver fans of the show a final arc that is as surprising as it is darkly funny. It seems that the series will dive right into Dory’s survival and her friends’ reactions, and it will be interesting to see how her status as a cult leader affects them. With veteran stars like Goldblum in the mix, Search Party season 5 is sure to deliver on the “crazy” and “campy” story that its stars have promised.
Source: E! News
