The Afterparty Stars Weigh in on the Murder Mystery's Eclectic Ensemble Cast

When it comes to comedy series, projects are typically lucky enough to secure a handful of hilarious performers to anchor the show around, allowing supporting cast members to help carry the narrative weight, but in the case of Apple TV+'s The Afterparty, creator Chris Miller enlisted an all-star ensemble of comedians to help bring the murder mystery to life. Thanks to her work in projects like Broad City, Rough Night, and The Night Before, actor Ilana Glazer has established herself as a fearless performer who is happy to bring the most absurd characters imaginable to life, even though these roles are all quite far from her own persona. The Afterparty premieres on Apple TV+ on January 28th.

"I'm finding that, post-Broad City, walking that line ... It's like, I play a maniac so well, but I'm really pretty nerdy in my real life and it's really fun to act out through these characters," Glazer shared with ComicBook.com when it comes to playing grounded vs. outlandish characters. "It's also fun when I play characters closer to myself. I guess that's my in, to relate to them, to make them borne out of me. Chelsea I relate to in that class president way, in being nerdy and studious, but this hot mess version of her I kind of wish I could let go, and let myself be a hot mess a little bit more. She's just such a mess and I loved it and needed to stretch that out. So I found both really inspiring ways to grow as a person."

Thanks to breakout roles in projects like Fleabag and Cruella, The Afterparty also stars Jamie Demetriou, who detailed that, while it was initially intimidating to join such an impressive roster of performers, they all quickly formed bonds as peers, an experience made all the more enjoyable due to their comedic sensibilities.

When asked if joining a predominantly American cast felt intimidating or like a unique opportunity to inject British comedic perspectives, Demetriou replied, "I think it's maybe somewhere in the middle. Maybe it's my Britishness, but I don't know if I back myself enough to refer to my abilities as a superpower, but I definitely was nervous to be stepping into the fray with such an unreal group of actors who I've been watching on TV and admiring for years and dreaming of the possibility of ever working with. I was delighted to arrive and everyone just acts as if we had all known each other forever. It was a weirdly immediate clique, I think that everyone was ... It was a very caring time and a very caring group of people, who are also, incidentally, some of the funniest people in the world, so that didn't hurt either."

Apple TV+ describes the new series, "The Afterparty centers on a murder mystery at a high school reunion. Each of the eight episodes features a retelling of the same night told through a different character's perspective, each with its own unique visual style and film genre to match the teller's personality."

Another key component of the project is that each episode embraces a different filmmaking genre, as they explore the realm of romantic comedy, action, and musical to help convey each character's journey. The episode focusing on Glazer's Chelsea embraces thriller tropes, with the performer addressing if there's more of a future for her in the world of horror, especially after starring in and co-writing last year's horror film False Positive.

"I couldn't believe how it lined up, but I was playing Chelsea in The Afterparty, I think one of the last things I shot was False Positive, so it was a similar rhythm and energy," Glazer pointed out. "I really appreciate horror when it has a specific lens and something to say, that's when I'm interested, in general, from comedy to drama to horror. I would continue down that route, as long as it served something that felt true to me, which it did in The Afterparty, which was her anxiety. I loved her anxiety of going to a high school reunion being conveyed in this way, it was really beautiful."

The Afterparty premieres on Apple TV+ on January 28th.

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