The Guys of ‘Search Party’ Talk Season 3 & the Move to HBO Max
Preview
Search Party may not have aired for the past two years, but the dark comedy starring Alia Shawkat is alive and well and heading to HBO Max.
Originally a TBS title, the show — which aired two seasons on the network — is moving to the streaming platform this coming spring for Season 3 and was picked up for Season 4 at the time of the announcement.
No exact premiere date has been set at this time for the next chapter, but fans can rest assured it will arrive sometime in 2020. According to the Season 3 logline, viewers will see the continuation of Dory’s (Shawkat) story as she and Drew (John Reynolds) are arrested for the murder of Keith (Ron Livingston).
Friends Elliott (John Early) and Portia (Meredith Hagner) will grapple with whether or not they’ll testify as witnesses. Brunch could be off the table when the case threatens to tear these friends apart.
Luckily, TV Insider was able to glean some more information for fans at PaleyFest NY where stars Early, Reynolds and Brandon Micheal Hall sat down for a panel discussion and answered our questions on the red carpet.
Expect some change from Elliott, who fans will recall was acting fairly insane in Season 2 as he worked to suppress the secret of Keith’s murder. “He pulls it together in Season 3,” Early reveals. “He’s figured out how to contain everything that spilled out in Season 2. He’s back on his bulls**t.”
John Early as Elliott (Credit: TBS)
Whether you can expect to see Elliott pay for his actions or not was also confirmed by Early as he told us, “He’s also is made to suffer in a very interesting, surprising way.” Early shared what his favorite type of scenes to film are. “I loved the stuff where he’s about to break. I think that’s my favorite thing to do, nervous breakdowns.”
And Elliott’s altogether not that terrible, as John pointed out his ability to be plainly honest, “I like his ease with which he wears disgust on his face. He’s very good at just speaking his mind.”
In terms of the upcoming streaming switch, Early said, “The big thing is [Search Party] was previously inaccessible … No one’s really seen it. I think it really has avoided its target audience in that way.”
As for Reynolds, who portrays Dory’s “ex”-boyfriend, we asked him whether things are improving or looking worse for him in Season 3. “No, in classic Drew form, it’s just getting worse and worse for him and his mental health. So he’s spinning.” Where on the scale is Drew exactly, you might be wondering? “They’re all doing bad. It’s subjective, obviously. I would say he’s doing second worst,” Reynolds shares.
John Reynolds as Drew (Credit: TBS)
Viewers will remember that the former couple appeared to pick things back up towards the end of Season 2, but can it last? “There’s no other person he can trust or talk to,” Reynolds says of Drew, “and there’s no real way of having a normal life after [the murder of Keith].” And as for Drew’s redeemable qualities in such nonredeemable characters? “He’s the least ruthless,” Reynolds decides.
Meanwhile, Brandon Micheal Hall is teasing changes for his character Julian, who was being sent racy messages from his politician boss Mary Ferguson (J. Smith-Cameron) against his will. “It’s going to wind up putting Julian in a position where he’s either going to have to choose to stay or to go,” Hall reveals.
Brandon Micheal Hall as Julian (Credit: TBS)
Since Search Party debuted, Hall has had various roles on TV, most notably on CBS’s current series God Friended Me, and in looking at both titles, the differences couldn’t be any vaster. “What’s great about this trajectory of my career has been, I’ve been able to play roles that are completely different than the last,” Hall gushes.
“[CBS was] very open for me to continue with this journey, which is nice ’cause I don’t think many people would have been,” Hall shares of how he juggled the two projects. Filming took place over the course of a day for Hall’s Season 3 scenes, but he’s excited to continue Julian’s journey.
Fans will have to check out HBO Max to find out where that leads these three guys and the rest of their friend group when Search Party returns in 2020.
Search Party, Season 3, 2020, HBO Max
