Search Party really finds itself in Season 4

The Playlist

"A lot of the early action of Season 4 feels almost like the writers are trying to decide what they think of Dory Sief," says Brian Tallerico. "The question of if viewers are supposed to like Dory anymore came up a lot in interviews about Season 3, and the narrative here seems to confront that issue directly, even allowing Dory to question her own actions and that of her friends in ways that she never did while she was on trial. The problem is that Search Party is at its best when it’s surreal and plot-driven, allowing character development and commentary to come from the narrative instead of forcing it into unbelievable and uncomfortable places as in the worst parts of this season. The good news is that highlights do start to emerge as the season goes along and the tonal balance is mostly regained. Great guest stars pop up to add flavor, including Ann Dowd, Griffin Dunne, and Susan Sarandon. And the momentum of the season really comes together when Drew, Portia, and Elliott are reunited with a purpose, finally allowing the show to feel like it did in those first two seasons again. It’s then that the fourth season of Search Party feels like it’s finally…sorry…found itself, and it really sticks the best season finale since the first year. It’s unclear now if there will be a fifth chapter in the saga of Dory Sief. Let’s hope that the writers haven’t lost her forever."

ALSO:

• Season 4 explores how millennials think about identity: "The show doesn’t hit viewers over the head with the inevitable, exhausting 'all millennials are bad' trope — which is quite an old canard, as millennials themselves are turning 40 this year — but instead welcomes both young millennials and those of Gen Z to watch the journeys of the show’s complex characters without obviously Gen X or boomer foils meant to show them (or us) how they’re supposed to act," says Lexi Lane. "Instead, the writers offer millennial characters who are recognizable, endearing and aggravating, sometimes at the same time, sometimes in a single scene — just like any human in real life."
• The first half of the 10-part season is much more compelling than the second, which borrows a few too many twists from daytime soaps
• How Susan Sarandon got involved in Search Party
• Season 4 found inspiration in Misery, Silence of the Lambs and Room
• Behind the scenes of the three-way kiss