Netflix just added this 96%-rated HBO Max comedy series — and there's 5 season to binge-watch now

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'Search Party' is now streaming on Netflix

Dory (Alia Shawkat) looks down the lens in a promotional still for HBO Max's "Search Party"
(Image credit: HBO Max)

While the Netflix/Warner Bros. discussions continue, another HBO Max series has just made its way over to Netflix, and anyone who loves alt comedy won't want to miss the streaming service's latest arrival.

That latest release would be "Search Party," a genre-bending series following a group of millennials on an ever-weirder ride from Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, and Michael Showalter. This acclaimed show originally ran for 50 episodes split across five seasons between 2016 and 2022, premiering on TBS before moving to HBO Max from season 3.

What is 'Search Party' about?

Search Party: Season 1 Preview | TBS - YouTube Search Party: Season 1 Preview | TBS - YouTube
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"Search Party" begins with housewife's assistant Dory Sief (Alia Shawkat) roping her group of twentysomething Brooklynite friends in on the search for a former college acquaintance. Chantal Witherbottom has gone missing, and Dory's made it her personal mission to find the truth and get to the bottom of what happened to her. What follows is a genre-bending comedy/mystery series that only gets wilder and weirder as it continues. With that set-up, you won't believe where it ends up.

In addition to Shawkat, the series also features Clare McNulty, John Reynolds, John Early, Meredith Hagner, Brandon Michael Hall, Jeffery Self, Ron Livingston, Phoebe Tyers, Christine Taylor, and Cole Escola, among others.

Should you stream 'Search Party' now it's on Netflix?

L-R: Shalita Grant, Alia Shawkat, John Reynolds in a courtroom scene from "Search Party" season 3

(Image credit: Jon Pack/HBO Max)

As mentioned above, "Search Party" was consistently well-received by critics across its five-season run, including a couple of perfect Rotten Tomatoes 100% ratings for the series' first and fifth seasons.

Take Sonia Saraiya's review of the show's debut season on Variety, wherein she labelled it a "cutting-edge comedy," adding: "It’s sometimes horrifying and sometimes silly, and at times, “Search Party” can get a tiny bit precious with its own cleverness. But when it works, it’s an astounding and engaging journey through genre conventions that should be at odds with each other."

Close-up of Alia Shawkat in the season 5 finale of "Search Party"

(Image credit: Jon Pack/HBO Max)

Reflecting on the series as a whole in 2022, TIME critic Judy Berman called the show "utterly bonkers," praising the show's "clever comedy writing" and how it successfully shifts from its initial conceit to the truly out-there later seasons, where "Search Party" "blossomed into the incredibly strange existential comedy it was always meant to be."

Likewise, Thrillist's Esther Zuckerman heaped praise on that "bananas" final season, writing: "The 10 episodes consist of persistent mind-f**k, where you're constantly compelled to think, "Are they really doing this?" They are, and it's a brilliantly chaotic ride that skewers influencer and wellness culture while somehow avoiding typical tropes."

Viewer reactions might be more split — it's sitting at 75% on the Popcornmeter — but if you've got a tolerance for big, wild swings and can get on board with a core cast of weirdos, you may well want to stream this unique series now that "Search Party" is streaming on Netflix.

Not sold on "Search Party?" We can still help you find your next Netflix watch. Check out our round-up of the best Netflix shows for tons more streaming suggestions that belong on your watchlist.

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Martin Shore
Martin Shore
Staff Writer, Streaming

Martin is a Streaming Writer at Tom’s Guide, covering all things movies and TV. If it’s in the theaters or available to stream somewhere, he’s probably watched it… especially if it has a dragon in it. Before joining the team, he was a Staff Writer at What To Watch where he wrote about a broad range of shows that stretched from "Doctor Who" and "The Witcher" to "Bridgerton" and "Love Island". When he’s not watching the next must-see movie or show, he’s probably still in front of a screen playing massive RPGs, reading, spending a fortune on TCGs, or watching the NFL.

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