The Big Picture

Detective Danner’s return in Season 2 of The Afterparty brings a new group of characters to play with, creating a fun and exciting dynamic. Despite no longer being a detective, Danner is drawn to solving mysteries and is motivated by her love for helping others rather than monetary gain. Episode six stands out with a flashback featuring Michael Ealy, fulfilling a dream and allowing Danner to objectify him in hilarious and absurd ways, creating a messy and enjoyable scene.

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Afterparty.]In Season 2 of the Apple TV+ comedy series The Afterparty, naturally another murder has occurred, reeling Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) back into the mix, due to her desire to team back up with Aniq (Sam Richardson) and solve the crime. As the pair make their way through questioning all the family members and guests at the wedding of Grace (Poppy Liu) and the now super dead Edgar (Zach Woods), they take what they learn about the fateful event, with each recounting being told in a different film genre to match the individual’s perspective, to find the guilty party for this whodunnit.

During this interview with Collider, Haddish talked about the fun of getting to work with the new Season 2 cast additions, that solving mysteries is Detective Danner’s “happy little side hustle,” how excited she was about episode six, being elated over finding out who the guest star would be, the fun they had together during the shoot, and just how messy things actually got.

This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Collider: Tiffany, there’s something inherently funny about your character putting in all this time to talk to all these people to try to solve this murder when she’s not actually a detective anymore. How different did things feel this time around with Detective Danner?

TIFFANY HADDISH: As a performer, it was a lot of fun because I get to play with a new group of people. I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, I used to love going to the park and how there would always be new sets of kids at the park. There might be a couple of regulars and some new ones, and we’d get to play all new games and have new experiences. That’s fun, and that’s what it felt like for me. It was like, “Oh, I get to play with this new group of people,” and we had so much fun. It’s like a family that got to really play. As for the different vibe, last season, I had more authority and more power. This season, I’m a citizen. I’m just a civilian, but I still have detective tendencies. I’m drawn to it, no matter what. I have to help. She enjoys helping and solving mysteries. That’s her thing. It’s a happy little side hustle. She’s not expecting money or anything. She just wants to get the answers. That’s currency enough for her. Kindness is currency.

Image via Apple TV+

You have one of the most memorable episodes all season, with the flashback episode for your character in episode six. I love that episode, but it’s insane. What was your reaction to learning about that? Did you know, from the beginning, that you’d be doing that episode with Michael Ealy?

HADDISH: I was excited about that episode. I read it before we started shooting, and I was very excited about it. I did not know who it would be, until maybe a week before. When I found out who it was, I was very elated. The 20-something-year-old in me was like, “Ooh, we’re gonna get to live out a dream.” And it did not disappoint. My expectations were met right there. It was nice.

You basically get to objectify him for an entire episode of television, so thank you for that. We all get to live vicariously through you, in that regard. Did you ever think you would find yourself in a life situation where you would be slapping Michael Ealy’s titty at his request, and throwing food at him, and just doing all that crazy stuff?

HADDISH: I’ve never thought a man would say what he said to me. Never in my life did I think a man would say that to me. And what he said, I liked it. I ain’t gonna lie. I tried my best to not hurt him, but he kept saying, “Harder, harder.” And I was like, “That’s what she said.”

Image via Apple TV+

At the same time, it’s all hilariously funny and it gets really messy. How challenging was it to get so messy, and then to keep having to do different takes?

HADDISH: It was fun. I didn’t mind getting messy. I’m with the mess. We didn’t have to clean it up. If I was doing it in real life, and I was doing what was happening in that scene in real life, I would definitely lay down some tarps and some comforters. You know what I’m saying? I would lay some things down. I wouldn’t be running my electric bill up with the refrigerator wide open like that. I ain’t never done it in a refrigerator before.

The Afterparty is available to stream at Apple TV+.