Dory’s search isn’t over in the trailer for Search Party’s final season

A cavalcade of guest stars, including Jeff Goldblum, Kathy Griffin, and John Waters, join the cult series that’s finally a literal cult series

Dory’s search isn’t over in the trailer for Search Party’s final season
John Reynolds, Jeff Goldblum, John Early, Meredith Hagner, and Alia Shawkat Photo: Jon Pack (HBO)

After five improbable seasons, Search Party, the little cult series that could, is coming to a close. The dark comedy, which, once upon a time, was a true crime riff about one misbegotten millennial’s quest to find a missing acquaintance, survived a cancelation, a network switch, and several tonal shifts. Yet, through it all, Alia Shawkat’s character, Dory, has unlocked a trove of anxieties about turning 30 at what seems like the end of the world.

This season of Search Party turns the cult series into a literal cult series. Following her death and eventual rebirth (by way of a fifth season order), Dory sees her resurrection as a sign from above, enlisting other lost souls to join her cause.

Dory has always been a pied piper for latchkey millennials, who entered the workforce at a time when working seemed meaningless, success seemed impossible, and “starting a life” in the way her parents knew it no longer exists. But, this time, Dory is doing it out of divine principle, and who better to carry that along than Jeff Goldblum, who joins the already stacked cast as an eccentric tech billionaire looking to use Dory’s cause to boost his own.

Goldblum isn’t the only guest star appearing in the trailer. We are also treated to glimpses of Kathy Griffin and John Waters, who shares a staredown with John Early that could sell anyone on another season of this thing. So what’s it going to take to get a spin-off featuring those Early and Waters called “Dear Johns”?

The core cast is back, too. John Reynolds, Meredith Hagner, John Early, and John Early’s hats will all be joining Dory’s cult—or, at the very least, be feeling the fallout from it.

All ten episodes of Search Party’s fifth and final season can be found on HBO Max on January 7.

 
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