Paul Walter Hauser And Jack Whitehall Want An ‘Afterparty’ Spin-Off

For freshly Emmy-nominated Paul Walter Hauser, landing a role in the second season of the murder mystery comedy series The Afterparty felt “like joining a winning team,” and he wants more.

“When I got the offer, I was so giddy,” he enthused. “I saw the first season and really enjoyed it, and now I get to just play on the playground of comedy with a bunch of people who know how to do it so well.”

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The first season of the anthology series, which took place at a high school reunion, landed on Apple TV+ in January 2022 and, after proving a hit with audiences and critics alike, was quickly renewed. Season two, set the day after a wedding, debuted on the streamer on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. While a handful of cast members from the first season return, Hauser and co-star Jack Whitehall play new characters in the ensemble.

“We’d had a little bit of contact before, which allowed us to become quite fast friends. I think it’s always better when you have trust in a scene partner, and I felt very comfortable with Paul from day one,” Whitehall explained. “Our first scene was just the two of us, and it didn’t feel like we were starting from a stand. It felt like we could dive in immediately and start experimenting and improvising.”

Hauser and the British comedian, a household name who sells out arenas in his native UK, share a lot of screen time. They got on so well they are already angling for a spin-off for their characters.

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“We’ve been just bombing the inbox of the show’s creator, Chris Miller, email with ideas, mostly fighting over whose head would be bigger on the poster,” Hauser joked.

“We’re manifesting it,” Whitehall added. “We want to put it out there as much as possible, so any help you could give us would be fantastic.”

Recently nominated for an Emmy for his incredible dramatic turn in Apple TV+’s Black Bird, Hauser relished his return to something lighter.

“I used to do stand-up comedy, but Jack is more successful at it. I did some improv comedy theater, and from Cruella to Cobra Kai, I always tried to do comedy stuff. Occasionally, if I’m fortunate, I’ll get to do something dramatic,” the Richard Jewell actor explained. “I definitely needed The Afterparty after doing Black Bird. I was pretty much in need of anything that wasn’t about a serial killer.”

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Although much of the comedy was on the page for the pair, there was room for them to make their characters their own and try things out. One example is when Whitehall’s suave socialite Sebastian flicks the braces of Hauser’s wannabe sleuth Travis.

“That was definitely Jack on the day trying to think of something funny,” Hauser confessed. ‘It worked. I broke character several times and did some pratfall stuff that wasn’t in the script. We both tried to spice it up because, after a take or two, it’s like, ‘Alright, we got that. What else can we do?’ The script is so good we didn’t have to do too much. Chris Miller is very collaborative. If I had an idea or wanted to try a pratfall or something, he was super inviting in that respect.”

Something Whitehall enjoyed was getting to break out British colloquialisms, many of which flummoxed his co-stars.

“There were a few of them where after they shouted cut, I had to explain what some of the weird Britishisms meant,” he recalled. “There were a couple of scenes where it did feel like, for a large part of the day, I was just sitting in front of you insulting Paul in every way I could do so.

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“I loved the phrase ‘wrong ‘un,'” Hauser added. “It was brand new for me, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to find a way to abuse that phrase, and I’m going to use it all the time.'”

Whitehall joked, “It’s such a good phrase. I can’t wait to see some of the words and phrases being used in Cruella 2.”

While Hauser was keen to find the funny with his performance, something Whitehall wanted to emulate a very particular kind of cad.

“Sebastian is partly based on people who exist in real life, but he’s also influenced by the sort of rich tapestry of British villains on screen,” the well-spoken funnyman revealed. “I have always had an attraction to characters in movies and on television that are the Jeremy Irons and Alan Rickmans of this world. I’ve always wanted to get my chance to play those types of characters, and this felt like it was an opportunity to do it finally.”

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Like in the first season, each character gets their own stylized episode where they take center stage, and the audience sees the mystery through the character’s lens. Whitehouse especially relished the challenge.

“It was a very technical episode because when you’re doing that heist genre like we do in my one, it has to be quite tightly choreographed,” he said. “There was lots of working with the cinematographer and the director to nail these great flowing shots where the camera was always moving. It was different from how I’ve often worked, and I really enjoyed that. The great thing about this show is that with each episode, there was a fresh challenge in a new genre that we were diving into, and it kept it very fresh.”

Hauser added, “I’ve seen his stand-up, and it has a brilliant physical comedy and timing to it. I almost felt like he had to temper that for The Afterparty and give this proper performance at times. I’m excited to work with Jack again, where he can be unleashed. That’ll be fun.

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“I just want to fall over,” Whitehouse laughed.