Tiffany Haddish leads a great cast through movie genre fun in 'The Afterparty' on Apple TV+

As a murder mystery it’s only OK, but as a TV confection “The Afterparty” is a lot of fun.

The eight-episode limited series debuts on Apple TV+ beginning Jan. 28; new episodes come out every Friday after that. Critics got only the first seven episodes for review, which seems cruel. It is a good enough murder mystery that you want to know who the killer is, in other words.

The series revolves around a high-school reunion and the party afterwards (thus the title) — and the murder that takes place at the party.

But trying to solve the crime isn’t where the real interest lies. That’s in watching the excellent comedic cast (plus some actors in inspired cameos) goof their way through various genres. There’s a lot going on here, by design. The show’s creators, Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (“The Lego Movie,” the “21 Jump Street” movies), adopt a different genre for each episode.

Dave Franco is the murder victim. But who killed him?

The victim is Xavier (Dave Franco, having a ball as an unapologetic narcissist, though Xavier wouldn’t know what that means), a high school loser turned music-and-acting superstar with more money than brains. is body is lying on the rocks beneath his fabulous home where he was hosting the party as the series begins. Inside his home are a group of former classmates with secrets, lies, grudges and more.

So who killed him? Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) means to find out.

Her boss doesn’t want her to, mind you — he wants her to just take a few statements while a more seasoned, higher profile detective makes his way there.

Danner ignores him, and sets about interviewing the partygoers.

“We’re all stars of our own movie,” she says, explaining her process. “The same thing could happen, but you see it in a different way.”

Exactly. She’s even brought her own popcorn. And so the stories, and the genres, begin.

So when she interviews Aniq (Sam Richardson), his story unfolds like a romcom, because he’s harboring a longtime crush on Zoe (Zoe Chao) and was hoping the reunion would serve as the vehicle to finally get them together.

Zoe gets her own episode — animated, and it’s one of the strongest. She is separated from Brett (Ike Barinholtz, maybe the best of the bunch), an alpha-male jerk whose episode is made like an action movie. A particularly dopey action movie that involves toting he and Zoe’s young daughter around, but an action movie all the same.

Yasper (Ben Schwartz), who installs audio systems but is an aspirating musician, imagines himself the star of a musical; it includes a truly funny “Hamilton” nod, superbly done. Chelsea (Ilana Glazer — wait, maybe she’s the best of the bunch), seemingly the class burn-out drunk, tells her story like a horror film.

What to watch this winter: From 'Pam & Tommy' to 'The Afterparty'

Yes, there's even an Arizona joke

There’s something for everyone. There is even, yes, an Arizona joke. Danner gets her own episode, in which she reminisces about her early years on the force. Her partner is an out-and-out dope.

“Are you sure you’re not from Florida, man,” she says.

“Arizona,” he says. “It’s like the Florida of the West.”

Through seven episodes much of the evidence points to Aniq, though no one seems to seriously think he’s the killer. That he is a victim of a prank and spends much of the show with marker all over himself, including cat whiskers and ears, adds to the show’s maybe-not-so-random lunacy, and makes him all the more likable.

But someone had to do it. Presumably the last episode of “The Afterparty” will tell us who, and why. Surely there are more suspects and more stories to tell — we haven’t seen a Western send-up yet, though anything is possible. Maybe a war movie? However it plays out, whoever the killer is, it will almost be a disappointment to find out.

'The Afterparty'

Streaming on Apple TV+ Jan. 28.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tiffany Haddish stars in 'The Afterparty,' a genre-bending comedy