Keep searching for the truth with this list of shows.
If you haven't seen The Pentaverate yet, you're missing out on one of Netflix's most hilarious shows right now. The recent series is created by Mike Myers, a.k.a the guy famous for playing Austin Powers and the voice actor behind Shrek. The six-episode limited series also marks Myers’ first starring role since his appearance in the rom-com Love Guru. The Pentaverate, based on Myer's 1993 romantic black comedy picture So I Married an Axe Murderer, tells the story of a secret society of five men who have been influencing world events since the Black Plague in 1937. However, things take a twist when a very unlikely Canadian journalist is assigned the duty of exposing the truth and, ultimately, saving the planet.
The Pentaverate is an homage to mind-boggling conspiracy shows, but with a dash of insane comedy thrown in for good measure. For starters, Myers doesn’t just play one, but eight eccentric roles, ranging from a New England conspiracy theorist to an ex-Russian oligarch. This does not include the remainder of the star-studded cast, which includes Ken Jeong, Keegan-Michael Key, and even a brief appearance by Rob Lowe.
Here are seven series similar to The Pentaverate dedicated to unearthing conspiracies, insane comedy, and memorable cast ensembles.
Truth Seekers stars Nick Frost as Gus Roberts, an engineer by day and a paranormal investigator by passion. When he isn't putting his professional engineering abilities to use at Britain’s biggest mobile network and internet service provider, Roberts tracks supernatural entities with his homemade gizmos. However, his fun little pastime soon turns into something more serious as their exploits led them to uncover an unbelievable apocalyptic plot.
A big part of Truth Seekers is its memorable cast, with Samson Kayo playing Elton John (not the singer, but a fellow paranormal investigator), Emma D'Arcy as Astrid, a young woman haunted by ghosts, and Susie Wokoma playing Helen, John’s agoraphobic sister and anxious cosplayer. Despite having a “serious” tone to the show, it’s no secret that Truth Seekers is a satirical play on regular conspiracy shows. However, as Roberts and his paranormal team travel across the British countryside, leaping from one haunted property to the next, there’s actually an impressive number of genuinely creepy moments that keep us hooked.
What happens when a high school reunion goes disastrously wrong? Apple TV+’s comedy The Afterparty shows you just that. Tiffany Haddish stars as Detective Danner, an investigator in charge of investigating the murder of an obnoxious classmate Xavier (Dave Franco) at a high school reunion after-party. Each episode highlights a different character as the Detective deduces their possible motives one by one, eventually revealing a shocking truth. The Afterparty is a notable example of the market's newest type of murder mystery, known as "the millennial whodunnit." The show is mostly concerned with how the individuals discover their underlying motivations for their activities, which frequently revolve on seeking second chances, escaping the monotony of everyday life, or simply seeking personal fulfillment.
Each episode of The Afterparty focuses on a different character recounting the same night's events. The way each character delivers the story, which is often reminiscent of movie genres or cliches, adds to the uniqueness of each episode. Former geek Aniq (Sam Richardson) recounts the night in the style of a charming romantic comedy. Meanwhile, Chelsea (Illana Glazer), a former hottie turned hot mess, recalls the night as a terrible horror film. There's also Zoë (Zoë Chao), who retells the story in the style of an animated film. Each character tackles a different movie genre, offering even more detours from the truth and increasing intrigue surrounding the identity of the real killer.
American Vandal is a mockumentary parodying hit true crime films like Making a Murderer that follows the repercussions of an over-the-top high school prank, which turns out to be someone spray-painting 27 faculty cars with phallic pictures. Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro), the class clown, is expelled immediately after being suspected of the crime. This causes sophomores Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and Sam Ecklund (Griffin Gluck) to conduct an investigation to determine whether or not he is the genuine culprit. The series' mockumentary format features stock characters reminiscent of true-crime documentaries. We have an innocent suspect, a tenacious investigator, and a suspicious authority figure… only this time, they're all in high school. It may begin as a one-joke, but with its expertly constructed twists, it gradually grows into a captivating mystery.
In all honesty, the crimes (if you could even call them that) in American Vandal aren't really grandiose – there's no blood, murder, or gore – which is what makes this show grounded and somewhat more relatable. Despite this, the show's mysteries, while childish (particularly with the number of phallic jokes), are interesting enough to keep you watching thanks to their clues and alibis. Furthermore, American Vandal captures the essence of high school dynamics, such as cliques and the concept of coolness, to which most high schoolers can relate.
Word on the street is that conspiracies are the work of shadow government organizations. That appears to be the case in Inside Job, a workplace comedy centered on Cognito, Inc., a super-secret company that works tirelessly to arrange some of the world's darkest conspiracies, keep them hidden, and, of course, win control of the globe. It's just another day at the workplace with a diverse group of coworkers that includes reptile shapeshifters, a sapient mushroom, and a human-dolphin hybrid.
Head geek in charge Reagan Ridley (Lizzy Caplan) is a tech prodigy at Cognito Inc., but she lacks the necessary people skills to encourage her less-than-professional coworkers, such as the drug-addled Dr. Andre (Bobby Lee) and the gossipy Gigi (Tisha Campbell). Together with her unqualified yes-man partner Brett (Clark Duke), all she’s trying to do is get a well-deserved promotion while suffering through the antics of her paranoid former-CEO father Randall "Rand" Ridley (Christian Slater), who got fired for almost exposing the Deep State. But, through the course of her fight for promotion and the stress of managing an inexperienced workforce, she realizes that the firm she works for is keeping major secrets from her.
Ever wanted to uncover a murder-mystery case by yourself? With Murderville, you can do just that! Will Arnett plays Terry Seattle, a senior detective who’s not having the best moment in life. He’s going through a divorce with ex-wife/chief of police Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle (Haneefah Wood) and he’s still mourning over the loss of his old colleague who died under suspicious circumstances. Based on the BBC Three television series, Murder in Successville, each episode features a guest star to help Detective Seattle solve a unique case. The catch? The guest is not given a script before taping and must improvise their way through the program as they discover who the true killer is.
In each episode,Murderville's guest stars have 30 minutes to investigate all of the clues and interview all three suspects. However, with guests such as former late-night presenter Conan O' Brien, NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, and actor Kumail Nanjiani, you can expect them to find themselves in wacky situations, especially because they have absolutely no clue what to expect from Detective Seattle or the entire situation. The undercover missions featured in Muderville alone are entertaining enough, and watching celebrities adapt to random scenarios to keep viewers engaged is a huge bonus to the show.
Lodge 49 is one of those shows that is difficult to pin down at first. The American comedy-drama is a fictitious modern story about Dud (Wyatt Russell), a local ex-surfer and pool cleaner who is going through a difficult patch after his father died under strange circumstances, all while his family business is collapsing. Nonetheless, Dud retains his unwavering optimism.
To top it all off, Dud decides to join the Order of the Lynx (after suffering a near-fatal snake bite that renders him purposeless), assuming that this decision will help him reclaim the purposeful life he previously enjoyed. The fraternity provides him with a new sense of purpose as well as a community of other eccentrics. All of that changes when a tangled web of events involving alchemy, real estate, and international lodge politics leads to an unwelcome shark attack (phew!)
Only Murders in the Building, one of Hulu's most popular series, follows an unusual trio as they attempt to investigate a murder case in their building, the Arconia. Steve Martin plays Charles-Haden Savage, a semi-retired actor best known for his role in the popular 1990s detective drama TV series Brazzos. Joining him are Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), a financially struggling Broadway director, and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), who’s currently living in a restored unit that she’s renovating for her aunt. So what brings them together? Simply put, the three of them are obsessed with the same true-crime podcast.
So when a horrible death occurs unexpectedly in their opulent Upper West Side apartment complex, the trio deduces that it's murder and gets to work. Of course, due to their non-detective backgrounds, they don't have the most competent means of investigating a criminal case. But they do have the precise understanding of true crime to track down the murderer, who is living among them. The plot intensifies as the show progresses, and our group of isolated individuals appears to be hiding explosive secrets from one another. Only Murders in the Building Season 2 is currently set to premiere on June 28, 2022.
Dyah is an freelance writer based in Indonesia. When she’s not typing on her keyboard, you can find her at coffee shops or at the studio with her band Larose & Co.
Shows like The Pentaverate to Watch Next for More Ensemble Comedies – Collider
