Someone Died at "The Party" — and It Was Worth Watching

This three-part murder mystery delivers a blend of drama, dark comedy, and mystery that works.

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We’re cued into an intimate Lagos birthday party scene. When the curtains open, they reveal an elated James Gardiner, whose character, Ralph Donkor, is showering praises on a dear friend. It’s an occasion of honour, fun, and thanksgiving, and everything he’s saying is on point. But the longer his adulations go on, the faster you start to feel something is amiss. All these nice words are directed at someone—a certain Bobo—and the face of Kunle Remi blasted on all the party paraphernalia tells us he’s the actor embodying the man of the moment.

The problem is that Kunle Remi himself is nowhere to be found on screen.

It takes a little while, but the characters start to catch on, too. “Where is Bobo?” Gardiner’s character finally asks. Everyone looks around, but no one has the answer. The heavens catch on, too, and in a flash send their response falling down from the sky, landing directly into the large swimming pool in one loud thud. There’s Bobo. And that is how you start a damn good murder mystery.

Warning: This review will contain spoilers

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Like any child, Bobo was the apple of his parents’ eyes. So of course, this isn’t going to be easy. They want to find the killer as badly as we do. And like any reasonable father, Bobo’s dad (Bimbo Manuel) locks down the house until his friend, the commissioner, sends his top three detectives to the scene.

These three—played by Yemi Fash-Lanso, Eva Ibiam, and Kelechi Udegbe—spring into action immediately. But they first have to contend with high-profile guests eager to leave, silly-acting members of staff who appear woefully untrained, and grieving parents who, though desperate for answers, keep getting in the way of the investigation itself. It’s a mess, but they do what they can to steady the ship.

It doesn’t take long to notice that Eva Ibiam’s character is the sharpest of the trio, while Yemi Fash-Lanso plays the seasoned officer who wastes no time reminding his visibly younger colleagues what should come next, often relying solely on his gut and experience. Like the time he points fingers at the deceased’s wife, played by Kehinde Bankole, declaring that it’s always the spouse. At this point, I’m thinking: it’s either her, because the drama is looking us dead in the eye and telling us the truth before trying to shake us off with alibis and distractions, or it’s not her, and the show is just giving us a deliberate red herring.

Whatever the case, there’s no shortage of suspects from the large pool gathered at the scene (pun very much intended).

Detectives played by Kelechi Udegbe and Eva Ibiam | The Party

There’s Bobo’s inner circle of friends, played by Ray Adeka (Deji), Uzor Arukwe (JP), Ayo Ayoola (Martin), Benjamin Touitou, and James Gardiner (Danko). Each one has varying reasons to have fallen out with him before his death. Some of those motives might just be enough to make someone act on violent fantasies.

There’s Quadri (Femi Branch), the razz neighbour who will fight any visitor over his sacred parking space. He had a bone to pick with Bobo on the morning of the party after discovering that the man he’s typically chummy with had impregnated his 20-year-old daughter, who’s not even in university yet. That’s motive. And it even loops back to Bobo’s overbearing wife, Motunrayo (Kehinde Bankole), who’s always tried to keep a tight leash on her husband. Now she must be feeling a double wave of betrayal: despite all her efforts to keep Bobo home and away from his boys, she still failed, again.

Then there’s Bobo’s father, whose secret family life with another wife and four daughters, his only son has stumbled upon and is playing that card for blackmail. That’s a grave secret Baba Bobo wouldn’t like to come out, but was it enough for a father to orchestrate the murder of his own son?

It’s over-the-top theories like these that give this three-episode miniseries its shine. It might sound ludicrous on paper that a father would murder his own son, but the way it’s played here fits the genre like a glove. The Party is a whodunnit that walks the fine line between comedy and mystery thriller.

In a sea of Nollywood entries trying to anchor the murder-mystery formula in our local context, The Party is easily one of the best swings at it so far.

The story is structured to be gripping. Past, present, and future revelations are layered together in captivating ways. There’s almost never a moment where you’re wondering, “How did we get here?”—which is a miracle, especially when you consider how many other films routinely break this sacred rule.

The crisp picture quality, thoughtful camera work, intentional direction, and actors who know their onions all come together to sell the experience. It’s strong technical storytelling. The revelation of the killer is also handled with uncommon mastery. It’s not on-the-nose, and while we don’t get every motivation spelled out, there are enough breadcrumbs for you to form a solid theory. And it works.

The Party is refreshing, enjoyable, and absolutely worth your time. I had no reason to hate myself or regret the hours spent watching this. The decision to split it into a three-part miniseries (even though the total runtime is basically that of a feature film) ends up working. Each episode stands as a distinct act that helps digest the material better.

This is genuinely good work from director Yemi Morafa and producers Judith Audu and Ope Ajayi.

The Party is currently streaming on Netflix.

Have you seen it? Let me know in the comments what you think about the show.