Search Party: Where’s PawPaw? has announced its supporting cast ahead of the film’s November 13 theatrical release. New additions include Alijah Kai as Norma Anna, Chris “Comedian CP” Powell as MC Baby Dolla, Norman Nixon Jr. as Therapist/Referee, Juhahn Jones as Clavelle Griffen, Lauren Buglioli as Toprameniesha, Landon Moss as Hype Man, Christina Catechis as Nurse Jillian, and Phil Adé as Adé.
Directed by Victoria Monai Richards in her feature directorial debut, Search Party: Where’s PawPaw? is set in the early 2000s and follows college student Noble Williams, played by Richards, who rushes home after learning her grandfather has gone missing from his nursing home. Joined by her two best friends and her chaotic Auntie, Noble tracks him down using a trail of strange clues and even stranger characters before time runs out.
The newly announced cast joins previously confirmed stars Tommy Davidson, who plays the title character PawPaw, Tichina Arnold, who plays the film’s chaotic Auntie, Richards, Daisy Fernandez, and Nijah Brenea.
Richards co-wrote the screenplay with Sherrie Richards. The film comes from Faith Plus Works Productions, a newly launched family-owned company focused on joyful, faith-driven storytelling, in partnership with the Harold Brothers, with Sherrie Richards, Victoria Monai Richards, Joseph Harold, Joel Harold, and Grant Gilmore producing.
Among the new cast, several bring overlapping credits worth noting. Alijah Kai, Norman Nixon Jr., and Tichina Arnold all currently star together in Netflix’s A Different World, recently renewed for a second season, with Nixon playing Professor Isaiah Baptiste and Kai starring opposite her real-life mother Arnold as Rashida Duvall. Juhahn Jones previously appeared in Paramount+’s The Varnell Hill Show alongside Davidson. Christopher “Comedian CP” Powell is also an executive producer on an upcoming Netflix comedy inspired by his life, starring Mike Epps, in addition to his writing credit on BET+’s Diarra from Detroit.
With three of its cast members already sharing screen time on A Different World, Search Party: Where’s PawPaw? arrives November 13 carrying a built-in familiarity that could work in its favor as it introduces this ensemble to theatrical audiences.