Ping works but nslookup doesn't see resolv.conf domain search

My /etc/resolv.conf contains one search line that looks like this:

search a.local b.local c.local

The ping command works fine:

$ ping some-server
PING some-server.b.local (10.20.30.40) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 10.20.30.40 (10.20.30.40): icmp_seq=1 ttl=58 time=47.8 ms

But the nslookup (or host) commands don't work without the FQDN:

$ nslookup some-server
;; Got SERVFAIL reply from 10.100.0.200, trying next server
;; Got SERVFAIL reply from 10.100.0.201, trying next server
Server:     127.0.0.53
Address:    127.0.0.53#53

** server can't find some-server: SERVFAIL

$ nslookup some-server.b.local
Server:     10.100.0.200
Address:    10.100.0.200#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:   some-server.b.local
Address: 10.20.30.40

How can I fix nslookup to work properly with my search domains?

To make sure you have the correct dns setup try doing the following:

  sudo nano /etc/resolvconf/resolv.conf.d/base

then paste the following:

# Dynamic resolv.conf(5) file for glibc resolver(3) generated by resolvconf(8)
#     DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE BY HAND -- YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN
# 127.0.0.53 is the systemd-resolved stub resolver.
# run "systemd-resolve --status" to see details about the actual nameservers.

nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4

exit and save the file then

  sudo resolvconf -u   #updates the resolve file from the file we made above. 
  cat /etc/resolv.conf # prints the contents of the resolv file

it should show the text we saved there. After that try the nslookup that failed before, hopefully it works now.