It has been more than a decade since we last caught up with pink-bow tie-wearing actors-turned-caterers in the cult comedy Starz series Party Down. No one would hold anything against you if you were under the impression that the June 2010 Season 2 finale would have been the last we saw of Adam Scott, Ken Marino, and the rest of the Party Down cast together, but after a very long stretch of time, the wise-cracking sextet is back for a Party Down revival.
That’s right, soon we’ll be tuning in to Starz to watch Party Down Season 3 like it's 2009 all over again and as if the past few years never really happened. Below is a quick rundown of several quick things we know about the upcoming revival of the cult comedy series about struggling actors finding a new way to support themselves in Hollywood.
The Party Down Revival Premieres February 24th On Starz
Party Down originally debuted in March 2009, with its second (and final) season ending June of the following year, at which point it seemed like the series, which later became a cult classic, was done for good. Well, those who loved the show nearly a decade-and-a-half ago, or have fallen in love with it since then, will be able to pick up with the Party Down catering company when the revival premieres Friday, February 24th on Starz.
The Party Down Revival Cast Includes Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch And Martin Starr
When Party Down comes back, the revival will see the return of most of the show’s main stars from the first two seasons. Upon announcing the return, Starz revealed that Adam Scott (who is also one of the show’s executive producers) will be returning as Henry Pollard. Joining him will be Ken Marino as Party Down team lead Ronald Wayne “Ron” Donald, Jane Lynch as Constance Carmell, Martin Starr as Roman DeBeers, Ryan Hansen as Kyle Bradway, and Megan Mullally as Lydia Dunfree.
Although most of the original Party Down cast will be returning for the upcoming revival, one of the major stars won’t be joining them. In November 2021, Deadline reported that Lizzy Caplan, who played Casey Klein in the first two seasons, will not be around for the latest slate of episodes, but it’s not because of ill will or anything like that. According to the report, Caplan was already committed to the FX on Hulu limited series Fleishman Is in Trouble.
The Party Down cast had its share of guest stars during the show’s original run, and that trend looks to continue with the upcoming revivals. In January 2022, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Jennifer Garner, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Zoë Chao, and James Marsden would all appear throughout the latest season. There is no word if previous guest stars like J.K. Simmons, Ken Jeong, or Kevin Hart will be appearing at any point.
The Party Down Revival Picks Up Ten Years After The Events Of The Original Series
The Party Down Season 2 finale, which ended up being the final episode of the original show’s run, ended with a chaotic wedding and Henry Pollard making the decision to skip out on work and audition for another acting gig. When the revival series picks up in late February, it will see the former coworkers at the Party Down catering company crossing paths 10 years after we last saw them, according to Variety.
In an exclusive first look of the Party Down revival, Entertainment Weekly revealed that the new season will pick up with the old familiar gang as they begin to pick up catering gigs for random parties and events throughout Los Angeles. Not much else has been revealed about the plot of the Party Down revival at this point, but with series co-creators Rob Thomas, John Enbom, Paul Rudd, and Dan Etheridge all coming back as executive producers, and John Ehbom once again serving as showrunner, it sounds like it will be more of the same fun and games.
The Party Down Trailer Shows The Returning Cast Celebrating In Their Iconic Pink Bow Ties
In January 2023, Starz gave the world its first full look at the return of Party Down with the release of a trailer showing the various returning members of the cast getting back together for a reunion after 10 years apart.
In addition to showing returning stars like Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, and Adam Scott – who appears to be going through some kind of existential crisis – the trailer also introduces new members of the Party Down cast, including James Marsden’s character who mockingly yells “Are We Having Fun Yet?” much to the chagrin of Adam Scott’s Henry.
Adam Scott Has Said The Party Down Revival Will Give The Show A Chance To ‘Finish The Story’
Even though Party Down had die-hard fans during its original run, the show was never a ratings smash-hit and failed to really capture the attention of the general population not familiar with its creators and actors’ previous works. During a February 2022 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Adam Scott took time out of his promotion of the Apple TV+ original series Severance to talk about the Party Down revival, which he said was giving the show a chance to ‘finish the story,” stating:
"We only got two seasons, so there is some unfinished business there, and so we're getting to finish the story."
Earlier in the chat, Scott told Colbert that only around 13,000 people watched the Party Down finale back in 2010, and that the show, which later became a cult classic, only became popular after the fact. The 2023 Golden Globe nominee also said the revival is a result of those people finding the show in the years since its cancellation.
Party Down Season 3 Will Consist Of Six 30-Minute Episodes
The first two seasons of Party Down consisted of 10 episodes apiece, but the new revival will be much shorter. In November 2021, Starz announced that Party Down Season 3 will be made up of six 30-minute episodes, nearly half the amount as the first two seasons. No details have been revealed as to what the members of Party Down will be getting themselves into during the limited series, but it is all but guaranteed to be more of the insane hijinks and situations similar to those featured in the first go-around.
The Party Down Revival Spawned From A 2019 Reunion Of The Cast And Crew
There has been a lot of support for a Party Down revival of some sort for years now, with star Ryan Hansen even saying he’d “chop off a toe” for a movie at one point. Despite a small yet diehard group of fans, cast, and crew wanting to see the show’s characters return in some shape or form, nothing ever panned out for Party Down for a decade before everyone got back together for a panel discussion at Vulture Festival LA in November 2019.
According to Deadline, the panel featured the full Party Down cast and the executive producers who made the show a reality in the first place. During the discussion, co-creator Dan Etheridge revealed that a reunion was in the works:
I’m thinking the next year or two we’ll explore a way to get the gang back together again.
A little more than a year later, co-creator Rob Thomas said in a statement (via Vulture) that this 2019 Party Down retrospective was the catalyst for the revival before saying everyone had such a great time and wanted to find a way to get them back together again.
There is still a lot we don’t yet know about Party Down, but expect to hear more about that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out all the other shows on the 2023 TV schedule.
