The short-lived Starz comedy series Party Down is much less high-profile than other recent TV revivals, but still has a dedicated cult-following. Still, it's nothing compared to co-creator Rob Thomas's other cult-favorite series, Veronica Mars, which got its own revival in 2019. With lower stakes, Party Down can return without the crushing weight of fan expectations hanging over it, bringing back entertaining characters for more low-key goofing off. Party Down's stars and creative team settle back into the groove to deliver a promising third season.
Just about that much time has also passed in the lives of the characters, some of whom are in very different places at the beginning of Season 3's first episode. Los Angeles catering company Party Down is still going strong; and hyperactive, insecure manager Ron Donald (Ken Marino) is still in charge, now angling to buy the company. Misanthropic aspiring sci-fi novelist Roman DeBeers is still working as a waiter, but the rest of the characters from the first two seasons have moved on.
Almost all of them reunite at an event celebrating former Party Down employee Kyle Bradway (Ryan Hansen), who's finally achieved his Hollywood dreams by being cast in the lead of a new superhero movie. Former actor Henry Pollard (Adam Scott) has made peace with his lack of Hollywood success, and is now married and working as a teacher. Constance Carmell (Jane Lynch), who became both a bride and a widow in Party Down's second-season finale, has used her substantial inheritance for charity work. Lydia Dunfree (Megan Mullally) is managing the thriving acting career of her daughter Escapade, who's now in her early twenties.
That leaves Casey Klein (Lizzy Caplan), the only original Party Down character not returning. Caplan does show up in photos featured in news reports about her thriving comedy career and celebrity dating life. There's a lot of maneuvering in the first episode to bring these characters back together and find reasons for them to continue hanging out, and by the second episode both Kyle and Henry are back working at Party Down. The plotting is unwieldy, but the end result is a welcome recreation of the wonderful comedic chemistry from the first two seasons.
Lynch and Mullally appear sporadically, supplemented by a few new additions, including a couple of Party Down employees. Sackson (Tyrel Jackson Williams) is a young social-media content creator who's pursuing a new kind of showbiz dream, and Lucy (Zoë Chao) is the company's new head chef, who's very dedicated to the artistry of her often inedible food. Jennifer Garner also joins the cast as Evie, a movie producer who becomes romantically involved with Henry.
The new and returning characters blend together remarkably well, and it's easy to imagine a version of the show continuing beyond this season, even without many of the original cast members. Longtime fans will be happy that the interplay between the characters is as sharp as ever. The returning characters all get time to shine, but the focus remains on Henry and his continued angst over his thwarted artistic ambitions. That angst was previously funneled through his relationship with Casey, but Evie makes a surprisingly solid substitute, offering Henry a new challenge.
Each Party Down episode takes place at a different event that the company is catering, and with only six episodes in the season, most of the events end up having a direct connection to the main characters. While there are strange one-off events, they're few and far between compared to the events that focus on a main character's story arc. The continuity never gets in the way of the humor, and show runner John Enbom -- one of the original co-creators -- effectively balances callbacks with accessibility.
Party Down's guest-star roster remains strong, and this season includes memorable appearances from Bobby Moynihan, Nick Offerman, Abbott Elementary's Quinta Brunson, and Yellowjackets' Liv Hewson, who replaces Kaitlyn Dever as Escapade. Enbom explores new angles on Hollywood satire in Escapade's status as a former child star, as well as in Evie's job producing a superhero franchise.
These characters are often ridiculous, but they're also charming and easy to root for. Marino in particular creates an almost tragic arc for the buffoonish Ron, whose quest to become a catering mogul is both pathetic and strangely heartwarming. Longtime viewers may get more out of those character arcs than newcomers, but Party Down is accessible and easy to watch, with consistent laughs from a talented cast. The actors seem thrilled to be back, and that feeling extends to the audience.
Party Down Season 3 airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on Starz and streams on the Starz app, beginning Feb. 24.