Conall Lynch
I am really excited about this. Mostly because I never knew about Party Down until last year so I am a lot better off than the true fans who have been waiting since 2009. I also git a little preachy towards the end of this blog so my apologies. Party Down is a sitcom focused on a group of caterers who are trying to make it in Hollywood mostly as actors. It was canceled after 2 seasons because not a lot of people watched when it aired, but like a lot of other shows (Arrested Development, Community), it gained attention due to streaming and is being brought back by popular demand. You might recognize a few faces like Adam Scott (from Parks and Rec), Martin Starr (from Silicon Valley), and Jane Lynch (from… I mean its Jane fucking Lynch). Each episode had them at a different rich person’s house catering a party. This made it really fun to watch our poor struggling actors interact with rich douchebags who literally treat them like trash. From Throwing food and used napkins at them to forcing them into an orgy. Nevertheless, they would go from house to house trying to get one of these assholes to make them a star.
The show usually ends each episode with one of those “no one makes fun of my friends but ME” scenes which is always a good call when most characters would be pretty hateable if you met them in real life. Take Adam Scott’s character, Henry, for example. At the beginning of the show, he is annoyed by his shitty job and reacts to his coworkers like he is a 16-year-old still sitting at the kid’s table for Thanksgiving. Every interaction he has with the other caterers usually ends with a Jim from The Office-style comment or a Mitch from Modern Family-style eyeroll. It’s not until after working a few parties that he realizes the people he is catering for are beyond worse and starts to appreciate how much more normal his coworkers are. They’re all still crazy, but at least they’re not rich assholes.
Speaking of his coworkers, that is where Party Down really shines. Every actor in this show plays their character perfectly from episode one. My personal favorite is their boss Ron, played by Ken Marino, who is equally poor and crazy as the rest of them… but is the boss and seems unqualified. Lizzy Caplan, who played Casey is not able to make it for the revival due to scheduling issues but everyone else is coming back.
Here is where I originally wrote out a few of my favorite and least favorite things about the show, but I really want more people to watch Party Down and I think telling everyone about specific characters and plot points makes watching the show pointless (that’s why I still haven’t watched Squid Game… I know everything I need to). Personally, I HATE when someone recommends a show but then follows up with a “yea you can skip the first episodes” or “the last 2 seasons suck”. It makes me go into the show knowing that it sucks or is going to suck… and that sucks. I also like to be surprised by a show as much as I can in this era of social media. It’s hard, but I try.
SPOILER AHEAD. For example, if someone told me that “The first 2 seasons of The Office suck and Michael leaves The Office in season 7 so stop watching after that”, then I will have no attachment to the character and will hate watching seasons 1,2,8, and 9… THAT’S HALF OF THE FUCKING SHOW. I know that sounds crazy but I want to experience a show as naturally as possible. That’s why I always recommend a show by saying “it’s hilarious” or “you should watch it”. The only time I get particular about specific episodes or seasons is after they watch it or really don’t seem too keen on watching so I say the show’s weaknesses to dumb it down. If you truly enjoy a show, don’t force your experience on someone else by nit-picking it and filling their brain with your experience… just say it’s good and allow them to make the choice to watch or not watch. You might get a few “yea I watched the first episode of Community… I didn’t really like it” but occasionally you will get the “holy shit I love Crashing fuck you for not recommending it to me sooner”.
That being said… watch Party Down. It’s good and on Hulu.
