Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.

Starz canceled Party Down on June 30, 2010. While the show was warmly received by critics its Nielsen ratings were very low. Losing Jane Lynch to Glee as well as Adam Scott to Parks and Recreation were believed to be additional factors in the decision to end the series.^[1]

A script is being written, by series co-creator John Enbom, for a film adaptation of Party Down. The main cast of the TV series is expected to reprise their roles, with the possible exception of Jane Lynch.^[2]

Conception [link]

The concept of Party Down was six years in the making, with many of the ideas for the episodes conceptualized years before the show was made.^[3] An original unaired pilot was shot at Rob Thomas's house with all the original cast except Lizzy Caplan, whose character was played by Andrea Savage. The pilot was used to sell the show to the Starz network.^[4]

Premise [link]

This half-hour comedy follows a Los Angeles, California, catering team for the titular company. The sextet of aspiring Hollywood actors and writers, as well as drifting lost souls, work small-time catering gigs while hoping for their break or some positive change in their lives. Each episode finds the team working a new event, and inevitably getting tangled up with the colorful, affluent guests and their absurd lives.

Cast [link]

Main cast [link]

• Adam Scott as Henry Pollard – A failed actor who returns to Party Down catering after quitting acting. He is most well known for a beer ad where his line, "are we having fun yet?" earned him fame, but killed his career. Apathetic and a perpetual underachiever, he often plays straight man to the rest of his coworkers and is most often the most level headed of the group. His sexual relationship with Casey is a recurring plot element in the show.

• Ken Marino as Ronald Wayne "Ron" Donald – The prideful team leader of Party Down catering who is very uptight when it comes to work and strives for customer satisfaction. He previously was an abuser of alcohol and drugs, but is now sober, although he relapses when under lots of pressure from work as he suffers from low self esteem. His dream is to manage a Soup 'R Crackers, a franchise that offers custom soup. After getting the money, the business shuts down after five months, forcing Ron to return to Party Down, but not as team leader.

• Lizzy Caplan as Casey Klein – A struggling comedian/actress who often disregards authority, especially from Ron. She was married at the start of the series but got divorced and started her relationship with Henry to make a "clean break" from her marriage.

• Ryan Hansen as Kyle Bradway – An actor, model, and front man for his band Karma Rocket. He believes he is the total package and is just waiting for his big break.

• Martin Starr as Roman DeBeers – A fiction writer who is a fan of hard science fiction. Often frustrated by his lack of success, he will harshly judge his colleagues and party guests.

• Jane Lynch as Constance Carmell (Season 1, episodes 1–8; guest star season 2, episode 10) – A former actress who acts as a friend and mentor to aspiring actor Kyle.

• Megan Mullally as Lydia Dunfree (Season 2) – A recent divorcee who has moved to Hollywood hoping to achieve stardom for her 13-year-old daughter Escapade. She is very optimistic and naive, constantly seeking advice from people in the entertainment business.

• Jennifer Coolidge as Bobbie St. Brown (Season 1, episodes 9 and 10) – Constance's roommate who replaces her on the Party Down team after her absence.

Recurring cast [link]

• J. K. Simmons as Leonard Stiltskin – Disgruntled, foul-mouthed film producer who appears in season 1's "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen" and season 2's "Precious Lights Pre-School Auction".
• Joey Lauren Adams as Diandra Stiltskin – Leonard's unhappy and unfaithful wife who tries to seduce Kyle, appearing in season 1's "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen" and season 2's "Precious Lights Pre-School Auction".
• Ken Jeong as Alan Duk – Original Party Down CEO who purchases one of Ron's "Soup 'R Crackers", appearing in season 1's "Sin Say Shun Awards After Party" and "Stennheiser-Pong Wedding Reception". Duk was tried and convicted for white collar crimes before Season 2, and the character was written out of the show.
• Kristen Bell as Uda Bengt – Uptight leader of Valhalla Catering catering who eventually starts a relationship with Henry after Casey leaves. She appears in season 1's "Stennheiser-Pong Wedding Reception" and season 2's "Party Down Company Picnic".
• Aviva as Mandy – Ron's girlfriend who appears in season 2's "Jackal Onassis Backstage Party" and "Precious Lights Pre-School Auction".
• Michael Hitchcock as Bolus Lugozshe – The new owner of Party Down, appearing in season 2's "Party Down Company Picnic" and "Constance Carmell Wedding".
• June Diane Raphael as Danielle Lugozshe – Daughter of Bolus, who begins an affair with Ron and eventually chooses him over her fiance. She appears in season 2's "Party Down Company Picnic" and "Constance Carmell Wedding".

Changes [link]

Jane Lynch did not appear in the last two episodes of the first season due to her commitment to Glee. Jennifer Coolidge replaced her as Constance's roommate, Bobbie St. Brown, for the final two episodes of the season. In season two, neither Lynch nor Coolidge returned in a starring role, while Lynch guest starred in the final episode of the season. A new character named Lydia (Megan Mullally) was introduced to fill the void.

Crew [link]

The series was executive produced by co-creators John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd.^[5] Enbom served as showrunner.^[6] The co-executive producers were Jennifer Gwartz and Danielle Stokdyk and Jennifer Dugan was a producer.^[7] Beginning with season two, series star Adam Scott served as a producer, while series directors Bryan Gordon and Fred Savage served as supervising producers.^[5] Series star Ken Marino directed the second-season finale episode.^[5]

Episodes and DVD releases [link]

Reception [link]

Andrew Wallenstein of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Lurking behind the surface of this raucous comedy is an astute meditation on the promise and peril of leading an unconventional life, something about which aspiring actors know a thing or two."^[7] The American Film Institute named Party Down one of the 10 best shows of 2009.^[12] Season two scored 85 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 12 critical reviews.^[13] James Poniewozik of TIME ranked Party Down as the sixth best television series of 2010.^[14]

Film [link]

On April 19, 2011, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Lizzy Caplan talked about the possibility of a Party Down film. While she commented that "certainly nothing is set in stone", she did state that the film is "something that we [the cast and creators] all really want to do. People are busy with their television shows and whatnot, but it's definitely something that we all want to do, so I think we'll do everything we can to make it happen".^[15] Further discussion of making a film adaptation was brought up by co-creator Rob Thomas at a cast reunion at an Alamo Drafthouse on June 25, 2011, in which Thomas stated that the film was "pretty far down the deal-making process". He also commented that he seemed "hopeful" that the deal would close in time to start filming during the television hiatus of spring 2012.^[16] On January 8, 2012, Megan Mullally confirmed the film is being written by John Enbom and she will be part of it. According to Mullally, the film will likely pick up where Season 2 left off. The entire cast is expected to be present, with the possible exception of Jane Lynch.^[17]

However, in a recent interview with Movieline, Martin Starr commented that "I know that things have gone out that make it seem like it’s official, but there’s nothing official. We all have our fingers crossed and hope that everything works out and that we can get it made. There are small steps being taken that hopefully will lead to people signing contracts and us getting to do something, but at the moment I’m not capable of saying that it’s happening yet". Starr continued that, although he had “heard of the possibility of financiers”, he was not sure “to what degree things are moving forward, or if things are moving forward". He then joked “Hopefully those talks lead to us getting to make an amazing movie that all seven of us fans can watch".^[18]

Connections to other series [link]

[edit] Veronica Mars

Party Down has many connections with Rob Thomas's previous series, Veronica Mars: John Enbom was a writer, Dan Etheridge was a producer/director, Paul Rudd made a guest appearance, and Jennifer Gwartz and Danielle Stokdyk served as co-executive producers.

Series regulars Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch and Ryan Hansen also appeared on Veronica Mars. Scott and Lynch had guest appearances, while Marino had a recurring role and Hansen was a series regular. Other Veronica Mars cast members who have guest-starred on Party Down include Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, Jason Dohring, Alona Tal, Ed Begley, Jr., Daran Norris, Ryan Devlin, Martin Yu, Michael Kostroff, Steve Guttenberg and Joey Lauren Adams. Bell, Colantoni, and Dohring were series regulars, while the others had recurring roles, except for Adams, who was a guest star.

[edit] Freaks and Geeks

Party Down also has connections to Freaks and Geeks. Producer/director Bryan Gordon directed two episodes of Freaks and Geeks. Series regulars Martin Starr and Lizzy Caplan had roles on Freaks and Geeks; Starr was a series regular, while Caplan had a recurring role. David "Gruber" Allen, who had a recurring role on Freaks and Geeks, guest starred in an episode of Party Down.

[edit] The State

In addition to series regular Ken Marino, several cast members of The State appeared on Party Down, including Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, and Joe Lo Truglio. David Wain directed the season 2 episode "Not On Your Wife Opening Night".

[edit] Childrens Hospital

Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, and Megan Mullally appear as their Party Down characters in an episode (titled "Party Down") of the television series Childrens Hospital, in which Marino and Mullally also star.^[19] Lizzy Caplan and Adam Scott also each appeared in a single previous episode, with Caplan playing Mullally's daughter. David Wain, who directed the Party Down episode "Not On Your Wife Opening Night", is also executive producer, writer, director, and guest star of Childrens Hospital.

[edit] Parks and Recreation

Adam Scott and Megan Mullally both star in Parks and Recreation. Scott is a series regular, while Mullally is a recurring guest star. Paul Rudd has also guest starred as a character named Bobby Newport in four episodes of the series, and Martin Starr made a cameo in the episode "Operation Ann". In the same episode, Leslie Knope mentions the Starz televison channel, which broadcasted Party Down.

[edit] New Girl

Lizzy Caplan guest starred in four episodes on New Girl, as a lawyer named Julia, and Martin Starr also guest starred in an episode as an old college roommate of Nick's.

International broadcasters [link]

Country	Channel	Premiere date
Canada	Super Channel	March 23, 2009[20]
Argentina	I.Sat	2009
Brazil	I.Sat	2009
Australia	Movie Extra & ABC2	December 1, 2009 (Movie Extra)[21] & January 6, 2011 (ABC2)[22]
Russia	2×2	January 27, 2011 as Патимейкеры (English: Partymakers)[23]

References [link]

External links [link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Party Down

• Official website
• Party Down at the Internet Movie Database
• Party Down at TV.com