The return of Veronica Mars in movie form has given fans renewed hope that other TV shows might someday find their way back to the screen either big, or small. The underrated Starz comedy Party Down is one series many people hope will be revived in some form or another, whether it be a movie or another season of the show. So when we sat down to talk to Ryan Hansen about the Veronica Mars movie, we had to ask him what the update was on bringing Party Down back. In addition to sharing a vague update on the interest among the cast and producers, he joked that he'd chop off a toe if it would get the movie made.
From the sound of it, there hasn't been much progress since it was reported that John Enbom was working on a script, and that was back in 2012. But from what Hansen says, it sounds like the Party Down crew is still up for reuniting...
I think that for a while, John Enbom was hired to write a script. I don't know if he ever got around to it or what happened. There's tons of interest from inside, at least from the cast and from the producers and stuff. It's just really hard, because everyone's doing well, which is a good thing but everyone's doing their own stuff, so it's going to be hard to get back together, I think, and knock one out.
Given the choice between a Party Down movie or a revival of the TV show, Hansen says he'd prefer to go the Arrested Development route in doing "little chunks of a show." He says he thinks that would be best. And given the way Arrested Development's fourth season was structured to work around the varying availability of its cast, that makes sense. As for Hansen's willingness to return to the "catering" business for a Party Down revival, he joked that he'd give up a toe if it were necessary to make the movie happen. "I'd chop off a toe if someone needed a toe," he told us. "And they're like, we'll make a movie if you need my toe. I'd chop off that toe."
That's commitment right there. And a toe might make a great Kickstarter incentive if the movie ever decided to go that route... right? Ryan Hansen's toe! Too gory? Ok, maybe not. But we like his enthusiasm for the project regardless.
So it seems the only update on the Party Down comeback is that the stars and producers are still into the idea of doing it, which is good news. But from what Hansen says, it doesn't sound like there's been much progress on actually making it happen anytime soon.
Created by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd, Party Down was a half-hour comedy that debuted in 2009 and centered on a bunch of aspiring Hollywood actors and writers who were paying the rent by working at a small catering business. Each episode had them working some event or another, occasionally getting mixed up in complications with the guests. The impressive cast included then-up-and-comers Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, Jane Lynch and Megan Mullally. The down side to them all getting more successful after the Starz series wrapped up is that they're all pretty busy now, which could be a big reason why we aren't seeing more positive updates on the progress of the possible film or TV comeback. Fans have wanted more since the series wrapped up, whether it comes in the form of a TV show or a movie.
In the meantime, you'll have no trouble spotting Ryan Hansen in the Veronica Mars film. He reprises his role as the ever-hilarious, oft-inappropriate Dick Casablancas. Hansen had some interesting things to say about the Kickstarted project and the planned Veronica Mars digital series, which you can read here. And if you're planning to see Veronica Mars but still haven't gotten around to watching the TV series, we've created this helpful (obviously spoilery) cheat sheet here!
