Fans have had their pink bowties in hand ever since Starz announced the revival of its cult classic 2009 series Party Down earlier this year. The comedy about a group of wannabe actors and celebrities who are stuck in the catering business boasted a star-studded cast of Ken Marino managing the likes of Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Jane Lynch and many more. But when the series returns for a six-episode run, not all of the original stars will be able to return.
While Ken Marino, Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr and Megan Mullaly will all return, Deadline reports that Lizzy Caplan will not be back as the downtrodden comedienne Casey Klein, due to conflicts in the production schedule. As Party Down is expected to begin production in January 2022, Caplan had an existing commitment to Fleishman Is in Trouble, an FX limited series that will prevent her from being part of the revival.
This news is obviously crushing for fans of the series, as Lizzy Caplan’s on-screen chemistry with Adam Scott — and the Mean Girls star's overall disgruntled demeanor — was a huge part of the series original two-season run. Along with its A+ cast, the comedy also featured a starry ensemble behind the scenes as well, notably with Rob Thomas and Paul Rudd creating the series alongside Dan Etheridge and John Enbom. They will also return for the revival, with Enbom serving as showrunner.
Party Down ran for two seasons on Starz from 2009-2010, and although it had trouble finding a strong audience in its time, the die-hard fans it's collected since have been clamoring for a revival of some sort for over a decade. Ken Marino starred as Ron Donald, the incapable manager of the titular catering company. With this, Ron found himself in charge of hapless employees such as Henry Pollard (Adam Scott). As fans probably remember, Henry found 15 minutes of fame on a beer commercial with the oft-quoted line, “Are we having fun yet?” Meanwhile, Lizzy Caplan played Casey Klein, who connected with Henry as her marriage deteriorated and her comedy career showed flashes of potential.
I’m excited to catch up with these beloved characters ten-plus years later. Did Roman DeBeers (Martin Starr) find success in the world of “hard sci-fi”? Did Kyle Bradway (Ryan Hansen) smolder his way to stardom? Assuming the catering company will still be the focus of the series, it’s a safe bet that many of our heroes never did find fame — or at least lasting fame. It’ll also be fun to see Jane Lynch and Megan Mullaly catering together, as Mullaly replaced Lynch on the staff in Season 2.
And if the series is anything like the original, fans are likely to see some impressive names as guest stars when Party Down returns. Actors like Kristen Bell, J.K. Simmons and Ken Jeong left lasting impressions in their guest appearances back in Seasons 1 and 2, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of those faces pop up again. With production on the revival starting in early 2022, you'll be able to watch Party Down Season 3 in February 2023.
