Adam Scott: ‘Party Down’ Cult Status Helped Get Series Revival Despite Mere ‘13,000 Viewers’ for Original’s Finale

Samantha Bergeson
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“Party Down” had die-hard fans — 13,000, to be exact.

Lead star Adam Scott joked during the February 17 episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that it took years for the short-lived Starz series to reach cult classic status, if it ever (technically) did.

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“We finished 12 years ago, and our final episode had something like 13,000 viewers, so it was not yet a cult classic at the time,” Scott, who played cater-waiter Henry Pollard on the series, told Colbert. “But people have discovered it in the time since, and I think that’s part of what makes it special to people, is that they had to dig it up and find it themselves.”

That swell of fandom post-series cancellation led to a six-episode revival currently in production. Former stars Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, and Megan Mullally are all set to reprise their respective roles, while co-lead Lizzy Caplan has scheduling conflicts with series “Fatal Attraction” and “Fleishman Is in Trouble.”

“[Fans] feel some ownership over it, which they should because we have now started up again and rebooted because of them, because people found it,” Scott added.

The reboot was announced by Starz in March 2021.

“Before the cast of ‘Party Down’ became well-known television and movie actors and award winners, they were all wearing the same pink bowties as part of a less than competent team of Los Angeles cater-waiters while chasing their dreams of stardom on the Starz series,” Christina Davis, Starz original programming president, said in a press statement at the time.

Filming began in January 2022, with Scott sharing a behind-the-scenes set selfie on Instagram. “Shortest wardrobe fitting ever,” he captioned.

During “The Late Show,” Scott reflected on donning the pink bowtie once more, saying, “It’s really strange but really wonderful. It’s almost a cliche now because there’s so many reboots and shows to say you’ve just picked up where you left off, but it really, really does and it’s just so deeply fun.”

Jennifer Garner, James Marsden, Zoë Chao, and Tyrel Jackson Williams also joined the “Party Down” revival cast.

Scott especially praised Garner’s performance as Evie, a successful movie producer who’s reconsidering her life choices after a breakup, with whom Scott’s character becomes romantically involved with.

“She’s just doing an incredible job,” Scott said. “We only got two seasons so there’s some unfinished business there, so we’re getting to finish the story.”

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