One great TV show to watch this weekend: Long-awaited revival of 'Party Down' is all ups

Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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If you know about "Party Down," you just know.

The Starz comedy about wannabe actors in Los Angeles making ends meet as cater waiters ran for only two short seasons in 2009 and 2010. But it made up for what it lacked in cultural awareness with comedy so deeply funny yet achingly cynical it could make you question the point of living and fall over laughing with the same joke.

Like many an underappreciated cult hit, "Party" got new life in the streaming era on Hulu, and that led to this new and shockingly spectacular third season, 13 years later. Without missing a comedic beat and with nearly all of the original cast returning – including Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Megan Mullally, Ryan Hansen, Ken Marino and Martin Starr – "Party" (Fridays, 10 EST/PST, ★★★★ out of four) is the rare nostalgia trip that doesn't actually feel like it's lamely wistful for the past. The cater waiters are as stuck in the unhappy present as the rest of us, and their misery is our hilarity.

Ryan Hansen as Kyle Bradway, Zoe Chao as Lucy, Martin Starr as Roman Debeers, Adam Scott as Henry Pollard andTyrel Jackson Williams as Sackson in Season 3 of "Party Down."
Ryan Hansen as Kyle Bradway, Zoe Chao as Lucy, Martin Starr as Roman Debeers, Adam Scott as Henry Pollard andTyrel Jackson Williams as Sackson in Season 3 of "Party Down."

That recognition of the passage of time and understanding what life is like in 2023 is the key to the new season's success. The creators – Paul Rudd, Rob Thomas, John Enbom and Dan Etheridge – are realistic about how their characters have aged: Scott's Henry has given up on acting a second time and settled down in the suburbs; Lynch is living it up as a rich, New Age widow; Starr's Roman is still working on his sci-fi magnum opus (and still working as a waiter). Lizzy Caplan was unavailable,  and her character Casey is explained away as having made it onto "SNL."

Ken Marino as Ron Donald, Megan Mullally as Lydia Dunfree, Ryan Hansen as Kyle Bradway, Jane Lynch as Constance Carmell, Martin Starr as Roman Debeers and Adam Scott as Henry Pollard.
Ken Marino as Ron Donald, Megan Mullally as Lydia Dunfree, Ryan Hansen as Kyle Bradway, Jane Lynch as Constance Carmell, Martin Starr as Roman Debeers and Adam Scott as Henry Pollard.

It doesn't really matter what plot machinations bring these characters back to the Party Down Catering fold. What matters is how easily they slip into the crude, harshly realistic and painfully absurd comedic rhythms that made the series what it was. Adding Jennifer Garner to the cast as Henry's new love interest is a stroke of genius (she should do comedy all the time), and a revolving door of high-profile guest stars, from James Marsden to Quinta Brunson, bring their own delight to the mix.

Adam Scott as Henry and Jennifer Garner as Evie in Season 3 of "Party Down."
Adam Scott as Henry and Jennifer Garner as Evie in Season 3 of "Party Down."

Just being one of the lucky few to have watched "Party" in its initial run felt like belonging to a special club that whispered Henry's unfortunate catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" to one another while passing the DVD box set around (yes, the show arrived during the brief heyday of the TV season DVD box set as a Christmas gift for your aunt).

Hopefully with Season 3, the "Party" will get quite a bit bigger.

How to watch: ‘Party Down’ Season 3

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Party Down' Season 3 review: The one thing to watch this weekend