If you aren’t familiar with the show Party Down that aired from 2009-2010, it’s about a group of people in Hollywood who want to be doing something else but work for a catering company until their break happens. So they’re star-chasers who need their serving job, but think they’re above it. It was a fun show and a fairly accurate portrayal of most of the people you meet in Hollywood. Another thing about the show was the cast. It’s a Rob Thomas show, so many of his Veronica Mars friends popped up. It starred Adam Scott and Ken Marino and featured folks such as Jane Lynch, Megan Mullally and Lizzie Caplan. Now it’s getting even more star power by bringing in Jennifer Garner for the six-episode revival happening on Starz. Making her big return to TV, Jennifer will play a bigwig who’s dating Adam’s character. I’ll admit, I’m kind of here for this.
Jennifer Garner is ready to party.
Starz announced that the Alias actress is set to appear in the revival of the two-season hit Party Down, about a group of aspiring Hollywood dreamers paying the bills as cater-waiters, which ran from 2009 to 2010. She will play Evie, a “successful producer of studio franchise movies, who, in the wake of a breakup, is reconsidering her life choices.” ” according to the network. Evie will date series original Adam Scott’s Henry Pollard, who “becomes a way for her to explore possible new directions.”
Also joining the cast is Afterparty’s Zoë Chao and Brockmire star Tyrel Jackson Williams. The network shared that Zoë will play Lucy, “a passionate, outspoken, free-thinking creative ‘food artist.’ Lucy dreams of being a celebrity chef, but she’s stuck cranking out hors d’oeuvres at Party Down without the resources to do anything more ambitious.”
Williams’ character, Sackson, will represent a younger generation on the revival. According to Starz, Sackson is “a handsome, confident, driven, wannabe influencer/internet personality. He’s knowledgeable and savvy about his specific internet niche, but a bit lost in every other aspect of life.”
In addition, James Marsden joins the show as a recurring guest star. He will portray Jack Botty, an actor who plays the lead in a popular superhero franchise. Per Starz’s announcement, “Jack’s looks match his charm, he enjoys his life, his fame and being the center of everyone’s attention.”
I sound like a devotee of this show but I’m not. I liked it, but I live amongst the folks they’re portraying so it was like watching a reality show. I haven’t seen all of the original yet. But I’m intrigued by this revival. I love the idea of where are they now, especially for Hollywood dreamers, as the article called them. I’d forgotten this show was also created by Paul Rudd. I don’t see his name in the article, though. However, many of those named above are coming back: Jane Lynch, Megan Mullally, Ken Marino, Martin Starr and Ryan Hansen. Lizzy Caplan is wrapped up in the Fatal Attraction project, so she won’t make it. They had a ton of amazing guests stars in the original, like Jennifer Coolidge and JK Simmons, it would be fun to get them back. I’m sure they could talk Kristen Bell and Ken Jeong into coming back for cameos as well, they’re always up for that kind of thing. Zoë Chao will be a good addition. They cite her in The Afterparty, which is her current role, but I loved her in Love Life. And James Marsden will be a hoot.
As for Jennifer, I love this for her. I like that she’ll be a successful character. I like her that she’s dating Adam’s character, that’s great placement. And I am quite intrigued by the line, “becomes a way for her to explore possible new directions.” Is our sweet lil’ Jen going to be a manipulative man-eater? The whole thing sounds fun and an innovative way to bring a fan favorite back. The original show only aired 20 episodes. But people always speak of it so fondly. This revival happened because the crew got together for a 2019 retrospective, and they just wanted to work together again. So it’s borne out of love. It’s only six-episodes. It’ll be fun. Now I just have to go back and finish the first 20 episodes to prepare.
Photo credit: Avalon Red and Getty Images
Liked Party Down. Loved Veronica Mars. Lets hope Rob Thomas doesn’t manage to torpedo this revival like he did with VM…
I never actually watch their first release but I do love any potential of seeing Jennifer Coolidge and I am on it!! I also adore JK Simmons too!
@Lady I am still SO MAD at how the revival ended – how could they do that to Logan?!?
Party Down was so funny, so I am looking forward to this. I used to be kind of a Jennifer garner hater but she was really funny in that hbo camping show, so I am excited for see her in a comedy again
I need a date so I can mark my calendar. *This* is a revival/reboot than I can excitedly get behind. Can’t wait!
I know!!! I didn’t know this was happening and am sooo excited for it!!
I’m just going to need a minute to process the fact that the show ended in 2010.
Why not? They (Hollywood) seem to favor rebooting comedies over dramas but I wish JG was rebooting Alias instead. Or as well. I’d love to see Sydney and Vaughn play the parents Lena Olin and Victor Garner played to their daughter Isabella -a new double agent for the CIA. But in party downs favor it wasn’t such an iconic success everyone saw like SATC which I think suffers to the comparison to the original. Many like me will be seeing it without that filter. That reminds me has anyone’s seen How I met your father? I might check it out
I loved her in Alias. Rooting for her more now in the midst of the Bennifer ridiculousness.
Why did you feel the need to mention her ex-husband and his current partner? Is she irrelevant without Ben? Garner is a bad actress. She did a show with Lena Dunham that flopped and nearly all her movies are bad. There are actors older than her and close to her age-range who get more opportunities than she does. She’s a has-been who peaked in the noughties and coattailed off Ben’s fame. People can dislike all they want, but he’s more accomplished than her and has no issues getting plenty of work.
I hate this, lol. The ensemble is great but Adam and Lizzy’s characters were the heart of the show. It’s not Party Down without Lizzy caplan.
Happy for Jennifer, she is a versatile actress.
Hey Jenn Garner is on my TV right now, she voices the beloved Mama Llama. Big hit in my house.
She’s such a basic actor, I’m sure this won’t be anything special either. They keep trying with the “return to television!1!” thing… except she’s already done that, with Lens Dunham of all people. That show was a non-starter and was quickly forgotten.