Are we having fun yet?
On Party Down Season 3 Episode 1, after a protracted absence, the answer is an unqualified yes!
It’s been 13 years since we last saw Henry Pollard, Ron Donald, Kyle Bradway, Roman DeBeers, and the rest of the Party Down gang.
First and foremost, it would be difficult to go awry with such a hilarious cast. This CAST, people! It’s a comedy dream team.
You’ve got Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, and Megan Mullally for a start. Jennifer Garner and James Marsden are there to join in on the fun. Credit must also go to the slightly lesser-known but equally hilarious Ken Marino, Martin Starr, and Ryan Hansen.
Jane Lynch’s comedic style has never quite been to my taste (as my reviews of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Only Murders In The Building can attest), but she is just perfect in this.
Ensemble comedy is one hundred percent her forte. Lynch delivers her lines in such an offhanded, naturalistic way that it feels like they’re coming from her own kooky brain — I’d be surprised if she didn’t improvise some of them.
Well, as a patron of the arts, I mostly focus on the arts.
Constance Carmell
Constance Carmell sits perfectly in Jane Lynch’s niche, and she plays with the others so well. Honestly, when she’s playing it straight, she’s the funniest.
Take Lynch’s scenes with Lydia (Megan Mullally) — the two women are so much fun together!
As for Mullally as Lydia, she’s such a natural comedienne. Her squeaky soprano spewing the foulest insults imaginable is so jarring and ridiculous.
Mullally gets a lot of lines that could feel like lampshading, but somehow, she plays them perfectly, a sly wink to the audience.
I love seeing people from the past, and seeing people from the past see other people from the past!
Lydia Dunfree
The whole Henry and Casey shipping conversation, with Roman piling on a dose of reality, was a clever nod to viewer speculations.
Speaking of gifted funny ladies — hello, Quinta Brunson! I enjoy seeing her playing a hardass after getting comfortable with the sweet Janine Teagues in Abbott Elementary.
Hopefully, we see more of her, though, with the way things panned out for Kyle by the end, it seems doubtful.
It’s delightful to see Adam Scott get back to his comedic roots.
Severance is great, and he’s proven himself to be a phenomenal dramatic actor, but it’s a relief to see his fun, playful side again, even if Henry’s personality is more muted than the others.
When I roll those trashcans out with the neighborhood dads, I feel like I’ve finally made it, y’know? Middle class dream.
Henry Pollard
Scott is just so darn likable, with that touch of sardonicism. We always want to root for him, for him to be happy (hence Lydia and Constance’s shipping!)
He and Jennifer Garner’s Evie have some chemistry, though she’s currently with James Marsden’s Jack Botty.
Henry’s conversations with his unseen wife seem strained, and there’s always talk of Casey.
Who knows what’s in store for Henry’s future?
Through it all, there’s Ken Marino as the harried boss, Ron Donald, constantly spinning positivity.
He’s genuinely happy to be adjacent to his friends’ success but perpetually on the verge of losing it (figuratively and metaphorically).
Savory vapors! Lobster smoke! Clam mist! It’s amazing.
Ron Donald
The whole “Kyle makes it big” storyline feels fairly meta in that some of these actors have gone on to widespread fame, while some are probably most known for Party Down itself (like Marino) or Starr as “the teacher from the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies.”
Roman DeBeers: You make it big in this cultural void, it only proves that you suck on some level.
Henry Pollard: It’s good that you’re not bitter.
Kudos to the writers for keeping it subtle enough to still be humorous, like when Evie recognized Henry, but it took her forever to figure out from where.
No sign of Lizzy Caplan’s Casey yet, except in newsreel footage, so we’ll see what manifests there.
Tyrel Jackson Williams confidently makes a fun new addition as GenZer Sackson, who aspires to the highest levels of content creation. Williams fits in well with the rest of the mostly Millenial cast.
Nothing matters except for attention. You have a lot of bad attention right now. You need some good attention to offset it.
Sackson
Party Down lures you in with self-deprecating humor and then occasionally rears in with something unexpectedly wild and shocking (like Ron’s finger, yikes!)
This first episode had a lot of setup and ground to cover to catch us up to what everyone’s been doing the last 13 years, so there was certainly some exposition to wade through.
If there’s anything this show does well, it’s pacing.
They’ve mastered the art of the cutaway as a punchline. A joke is funnier if it’s not lingered on, so you can have a little chuckle. Before you have a chance to catch your breath, they’ve already moved on to the next scene.
For example, they made a COVID joke, and, props to them, I actually laughed.
The joke was unexpected, and then they immediately cut to the credits. The cap was a flash-forward in the mid-credits cutaway scene, and it wisely ended there.
This year, 2020, is gonna be the best year of my life.
Ron Donald
Party Down Season 3 exists in the modern day, with today’s sensibilities, especially regarding the rapid and ruthless nature of cancel culture and the explosion of online social media content.
It manages to push the bounds of decency while still maintaining lightheartedness, for the most part. (Sidebar: Is it okay to make Holocaust jokes? Maybe, but only if you’re making fun of the Nazis).
Best Throwaway Joke: The Broadway premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s More Cats!
What did you think of the return of Party Down? Was it worth the wait?
Are you a Henry/Casey shipper like Lydia and Constance? How will Ron bounce back from the pandemic?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.