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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Party Down Season 3, premiering Feb. 24 on Starz, captures the evolution of social and entertainment industries with the show's trademark irreverence. The revival finds inspiration in the 13 years that have passed since Season 2 aired. At the beginning of Party Down Season 3, many characters have moved on from the Party Down catering company. Henry (Adam Scott) is a teacher and Kyle Bradway (Ryan Hansen) is finally getting somewhere as an actor.
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The COVID-19 pandemic and other factors led Henry and Kyle to rejoin Party Down. Ron (Ken Marino) and Roman (Martin Starr) never left, and they have a new chef, Lucy (Zoe Chao), and Sackson (Tyrel Jackson Williams), a new "cater waiter" as they call themselves.
Each episode features a different party that Party Down caters, but the main cast's stories continue from episode to episode. Henry meets producer Evie (Jennifer Garner) at one Hollywood party, and they keep in touch. Garner has a lot to do in subsequent episodes.
The dialogue between caterers and waiters is just as sharp as before, while updated to address the sorts of events upon which they would be commenting. Henry's childhood catch phrase, "Are we having fun yet?" evolves into new contexts in 2023.
The Hollywood into which Kyle and Henry hoping to break is dominated by superhero movies. Party Down offers some amusing fake movie titles, but their observations apply to the very real dominance of Marvel and DC.
Parties are filled with guests distracted by their own cell phones. Sackson also is an influencer, leading to some comic misadventure when he tries to do both jobs at the same party.
The new chef experiments with modern cuisine, like vapors and fusion, to an absurd degree. Henry remains a sounding board for all the other wacky characters, but still chimes in to correct their stupidity.
Since most of Party Down is dialogue-based humor, outrageous physical comedy comes as a jolt. The slapstick would be good, anyway, but Party Down gives it extra juice by playing it so abruptly.
No matter when Party Down is set, people will always be on the sidelines of Hollywood, working catering as a day job. Party Down Season 3 meets the moment of 2023 with hilarious and insightful observations about the last 13 years.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001 and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
