Are you not watching the Paul Rudd-produced Starz original series Party Down? The one about the struggling actor cater waiters in LA, where each episode takes place at a different party? It's okay, I was once like you until last weekend: thinking that a show on Starz couldn't be that good because it was presumably rejected by HBO and Showtime, or thinking that a show that was available for free in its entirety online before the first episode even aired couldn't be that good because we all like our comedy shows like we like our men or women: hard to get.
Or maybe you really love Paul Rudd, and were worried that if you actually watched the show and didn't love it, something in your heart might change, a nearly imperceptible but un-ignorable switch would suddenly be pulled, and you could never appreciate PR the same way you did before. (Probably not, because that's just my kind of crazy.)
ANYway, if you, like me, have neglected watching Party Down on any of the approximately 18 platforms upon which it is available to you, in some cases free of charge, don't beat yourself up. It's not too late to catch up on the funniest new show since Eastbound And Down. You should just trust me, but if all this isn't enough, here are some overly sincere and gushy reasons why.
3. Jane Lynch. Jane Lynch. Jane Lynch! I know from IMDB where Jane Lynch has been all my life (in literally every TV show, from Empty Nest to Friends), and where she's been for the past few years (in every decent comedy) but suddenly Jane Lynch is the best comic actress on the planet. Jane Lynch is a comedy hero.
2. The rest of the cast, particularly Ken Marino. It's about time Ken Marino starred in something, and his desperate, gullible catering manager character is like a smarter but more hapless (and accidentally racist) Kenneth The Page. And if you saw Step Brothers and thought the guy who played the asshole brother was typecast as an asshole forever, Adam Scott will surprise you as the show's jaded struggling actor protagonist. Even the show's hot chick, Lizzy Caplan, is smart and funny.
1. It's so crazy audacious and dirty! Watching it, you actually find yourself wondering if HBO could get away with a show like this (before Eastbound, at least.) The first episode I saw co-starred Ken Marino wearing a prosthetic penis. And unlike shows that resort to dirty stuff for cheap laughs, Party Down's dirty jokes are earned.
So everyone go right now and watch Party Down. It's still not too late to keep it from getting canceled. I've seen seven of the ten episodes, and all were hilarious, but if you want to start out with the best so far, watch episode 106, Taylor Stiltskin's Sweet Sixteen. It guest stars J.K. Simmons, which is basically all anyone needs to know to watch it. Yes, we are having fun yet! (Thanks to approximately twenty people, but especially Clayton, Michele, and Izzy for the tips-slash-convincing arguments.)
