A comedy about the indignities of working as a cater-waiter, “Party Down” is back with a new season just a mere (squints) 13 years since new episodes last aired on Starz. The series ran for only two seasons originally, but it was Adam Scott’s breakout role as a guy who flamed out as an actor and is instead stuck wearing that infernal pink bow tie and serving drinks to rich partygoers. A crappy job, to be sure. But he found solace with a cute co-worker named Casey (Lizzy Caplan), a fellow struggling actor who shared his bored, sarcastic, gimlet-eyed view of their circumstances.
This is actually the one time I’ll celebrate Hollywood’s obsession with reincarnating old IP. When so much of TV’s output lately has been focused on crime or wealth — or the criminally wealthy (an oxymoron?) — it’s a breath of fresh air any time we get a show told from the point of view of working stiffs.
Rewatching “Party Down’s” original episodes recently, I was surprised to realize how much the show mirrors “The Office.” It may have a Hollywood backdrop, but the basics are all there: A bumbling, overeager boss (Ken Marino as Ron Donald, a man who buys into every bootstrap myth imaginable, to no avail) and a workforce of barely competent eccentrics who couldn’t give a toss about the job. All of it is anchored by Scott’s very Jim Halpert-like performance. He’s too cool to be here. Except, no, actually he’s not.
