The TV Chick

I have been waiting for Party Down to return for quite some time. I have talked it up to all of my friends and called it one of the best comedies of the year. For a show in its first season, that is a feat. Tonight’s season premiere “Jackal Onassis Backstage Party” does not disappoint. The show centers around a group of caterers (the company is called Party Down), who all have no desire to be caterers. Rob Thomas (genius who created Veronica Mars) along with John Embom and Dan Etheridge have created a series that supposedly uses the British Office as an influence. Party Down stars a cast with some familiar faces: Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen and joining them for season 2, Megan Mullally. Jane Lynch was a part of season 1 and she was phenomenal but she left to do Glee (which I’m happy about but wish she could do both).

Nothing can ever go right in Party Down world. People are always goofing off, their boss is usually leading the pack and the last thing any of them care about is actually catering. Lizzy Caplan and Adam Scott (Casey and Henry) start dating last season, but at the end she goes to do stand-up comedy on a cruise. Ryan Hansen (Kyle) will literally do anything for a part, Martin Starr (Roman) is into hard-core sci-fi  and like everyone else in Hollywood, is writing a screenplay. Megan Mullally (Lydia) fits perfectly in the group as she moved to California for her daughter to become famous. I was a bit worried that no one would be able to fill Jane Lynch’s hilarious shoes but Megan Mullally does a great job.

At the end of last season it seemed like the group was disbanding. All of them were leaving to do “better” things including Ron, who went to fulfill his dream of running a Souper Crackers. When the season picks up, however, the crew is back with Henry as team leader. Of course, no one takes him seriously. Their first job is to cater a backstage party for satanic rocker Jackal Onassis. Hilarity ensues when Roman decides he wants to be Jackal Onassis to pick up women. You’ll just have to tune into see whether Casey and Henry’s romance picks up and if Ron is able to handle his new subordinate position. I’ve seen the first batch of episodes and it just gets better and better. There have been rumors floating around that this might be the last season of the show because Adam Scott is now going to be on Parks and Recreation and Lizzy Caplan has another pilot, but I really hope this isn’t the case. The creators have said that they understand they can’t hold people to the show but because it’s a catering company, people (and actors) can come in and out. I’m counting on a season 3, Starz, don’t let me down! Also, if you don’t get Starz, the episode is available online!

The 2nd season premiere of Party Down airs tonight at 10 pm.
Gravity is a new series on Starz, that is truly unique. Here’s what the network has to say about it:

“Starz premieres its new dramatic comedy “Gravity,” which follows the sometimes comic, sometimes tragic exploits of a group from an eccentric out-patient program of suicide survivors. Krysten Ritter stars as Lily Champagne, a twenty-something who just can’t connect to anyone until she actually dies. She stars with Ivan Sergei, who plays Robert Collingsworth, who is despondent following the death of his wife, and who becomes an internet celebrity when his suicide attempt goes comically awry.  He stars with Eric Schaeffer, the series’ co-creator and one of its executive producers, who plays Miller, an enigmatic cop with mysterious intentions. Also in the cast are Ving Rhames as Dogg McFee, the group’s leader and a former Major League Baseball player, now confined to a wheelchair; and supermodel Rachel Hunter as Shawna Rollins, a former spokesmodel and current life coach who is surprised to find herself attracted to someone much younger than herself. Robyn Cohen, James Martinez and Seth Numrich round out the main cast.”

I wasn’t sure what to think of this new series at first. I love Starz, so I had high hopes. Krysten Ritter is a favorite actress of mine from Gilmore Girls (others may know her from “Breaking Bad”) and it’s so great to see her in a starring role. The series premiere, titled “Suicide Dummies” centers around getting to know each of the members of the suicide support group. The premise of the show is interesting and definitely unique but it took until about half way through the episode for me to get hooked. I still want to know more about Lily’s (Ritter) life and what lead her to attempted suicide, but you can’t get everything in the first episode. I think this show has a ton of potential and I am intrigued by each storyline. The creators have gotten some flack about tackling this subject, so I hope they can continue to do it in a respectful way. I am certainly looking forward to seeing more. As with Party Down, you can also watch Gravity online, so you should check it out.

Gravity premieres tonight at 10:30 PM on Starz.