Starz has set the new cast additions for its upcoming Party Down revival. Jennifer Garner (Yes Day), Tyrel Jackson Williams (Brockmire) and Zoë Chao (The Afterparty) have been tapped as series regulars and James Marsden (Dead to Me) has signed on for a key recurring role in the new iteration of the cult comedy.
They join original stars Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen and Megan Mullally who are all returning for the six-episode new season. (The only original cast member not coming back is Lizzy Caplan who had a scheduling conflict.)
Like the original series, the new Party Down installment follows a Los Angeles catering team – a sextet of Hollywood wannabes (Scott, Lynch, Marino, Starr, Hansen, Mullally) stuck working for tips while hoping for their “big break.” Each episode finds the hapless catering team working a new event – and inevitably getting tangled up with the colorful guests and their absurd lives.
Garner will play Evie, a successful producer of studio franchise movies, who, in the wake of a breakup, is reconsidering her life choices. A fledgling relationship with Henry Pollard (Scott) becomes a way for her to explore possible new directions.
Williams will play Sackson, a handsome, confident, driven, wannabe influencer/internet personality. He’s knowledgeable and savvy about his specific internet niche, but a bit lost in every other aspect of life.
Chao will play Lucy, a passionate, outspoken, free-thinking creative “food artist.” Lucy dreams of being a celebrity chef, but she’s stuck cranking out hors d’oeuvres at Party Down without the resources to do anything more ambitious.
Marsden will play Jack Botty, an actor who plays the lead in a popular superhero franchise. Jack’s looks match his charm, he enjoys his life, his fame and being the center of everyone’s attention.
The Party Down revival is executive produced by the original series’ creators/EPs, Rob Thomas, John Enbom, Paul Rudd and Dan Etheridge, as well as Scott, who was a producer on the original. Enbom will serve as showrunner. Lionsgate Television is the studio.
The first two seasons of Party Down premiered on Starz in 2009 and 2010 and remain available.