November 9, 2010
The show was filmed in a quasi-documentary style, often utilizing improv and naturalistic lighting. Because it aired on a premium cable network (Starz), it flew under the radar during its initial run. The DVD releases became the primary way the "cult following" discovered the show years after its cancellation.
The premise was simple: everyone working there has a dream they are failing to achieve. Henry Pollard (Adam Scott) is a former "beers" commercial actor turned cynical team leader; Casey Klein (Lizzy Caplan) is a struggling comedienne; Roman DeBeers (Martin Starr) is a hard sci-fi screenwriter who loathes humanity; and Ken Marino plays Ron Donald, the aggressively enthusiastic team leader whose only dream is to manage a "Soup R' Crackers" franchise. party down dvd
In the pantheon of television shows that were canceled too soon, Party Down sits on the throne. Aired on Starz from 2009 to 2010, this half-hour comedy about a group of aspiring actors, writers, and misfits working as cater-waiters in Los Angeles has achieved legendary status. While the show eventually found a second life on streaming platforms and was even revived for a third season in 2023, the original Party Down DVD releases remain a vital artifact for fans.
Before diving into the technical specifications of the DVD, it is important to understand the product. Party Down was created by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd. It followed the lives of the employees of "Party Down Catering" in Hollywood. November 9, 2010 The show was filmed in
In the sprawling canon of television’s so-called “Golden Age,” where antiheroes moved product and prestige dramas promised catharsis, one half-hour comedy slipped through the cracks with the quiet dignity of a dropped tray of shrimp cocktail. Party Down (2009-2010) is not a show about winning. It is not about the friends we made along the way, nor the romantic grand gesture that fixes everything. It is a show about the slow, grinding realization that your dreams are probably not coming true—and the strange, temporary camaraderie of serving canapés while that realization dawns.
The show was released in two separate standard DVD sets. Notably, Party Down never received a Blu-ray release, as the show was produced in a transitional era of TV production where many comedies were still shot on standard definition digital video or early high-def that was down-converted for DVD. The premise was simple: everyone working there has
This remains the single biggest selling point for the Party Down DVD. The commentary tracks are rarely ripped and uploaded to YouTube or streaming services. They contain deep cuts about the production, such as how they filmed the infamous "Steve Guttenberg Birthday Party" episode or the low-budget catering hacks the production team used.
Cancelled after two seasons, Party Down achieved a perfect, accidental form. It ended not with a resolution, but with a shrug. The 2023 revival season proved the cast could still find the funny in the futility, but the original DVD set remains a time capsule: a show about people waiting for their real lives to start, who realize that the waiting is the life. To watch Party Down is to laugh at the hollow core of the entertainment industry, and then to hear the party upstairs continue without you. You wipe down the counter, pocket a leftover meatball, and clock out. That is the art of the anticlimax. And it is delicious.
The set contains 10 episodes, kicking off with the pilot where the crew caters a high school reunion. It introduces the chaotic dynamic of the team, including the original lineup featuring Jane Lynch as Constance Carmell, before she left to film Glee .