Review: Party Down, "Once Upon A Time 'Proms Away' Prom-otional Event" | Season 3, Episode 5
Marketing may have overplayed their role, but Lynch and Mullally finally take center stage in the revival
The choice to promote Megan Mullally and Jane Lynch as a central part of the Party Down revival has always seemed strange to me. Every time I log in to watch screeners, or see the logo on my “Continue Watching” tab on Hulu from the S1 episodes I watched to refresh my memory, I’m struck by this idea that two characters that have yet to even don a pink bowtie are so prominently featured as opposed to the actual new members of the team, Lucy and Sackson.
First and foremost, let’s unpack the fact that the show consciously chose divorce performers to play these new roles, and then marketing subsequently erased them from the picture entirely, reminding us of the systemic reasons the show was lacking diversity in the first place. But even if we look past that, it’s created this clear tension where the revival both is and isn’t interested in the new dynamic between the characters. While it seems improbable that Starz will keep the show going beyond this point, given the scheduling …