Review: Party Down, "Sepulveda Basin High School Spring Play Opening Night" | Season 3, Episode 6
A reflective finale underlines the raison d'etre of the Starz series' decade-later revival
Revivals need a thesis statement. There has to be some type of reason why a show is returning after a lengthy absence, whether that’s unfinished business for the narrative or the idea that returning to a given story in a different context will bring a new perspective.
At the beginning of the Party Down revival, I don’t know if the show was that interested in leaning into a thesis. The show was resting on the thematic appropriateness of a show about people stuck in a dead end job while chasing their dreams returning and finding most of those characters…still in a dead end job chasing their dreams. It was the Party Down Double Down, reiterating the lessons of the first two seasons but at a different stage in the characters’ lives.
That said, while the thesis may not have been front and center, it has always been present. Henry’s story has clearly been the anchor of the season, and not just because Jennifer Garner played such a prominent supporting role as his love interest. He…