Critic Reviews

Though it takes a while to integrate a new character played by Megan Mullally, Season 2 confidently builds on the successes of Season 1, and from about Episode 5 onward, "Party Down" takes is place as one of the most consistently entertaining shows on television.

It's the sarcasm (see: Adam Scott), smart dialogue, and refreshing take on the workplace comedy that make the somewhat depressing premise a totally raucous party.

Party Down took awhile to jell, but it has hit its stride as one of TV's most finely observed comedies.

Even though Party Down features a steady flow of absurd jokes and funny situations, it still offers more of a consistent, realistic, lively story than dramedies like "Weeds," "The United States of Tara" or "Glee."

The new episodes represent the platonic ideal of a series returning after a long absence: The old magic remains intact, but there are fresh new ideas in the mix, a sense of growth and evolution.

Season 3 is great. By which I mean that most of the five (out of six total) episodes I screened had me laughing so hard that I gasped for air and tears streamed down my face and I very nearly fell off the couch.

What it's really about is the stuff that dreams are made of. As this third season will remind true-blue fans, that stuff can be very funny indeed. ... Hilarious.

Hilarious third season. ... "Party Down" was well worth the wait. Mixing the show's character-driven wittiness and naturally infused social commentary with a newfound sense of maturity all around, this revival marks a new golden standard for giving a classic comedy new life.

The rare nostalgia trip that doesn't actually feel like it's lamely wistful for the past. The cater waiters are as stuck in the unhappy present as the rest of us, and their misery is our hilarity. That recognition of the passage of time and understanding what life is like in 2023 is the key to the new season's success.

A top-flight cast, including Lizzy Caplan and Martin Starr (and this season, Megan Mullally, stepping in for Lynch), who make the show's scripts play like improv. Above all, the show's ambition to be both raunchily funny and emotionally real to characters who are watching their dreams get older one day at a time.