History Series / PartyDown

* DoingItForTheArt: Henry is implied to have been a talented actor who turned his back on acting after being unable to shed his image as a beer commercial mascot. Roman, similarly, is unable to sell any of his scripts because of his commitment to "Hard Sci-Fi" (although this actually turns out to be a dedication to {{Technobabble}}-laden exposition at the cost of exciting events or relatable characterization).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/PaulRudd and Creator/SteveCarell were originally attached to play Henry and Ron when the show was first being developed (circa 2004), but moved on while it was stuck in DevelopmentHell. Rudd, however, remained attached as a producer.

* ProductionPosse:
** Many of the actors have past connections with Rob Thomas, in particular with Veronica Mars. Ryan Hansen (Kyle) and Kristen Bell (Uda) were main characters, Ken Marino (Ron) had a recurring role, Adam Scott (Henry) and Jane Lynch (Constance) guest starred. Enrico Colantoni and Jason Dohring, both main characters on ''Series/VeronicaMars'', guest starred in episodes 1 and 2, respectively. Ed Begley Jr., who had a recurring role in season 3 of ''Veronica Mars'', guest starred in episode 3. Also, Daran Norris (Cliff) and Ryan Devlin (Mercer) show up in episode 4.
** Several of the stars and guest stars have also been associated with Apatow productions: Martin Starr, Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch, Adam Scott, Ken Jeong, Kristen Bell, & Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
** Various members of ''Series/TheState'' appear in one-shot roles. Ken Marino is a veteran of that group.
* PutOnABus: Constance after episode 8 of season 1 due to the actress's conflicting schedule with ''Series/{{Glee}}''. TheBusCameBack at the end of season 2, [[spoiler:for her wedding.]]

''Party Down'' is a WorkCom broadcast on the Starz network between 2009 and 2010, created by [[Series/VeronicaMars Rob Thomas]]. It follows a group of struggling actors and writers working a low-paying and humiliating job with the Party Down catering company while chasing their Hollywood dreams.

Despite great writing, great acting and a devoted (if small) following, unfortunately the show was too good to last.

** In "Joel Munt's Big Deal Party", a scif-fi author is enraged when he finds out the adaptation of his novel will be using ConspicuousCG for a [[InvisibleMonsters monster that isn't even visible]]. This instance is later {{discussed|Trope}} when Roman and Joel Munt argue over how you're supposed to successfully adapt a psychic gas-creature to film.

* DrinkOrder:
** In "California College Conservative Union Caucus," the names of the drinks that Henry is serving, for example, the "freedom-tini."
** A cultured author and the {{Jerkass}} screenwriter desperate to please him raise a stink over the lack of Calvados in "Joel Munt's Big Deal Party".

* ClusterFBomb: Leonard Stiltskin's dialogue in "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen Party" and "Precious Lights Pre-School Auction."

* HilariousInHindsight: In the 6th episode, Henry's old acting buddy Michael talks about playing Creator/EdgarAllanPoe in an adaptation of a graphic novel where Poe an Lincoln deal with mystical amulets and vampires. Considering an adaptation of both ''Literature/AbrahamLincolnVampireHunter'' and a fictionalized thriller version involving Poe entitled ''The Raven'' are about to come out, this isn't quite as far fetched.

* WaitingForABreak: All of the main characters are waiting for their big break, with the exception of Henry, who has given up. Casey is an aspiring comedic actress. Ryan is an aspiring actor/musician/model. Roman is an aspiring writer. Ron is aspiring to run a "Soup-R-Crackers" chain restaurant. Constance is a former B-movie actress who is still on the prowl for roles. Lydia is completely invested in getting her ''daughter's'' big break.

** "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen" involves a film adaptation of a graphic novel about Creator/EdgarAllanPoe as a vampire slayer. Roman and one of the girls at the party get miffed about the studio [[{{Bowdlerization}} Bowdlerizing]] Poe's alcoholism and underage incestual relations.
** In "Joel Munt's Big Deal Party", a scif-fi author is enraged when he finds out the adaptation of his novel will be using ConspicuousCGI for a [[InvisibleMonsters monster that isn't even visible]]. This instance is later [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] when Roman and Joel Munt argue over how you're supposed to successfully adapt a psychic gas-creature to film.

* BiggusDickus: It was just a glimpse, but holy hell, Ron!

* ChekhovsGun: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]], then [[TheDitz Kyled]], with regards to Baretta's Beretta.

** In "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen", poor Ron is too high to keep himself from saying "nigger" while hanging out with some rappers. [[spoiler:Subverted--at the end of the episode, it seems to have actually made them all friends]].

* JerkAss: Roman, and also most of the hosts of parties. But not Steve Guttenberg.
* JustFriends: Henry and Casey for much of the series, especially [[spoiler:after they first sleep with each other.]]

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: One of the people at "Joel Munt's Big Deal Party" is working on a movie called ''PrideAndPrejudice''. It's a [[BuddyCopShow Buddy Cop Movie]]; one of the cops is a white racist and the other is a rapper.

** [[spoiler: Later he has an absolute perfect moment to make a move... unfortunately moments earlier he had just chugged an entire bottle of hard liquor, and well [[VomitIndiscretionShot you can guess what happens next...]]]]

* RagTagBunchOfMisfits
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Kyle gets a pretty deflating one from a struggling actress he's hitting on about how he's just as much of a failure as her in "Nick [=DiCintio's=] Orgy Night", leading him to [[DrowningHisSorrows Drown His Sorrows]].

* {{Tearjerker}}: In-universe, Henry's performance at "Steve Guttenberg's Birthday".

* BiTheWay: At the end of season 1, Kyle tells a gay producer he would do anything for a part in a movie (and yes, it's implied what would happen), and in Season 2 the movie has been released. Also Roman is hinted as such every so often, having a guy giving him hickeys, to his relationship with his co-writer, and watching a guy masturbate. Also the ThreeHundred Gay test.

* MayDecemberRomance: Constance and her fiance Howard in "Constance Carmell Wedding". Howard's daughter shows up halfway into the party and turns out to be Constance's age.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In "James Ellison Funeral", Kyle complains about his movie going straight to video, a lover not calling him back, and his XBox malfunctioning.

** In "Joel Munt's Big Deal Party", Lydia is too coked out to realize that she definitely did not just say hi to KeanuReeves, Wesley Snipes, or Ed Harris.

* BeYourself: What with the lampshaded resemblance to an afterschool special, this ends up as the moral of "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen" as Taylor learns to take popularity less seriously and just have fun with the real, uncool friends she had before she became TheLibby. [[spoiler:Subverted when her cool friends ''do'' show up and she reverts to her bitchiness immediately]].

* FreakOut: Ron's whole life seems to be one sustained breakdown, but his two most spectacular incidents were in "James Rolf High School Twentieth Reunion" where he drains a bottle of whiskey (after discovering that his classmates consider him a joke, a loser, etc.) and promptly projectile vomits it in the parking lot next to the former class president, a woman he was desperately trying to impress; and in "Stennheister-Pong Wedding Reception" where a verbal beatdown from Uda leads him to hide out in the catering van with a bottle of vodka, and without his pants, sobbing about how he's an idiot.

* Freak-Out: Ron's whole life seems to be one sustained breakdown, but his two most spectacular incidents were in "James Rolf High School Twentieth Reunion" where he drained a bottle of whiskey and projectile vomited it in the parking lot next to the former class president, and in "Stennheister-Pong Wedding Reception" where a verbal beatdown from Uda leads him to hide out in the catering van with a bottle of vodka, and without his pants.

'''Casey:''' Well, [[GenreSavvy you know what they say about]] a gun in the first act, Ron.\\

** Various members of ''TheState'' appear in one-shot roles. Ken Marino is a veteran of that group.

* PoliticalStereotype: Zigzagged in "California College Conservative Union Caucus". The attendees are certainly conservative--annoyingly so--but the worst part of the stereotype is subverted when they're proven to not be homophobic or racist. But then a couple gets in a bullheaded argument about family values versus a political career.

Despite great writing, great acting and a devoted (if small) following, the show was too good to last. However, there is [[TheMovie a movie]] in the works.

* HilariousInHindsight: In the 6th episode, Henry's old acting buddy Michael talks about playing Creator/EdgarAllanPoe in an adaptation of a graphic novel where Poe an Lincoln deal with mystical amulets and vampires. Considering an adaptation of both ''AbrahamLincolnVampireHunter'' and a fictionalized thriller version involving Poe entitled ''The Raven'' are about to come out, this isn't quite as far fetched.

* NoExceptYes: "This is not a retreat--it's an ''advance!"'' in "Brandix Corporate Retreat".

* PopularIsDumb: Kyle.

** In one episode, GeorgeTakei makes an appearance and Bobbie pronounces his name like "Takai." Roman corrects her pronunciation, saying "People have been pronouncing it wrong for years!" Years earlier, Martin Starr mispronounced Takei's name exactly that way in an episode of FreaksAndGeeks.

* HilariousInHindsight: In the 6th episode, Henry's old acting buddy Michael talks about playing EdgarAllanPoe in an adaptation of a graphic novel where Poe an Lincoln deal with mystical amulets and vampires. Considering an adaptation of both ''AbrahamLincolnVampireHunter'' and a fictionalized thriller version involving Poe entitled ''The Raven'' are about to come out, this isn't quite as far fetched.

** Ron downs a bottle of whiskey a la Bluto Blutarsky in ''AnimalHouse''. It ends exactly how you expect it would.

''Party Down'' is a WorkCom broadcast on the Starz network between 2009 and 2010, created by Rob Thomas. It follows a group of struggling actors and writers working a low-paying and humiliating job with the Party Down catering company while chasing their Hollywood dreams.

* ActorAllusion: For some of the series, Casey talks about how she's trying to get a spot in a Judd Apatow movie. In reality, Lizzy Caplan has been in several Apatow productions, and is part of his ProductionPosse.

** Many of the actors have past connections with Rob Thomas, in particular with Veronica Mars. Ryan Hansen (Kyle) and Kristen Bell (Uda) were main characters, Ken Marino (Ron) had a recurring role, Adam Scott (Henry) and Jane Lynch (Constance) guest starred. Enrico Colantoni and Jason Dohring, both main characters on Series/VeronicaMars, guest starred in episodes 1 and 2, respectively. Ed Begley Jr., who had a recurring role in season 3 of VeronicaMars, guest starred in episode 3. Also, Daran Norris (Cliff) and Ryan Devlin (Mercer) show up in episode 4.