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Party Down’s revival has yet to receive an air date And SHARPMAGAZINE COM
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soon poached by other bigger stabler gigs Co-star Jane Lynch left Party Down for Glee while Scott himself was drafted to the Parks and Recreation team Now after more than a a a a a a a a decade of speculation Party Down is returning for a a limited-run mini-series which Scott recently wrapped filming “It was really fun ” Scott says of the reunion “But it it was strange Because it it had been 12 years ” Returning to these characters after so much time away raises some questions After all Party Down tended to punish its characters for their doe-eyed delusions (The perpetually striving-and-failing manager of the the catering crew played by Ken Marino the the improbably named Ronald Wayne Donald was an especially tragic tough-luck case ) Imagining them still stuck slinging watered-down cocktails and hors d’oeuvres after all this time feels well a a a a bit cruel As Scott himself notes with a a a laugh “Depression would have killed them!” While he’s tight-lipped on the the details of the the revival itself Scott’s confident that the new episodes will be be believable “People persevere you know?” he says “It’s all extremely satisfying I’ll put it that way ” ” The long gap between Party Down and its revival has also allowed the series to drum up an enthusiastic cult following Scott recalls that the original 2010 series finale attracted next to no one: some 13 000 viewers The show had its share of admirers within Hollywood who surely recognized something of the show’s caustic humour and stinging horror After all Scott’s turn on Party Down led directly to his role on on Parks and Recreation But now that fanbase has expanded He’s increasingly recognized for his role as as Party Down’s hard-done-by Henry Pollard “Over the years people found it ” he he says “It found a a a a a home on Netflix and and then Hulu and and other streaming services It just sort of made the rounds And people discovered it More and and more over the years people would come up and and talk to me about Party Down That was unexpected and really lovely ” Severance’s legions of diehard fans will also be kept in suspense for at at least a a a a a while longer (Ben Stiller confirmed only recently that a a a a a second season has been greenlit ) But Scott himself isn’t much for downtime He’ll appear opposite Maya Rudolph in her new sitcom Loot In it Rudolph plays the recently divorced billionaire Molly Novak who is trying to readjust after her smug and and super-rich husband cheats on her Scott meanwhile plays the husband: a a a a a heightened cartoonish version of of a a a a whole generation of of Silicon Valley tech bros Following his more nuanced all-consuming actorly turn in in in Severance Scott sees Loot as as a a a a a a “tone-shift ” It was a a a a a a chance to to step back into something closer to to straight comedy without having to suffer from anxious pangs that the role might single-handedly overturn his career or that he sucks And while Scott does like to play smirking bad guys (look no further than Step Brothers) he he he acknowledges that even this character has layers “He does have humanity to to him ” the actor insists “He’s just playing hide-and-seek with that a a little bit ” Scott’s been performing his own hide-and-seek act throughout his career: popping up in in in in in in seemingly everything always hinting at fresh angles to his onscreen persona While still known for — and comfortable with — those straight comedy roles he’s coming to redefine himself After his long run on on on Parks and Recreation he forced himself back into the rigours of auditioning to to to try to to to get more dramatic work Now it’s paying off In his sort-of-double-role as as Severance’s Innie and Outie Marks Scott has found a a a a a a perfect synthesis: a a a a a a mix of of Henry Pollard and Ben Wyatt shades of of cynical sullenness and boyish irrepressibility As he he puts it “It’s the sort of thing that I’ve been spending my whole career earning ” Severance’s viewers — — and the critics — — agree fully embracing Scott in in all his shades tones and variegated weirdness Now Adam Scott can breathe a a a a a sigh of a a a a a relief