“Party Down” (10 p.m., Starz, TV-MA) returns for a second season and that’s cause for celebration. A strong ensemble cast with great chemistry play struggling actors, writers and assorted has-beens who work as cater-waiters on the periphery of Hollywood’s rich and famous.
Adam Scott stars as Henry, a once-promising actor whose talent was eclipsed by his role in a famous beer commercial. Lizzy Caplan (“Hot Tub Time Machine”) plays his former girlfriend, Casey, an actress forever on the verge and worrying that she’s about to be replaced by younger performers who look just like her. Martin Starr is Roman, the cynical writer of the group, a cerebral role not unlike his memorable turn as the terminally romantic cynic in “Adventureland.”
Megan Mullally joins the cast as Lydia, a nerdy and needy divorcee a tad older than the rest. Mullally seems to have as much fun with Lydia’s clueless repression as she did with Karen’s outsized personality on “Will & Grace.”
“Party” ventures to new a venue every week, with plenty of guest stars. Tonight, they cater a backstage party for Jackel Onassis, a Marilyn Manson-type who envies people with “normal” lives. In the coming episodes, they work at a preschool charity auction, where the competition can be vicious, and at a very sad and uneventful “orgy” for a recently divorced lawyer.
Over the course of the season, look for former regular Jane Lynch (“Glee”) to return in a guest spot. Other cameos include Kristen Bell, J.K. Simmons and Steve Guttenberg.