The Entire Party Down Timeline Explained

"Party Down" is the funniest existential comedy about big dreamers slingin' d'oeuvres in the game. The Starz show about a pack of Los Angeles caterers debuted in 2009. The show was created by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd. Enbom, Thomas, and Etheridge worked together on "iZombie" and the whole gang worked together on "Veronica Mars." Regardless of Rudd's early star power and the bona fides of the writing team, "Party Down" languished for years in the "no" pile until finally getting the greenlight after Thomas shot a pilot in his own backyard, starring almost everyone who would end up in the Starz cast.

The comedy has a uniquely realistic tone that is more "melanchomedy" than dramedy. Like many of its characters, "Party Down" never hit it big, but its first 2 seasons became a cult hit through word-of-mouth–assisted streaming over the years. No one's run the numbers on how many "Party Down" fans there are in comparison to how many people are working "dead-end" jobs they're trying to leave for something better, but (insert Henry deadpan here) there's got to be some overlap.

After a 13-year hiatus, "Party Down" is back for an all-too-short Season 3. While some of the jokes from the first 2 seasons have aged beautifully, some were rotten from the start. "Party Down" Season 3 strikes a slightly more heartfelt balance than previous seasons. Whether you're new to the show or have been a supporter since before the show made it big, it's been a while. Grab a glass of Steve Guttenberg's finest and settle in for this explanation of the entire "Party Down" timeline.

All of the "Party Down" waiters want something badly. While Season 1 sets up these desires, Season 2 ratchets up the sense of longing, urgency, and bitterness over those big dreams being just out of reach. Season 2 sees everyone get a "win" of some kind, even if it doesn't last long.

Ron's Soup R' Crackers fails, and he must work at Party Down under Henry, the new team leader. Casey returns, but she and Henry are seeing other people.

New coworker Lydia (Megan Mullally) dreams of getting her daughter Escalade an acting career. Casey gets a part in a Judd Apatow movie — but it ends up on the cutting room floor. Steve Guttenberg tries to motivate the crew to follow their dreams. Instead, he inspires Henry and Casey to start hooking up again, and Roman and Kyle to clash (not that Kyle is aware) as they try and succeed in their particular fields.

The heartbreak of being "almost" successful is driven home by the Season 2 finale, when Constance hires Party Down to cater her wedding. Henry is concerned when Constance signs a terrible prenup with someone who has been married (and unfaithful to his wives) 9 times before. Just as she drives off into the sunset, her new husband dies — and Henry learns the man invalidated his prenup so Constance would inherit everything. The act inspires Henry to ditch work the next day and go to an audition instead.

Ron Donald doesn't want anyone doing personal business on company time — but this poor unhinged king can't help but do his own (literally) while on the clock. Ron is a manic and militant manager, and he starts the series with a flattop and a dream: to run his own Soup R' Crackers franchise. Ron is the anti-Henry — he cares entirely too much about everything, which isn't great for someone with such intense insecurities. He really runs a tight sinking ship.

Ron is a desperate optimist. He views every event as an opportunity to prove what a great team leader he is — and what a great team he leads. When he caters his own high school reunion, he drinks a veritable jug of alcohol in an attempt to impress the reunion-goers. Still, he gets the cash to open his own Soup R' Crackers at the end of Season 1, but the store is closed by the start of Season 2. Ron reverts to his party animal ways, leaving Henry to take the reins.

Ron eventually gets back on the wagon, but only after getting high enough to trap himself in a casket at a ladies' man's funeral. Ron returns to Party Down with a fresh flattop and an even more manic approach to dream-chasing, which sort of works — he falls in love with Party Down's owner's daughter (who eventually leaves him for a hot cop at a woman's march) and buys Party Down (even though Constance is his loopy investor). Season 3 Ron soars to new highs and drops to food-poisoned lows in his desperate attempt to keep living the dream.

Roman DeBeers is the dark cloud to Kyle Bradway's sunny day — but what else can you expect from a bitter sci-fi writer whose biggest breakthrough came from writing a novel on a roll of toilet paper after accidentally ingesting way too many "magic" cookies? Roman is superior, surly, and incel-adjacent. But for all his bravado and cutting remarks (sometimes in Latin), Roman is a dreamer all the same.

While Kyle and Constance wear rose-colored glasses, Roman's bifocals are pitch-black. He doesn't think he'll succeed, and therefore he rarely does. Roman brushes up against success a few times over the series, but it's never what he thinks it's going to be. He accidentally food poisons George Takei in Season 1 while fanboying over him. In Season 2, he gets to trade places with rock star Jackal Onassis (Jimmi Simpson) for a night. Instead of getting the rock star treatment, Roman repels girls with his desperate attitude — even after getting tips from Kyle.

After a rough night watching his former writing partner live the life Roman feels is meant for him, Kyle does provide some comfort — if nerds like that can get into a limo with hot chicks, there's got to be hope for Roman. Like Henry, Roman's attitude mostly doesn't change over the years, but he seems slightly less toxic at the end of Season 3 than in the beginning. Also like Henry, Roman can't help but care about his Party Down crew — even if he would sooner die than admit it.

Lydia Dunfree is the wild-card energetic twin of Constance. While Constance is untethered and airy, Lydia has a more practical streak than her "follow your heart" foil. Lydia shows up in Season 2, freshly divorced. She's got her teenage daughter Escalade in tow, and will stop at nothing until her daughter becomes a star.

Lydia puts her daughter's dreams above all else, but has a few slightly unspoken ones of her own. When the crew works Nick DiCinto's Orgy Night in Season 2, Lydia can't help but long for the touch of Nick himself — and he has such a nice house. Lydia is out of her depth in Hollywood for much of Season 2, and like Ryan asks everyone for acting feedback, Lydia asks everyone for advice on how to help Escalade. Lydia might not be accustomed to the finer things in life, but like when Steve Guttenberg tries to teach her about wine, she's a quick study. Lydia might only know red from white, but she's tasting notes of sticks and rope in no time.

By the start of Season 3, Lydia has gone from enthusiastic but unsure country bumpkin to talent manager. Instead of being a cater-waiter looking to industry pros for advice, Lydia spends Season 3 as an industry pro asking her friends for advice on how to better parent her daughter. She also strikes up a relationship with a rival.

Sackson will do anything to get to the top, even if it means falling down the stairs. Sackson is another fresh face in Season 3, and a twist on Kyle's familiar star-chasing antics. Instead of wanting to make it big as an actor, Sackson wants to climb to the top of the content creator heap. Unlike Kyle, Sackson makes major strides in his success fairly quickly. But like the millennial blondie, Sackson also struggles with knowing where to draw the lines between dreams and destruction.

Sackson violates Ron's bathroom rule in Season 3 Episode 1 to film a dance video in a coveted mirror set-up. The video goes viral, and Sackson can only top it when his slide down an escalator turns into a hard tumble. Just like Kyle has to constantly hustle for auditions, Sackson has to keep pivoting to build his audience.

In the midst of trying not to lose the foothold he's gotten in the content game, Sackson does lose himself during a "Sting"-related sting operation while on mushrooms. Henry and Evie manage to find him, and Sackson seems more than capable of continuing to find himself — and his audience.

At the top of Season 3, Henry connects with Evie Adler (Jennifer Garner), a funny and charming producer on the arm of the irritatingly handsome and wildly successful actor, Jack Botty (James Marsden). Evie is warm and direct, and seems genuinely interested in working with Henry as an actor. She hires Party Down to throw Jack's 45th surprise birthday party, where Henry discovers Jack cheating on her with some young starlet. He consoles Evie and she gives him her number.

The pair start dating and have an easygoing and happy connection that contrasts severely with the sharp and sneaky thing Henry and Casey had going on. Like Casey, though, Evie also believes in Henry's acting ability, and lines up a possible part for him in the superhero film series she's producing. Evie's commitment inspires Henry to give his English students his best and to connect with a student who wants to quit the (incest-heavy) classic play they're performing with some acting of his own. Henry and Evie spend Season 3 in a legitimately healthy relationship that helps them both build up the confidence to chase a new dream in their lives. 

For Evie, that's going abroad to take a producing promotion, then eventually making another independent film. For Henry, it's deciding not to take the acting role on offer, but out of love of a new game, not a fear of failure. Henry cares about his students and even about helping Ron and the crew. He and Evie make a sweet, clean parting — just in time for Casey to make a surprising return in the final moments of Season 3. She's back in town for a bit — and maybe for good — and she hates the dream she's been living. She too is ready for something new and Henry can't help but smile about it.