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Fame is Fleeting (But Comedy Isn't): An Advance Review of Season Two of Starz's Party Down

The employees of Party Down Catering seem to fall into two categories: those who continue to dream big and those whose dreams have gotten thrown on the ground, stomped on a few dozen times, and then set on fire for good measure. Season Two of Starz's deliciously droll comedy Party Down , created by Rob Thomas, John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd, returns tomorrow for another season of scathing satire, trenchant observation, and dark comedy. (You can read my feature article on the series here .) Despite its presence on an up-and-coming pay cable network that doesn't boast the reach of HBO or Showtime, cable's big guns would be lucky to have a comedy that's this hilarious, biting, and emotionally resonant, often all at the time same. Set nine months after the events of Season One, Party Down finds its caterers heading once more into the breach as they cater the backstage after-party for rock metal god Jackal Onassis (guest star Jimmi Simpson). Changes are afoot: Hen

The Daily Beast: "Is the Party Over?"

Is Party Down over before it's even had a chance to grab a larger audience and cross over into the mainstream? That's the question I ask in my latest feature for The Daily Beast, entitled "Is the Party Over?" I speak with co-creator John Enbom, star Adam Scott (who will soon be seen in his new gig on NBC's Parks and Recreation ), and former Starz development executive Bill Hamm, who was let go from his position just days after speaking with me. With the cast being snapped up by other networks and no Season Three renewal in sight, one can't help but wonder if Starz has squandered Party Down 's significant potential. But the fact remains: if you want more Party Down , subscribe to Starz, buy the DVD, and get as many people to watch Season Two--beginning tomorrow--as possible. Party Down returns for its second season tomorrow night at 10 pm ET/PT on Starz.

Channel Surfing: AMC Sets Mad Men Return Date, Scott Porter Returns to FNL, Laurence Fishburne Staying Put at CSI, Lost, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Mark your calendars, Mad Men fans: Season Four of the period drama is set to launch on Sunday, July 25th at 10 pm ET/PT while new drama Rubicon will launch with two back-to-back episodes on Sunday, August 1st at 8 pm before it moves into its regular 9 pm timeslot the following week. "Sunday nights are where you find the best of premium television so it should be no surprise that AMC -- the home of premium television on basic cable -- is stacking our original dramas there as well," said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, in a statement. "We welcome back Mad Men and look forward to introducing Rubicon all on Sunday nights this summer." Rubicon stars James Badge Dale ( The Pacific ), Dallas Roberts ( Walk the Line ), Jessica Collins ( The Nine ), Christopher Evan Welch ( Vicky Cristina Barcelona ), Lauren Hodges ( Law & Order ) with Arliss Howard ( The Sandlot ) and Miranda Richardson ( Sleepy Hollow ). (via

Channel Surfing: Billy Campbell Lands The Killing, More on Conan-TBS Deal, NBC Gets Law & Order: Los Angeles, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Billy Campbell ( The 4400 ) has been cast as one of the leads in AMC drama pilot The Killing , where he will play Darren Richmond, a City Council President in Seattle. Series, executive produced by Mikkel Bondesen and Veena Sud, revolves around three interlocking stories that are connected by the murder of a young girl. ( Hollywood Reporter 's The Live Feed ) TBS' deal with Conan O'Brien for a latenight talk show is described as a "watershed moment" by Variety 's Stuart Levine, who reports that the cabler's deal with O'Brien will bring more viewers to the channel who may not have come to the comedy-centric cabler before. Deal will create a two-hour latenight block (with George Lopez's Lopez Tonight that will air Mondays through Thursdays on TBS. ( Variety ) The Wrap's Josef Adalian has an interview with Turner Broadcasting Company's Steve Koonin about TBS' surprising deal with Conan

Channel Surfing: Fringe Musical, Conan Heads to TBS, Ryan Devlin Checks into Grey's, Fred Willard, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive first-look at the upcoming musical episode of FOX's Fringe , set to air April 29th. "We didn’t set out to do a musical," Fringe 's executive producer Jeff Pinkner told Ausiello. "We set out to do an episode that explored Walter’s state of mind — he’s dealing with some very upsetting news. When we realized that the way Walter would deal with such news would be to try to anesthetize himself with copious amounts of marijuana, well, singing and dancing became a natural outcome." [Editor: Hmmm, just what could that "very upsetting news" be?] ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) A rather big speed bump has emerged during the ongoing talks between Conan O'Brien at FOX. Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd and Matthew Belloni are reporting that while the negotiations between the former Tonight Show host and FOX have been smoot

Channel Surfing: ABC Renews "Castle," "Fringe" Producers Talk Parallel Universe, "30 Rock" Lands Matt Damon, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Nathan Fillion fans, rejoice! ABC yesterday announced that it had ordered a full third season for procedural drama Castle , picking up the Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic-led series for a full season of 22 episodes. The pickup came a day after Castle hit a ratings high (14.5 million total viewers and 3.7/10 in the key demo) and as well as broke a record for scripted series at ABC on Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT and its best key demo ratings in the timeslot since 2001. (via press release) Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian has a quick Q&A with ABC chief Steve McPherson about Castle 's renewal. "We all believed, on both the production side and the network side, we believed in the creative on this show from the get-go," McPherson told Adalian. "We loved the casting, we loved Andrew (Marlowe, executive producer) and the work he was doing on the story-telling. It's a great story of patience. It's good to se

Channel Surfing: Thomas Hayden Church Lands "Episodes," Starz Builds "Camelot," Recasting at "Game of Thrones," Conan and FOX, "Torchwood," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Thomas Haden Church ( All About Steve ) will star opposite Matt LeBlanc, Claire Forlani, Kathleen Rose Perkins, and Stephen Mangan in Showtime's upcoming single-camera comedy series Episodes , where he will play Merc Lapidus, the network president who purchases the format for a British comedy series and then ruins it when he attempts to adapt it for American audiences. Church is slated to appear in six out of seven of Episodes ', er, episodes. Series will air on BBC Two in the UK. ( Variety ) Starz is heading to Camelot. The pay cabler has ordered ten episodes of romantic adventure series Camelot , a contemporary retelling of the Arthurian legends of Thomas Malory's "Morte d'Arthur" that will be written by Chris Chibnall ( Torchwood ) and executive produced by Graham King and The Tudors ' Morgan O'Sullivan and Michael Hirst. Production on the series, originally developed at Showtime, is set to begin

Channel Surfing: Time is Up for "24," Keri Russell Circles "Wilde Kingdom," Adam Scott Talks "Parks and Recreation," "Lie to Me," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. While FOX and 20th Century Fox Television won't comment, Variety 's Michael Schneider is reporting that it appears that Day Eight of 24 will be the series' last. A final decision on the fate of the Kiefer Sutherland-led serialized drama will be made in the next day or so but it's not looking as though 24 will continue for a ninth season, at least at FOX. "The studio is said to be considering shopping 24 to other nets -- but given the thriller's age and pricetag, it's believed interest from other outlets will be limited," writes Schneider. "Yet even as the bell tolls for 24 in primetime, the franchise is far from dead. Sutherland and the 24 team have been keen on adapting the show as a feature film, and have made major strides in recent months toward making that long-term goal a reality." ( Variety ) In quite possibly one of the best pieces of casting news around, Keri Russell ( Felic

Channel Surfing: "Lost" Producers Talk Candidates, Nolte Circles HBO's "Luck," Cavanagh Lands "Edgar Floats," Delany Deal Done for "Body," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks to Lost executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about candidates, numbers, and the flash-sideways. "The concept of the candidates is really central to the final season of the show," Cuse told Abrams. "Jacob is dead so that leaves a significant problem for the people on the island. Who is destined to be the person who is protecting this place?" Lindelof went further, stating that we'll get answers in the next few weeks about why these particular people have been brought to the island. "One of the big questions of this show is: Why were these people brought to this island?" said Lindelof. "At least now we have some sense — if Jacob is responsible for bringing them there — that it has something to do with the fact that he's been observing them for quite some time. We now have information that he had this lighthouse, that he was abl

Channel Surfing: FOX Renews "Fringe," "Doctor Who," Rob Thomas Talks Adam Scott and "Party Down," Kathy Bates Circles "Kindreds," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Good news for Fringe fans: the Pattern will be continuing next season. FOX has officially renewed the drama series for a third season this fall. " Fringe tapped into a deep creative mine this year that built momentum throughout the season and helped give us our first real foothold on TV’s most competitive night,” said Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company, in a statement. "The entire Fringe team – from the producers and writers to the cast and crew – has taken smart storytelling and top production quality to a whole new level. The rest of this season is mind-blowing, and we can’t wait to get started on the third installment of this amazing journey." Meanwhile, Fringe resumes with eight all-new episodes on Thursday, April 1st. (via press release) The Guardian 's Simon Hattenstone has a huge profile of new Doctor Who star Matt Smith, who takes over the mantle of the Doctor from forme

Into the Arena: A Few Quick Thoughts on Starz's "Spartacus"

Some of you have asked what I thought about Starz's blood- and sex-laden drama series Spartacus . After watching the first four episodes that were sent out for review, my thoughts on the series are just as muddled as they were when I first heard about the project. Created by Steven DeKnight, Spartacus recounts the exploits of a Thracian warrior (Andy Whitfield) betrayed by the Romans, torn away from his wife, and forced to compete as a gladiator in a series of vicious battles for the amusement of the public. His only desire: to train as hard as possible in the ludus (gladiator school) in order to win, so that that he can finally be reunited with his wife, who has been sold into slavery. (He'll eventually launch a slave rebellion against the Romans.) And when I say vicious battles, I mean vicious . The bloody and gruesome action is set against a series of a computer-rendered backdrops that recall 300 , without that production's gargantuan budget. Which basically means a nev