Rob Thomas is a busy boy

In 1998, Rob Thomas created ABC's beloved drama Cupid, starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, which was cancelled after merely one season.  In perhaps a first for network television, Thomas is getting a do-over over a decade later, with a new version of Cupid, this time starring Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson, to debut, again on ABC, this spring.

In between Cupids, Thomas developed a following as a writer as the creator and executive producer of Veronica Mars, and as the creator of the current incarnation of 90210.  Now, Thomas is about to be even busier, having not only Cupid and 90210 on the air, but also Starz' new comedy series Party Down.  (The show, Thomas says, was originally developed 5 years ago for HBO, to star Paul Rudd, who is now one of this version's executive producers.)

Party Down follows a team of Los Angeles cater-waiters -- a sextet of dreamers and wannabes -- stuck working for tips while hoping for their "big break."

Having opted out of "normal" lives of traditional jobs and nuclear families, our crew of misfits -- with the exception of the ruefully jaded Henry -- pass the days assuming that their time in catering is just a brief place-holder before success inevitably transforms them from unremarkable unknowns in to "Somebodies."

Each episode of this half-hour comedy finds our hapless team working a new event -- from sweet sixteen affairs to gay weddings to mobster acquittal parties to porn awards -- where they inevitably get tangled up with the colorful guests and the absurd dramas of their lives.

Party Down is, ultimately, a comedy about waiting.

About the misadventures you endure while waiting on others.  And about the life you lead while waiting for your real one to start.

But the most important reason to watch Party Down is the amazing cast Thomas has assembled.  Thomas has been a fan of Lizzy Caplan -- from CBS' underrated and prematurely cancelled comedy The Class and most recently from HBO's True Blood -- since her days on Freaks and Geeks.  Ken Marino, from MTV's comedy troupe The State and most recently as a gay demon on the CW's Reaper, worked with Thomas on Veronica Mars.  Thomas has known Adam Scott -- most recently seen on HBO's Tell Me You Love Me -- since their days both living in Texas.  And most impressively, also after having worked with her on Mars, the creator has secured the services of the amazing, Out actress Jane Lynch, a legend from, among other films, The L Word and the Christopher Guest-directed comedies like Best In Show.

Party Down premieres

Friday, March 20, 2009

10:30 Eastern