Starz renews 'Party Down'

Ken Marino and Adam Scott of 'Party Down'

Credit: Starz

Starz has ordered a second season of the critically adored comedy series "Party Down."

In announcing the pickup, Starz said that Ken Marino, Adam Scott, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen and Lizzy Caplan will all be back for another round of cater-waiter adventures.

One absent name, fans will note, is Jane Lynch, whose role on the FOX comedy "Glee" was bumped from recurring to regular. The Starz release also doesn't mention Jennifer Coolidge, who filled in for Lynch in the season's last two "Party Down" episodes.

"Starz aims to give our audience fresh, original and enormously entertaining originals to accompany our lineup of hit feature films, and 'Party Down' certainly fit that bill its first season,” says Stephan Shelanski, EVP programming at Starz. "The comedic pedigree of the cast not only complements the incredible writing, but cements the show as one of a handful of truly original comedies on the air today."

Created and executive produced Rob Thomas ("Veronica Mars," "Cupid") along with John Enbom, Paul Rudd and Dan Etheridge, "Party Down" had a long journey to the small screen, with several networks circling the show in various permutations before it joined "Head Cases" in the Starz comedy stable.

"Making this show, with this amazing cast, and with the incredible freedom and support we get from Starz, has been a dream experience," Enbom says. "We couldn’t be more excited to get back to work on Season Two."

The first season finale of "Party Down," featuring guest star Kristen Bell, will air on Friday, May 22.

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