Party Down s03e01 Episode Script

1
Okay, to review,
I want d'oeuvres what?
What? Circulating.
Yes, and eyes on
drinks.
Drinks, right?
And as always, on faces,
yes, smiles,
because our job here is to--
Sackson, we talked about this--
make the party what?
Have food?
Pop. Pop.
Make the party pop.
[door clatters open]
Ah, ah, here's our client,
Kyle Bradway,
who tonight celebrates
landing the role of Nitromancer
in the movie Nitromancer.
So yeah, tonight it's gonna be
kind of a Hollywood crowd,
so please, try not to stare,
no selfies.
Hey, Kyle,
you've worked with me before,
so you know that a Ron Donald
team is always 100% prof--
Hey, Ron,
I thought we talked
about putting the posters
in the main room.
We did. Why? Hey, Roman.
[snapping fingers]
I told you to put the posters
around the club.
I chose not to.
It's obvious that Kyle
only hired Party Down
so that he could taunt us
with his success,
and I will not play along.
"What is a rebel?
A man who says no."
Albert Camus.
"Just do it." Ron Donald.
Okay? Come on,
it's Kyle's big night.
Yes, of course,
the peak of an actor's craft,
playing a himbo in a scuba suit
from a children's cartoon book.
Roman, come on, everybody knows
superhero movies
are so much more than that
now, right?
I mean, they're like
our version of Greek myths.
Epic dramas with deep stuff
to say about real life.
Deep stuff like,
"The root of all evil
is quirky supervillains."
Oh, no, sarcastic voice.
- Oh.
- You got me.
Name one
real-life supervillain.
I mean deep like in Spider-Man:
"With great power
comes great responsibility."
An important message for your
audience of unemployed virgins.
Ah, okay, you know, hey, Roman,
I know you guys
used to razz each other,
but not tonight, no razzing.
Okay, well, tell him
to stop razzing me, then.
Well, he can razz you, okay?
He's a paying client,
which is why you cannot
razz him, okay?
Unless he wants you to.
I do not want him to razz me.
He doesn't want you to.
Oh, so it's
a pay-to-razz situation?
How is that at all fair?
It's called
the free enterprise system.
Look it up.
[upbeat jazzy music plays]
[upbeat music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
No, honey, I told you.
A guy I worked with way back,
he got a movie.
Hey, wait up for me!
I'm gonna park, okay?
Yeah, I'll just do a lap
and see you at the Jensens'.
Okay. Okay. Bye, hon. Sorry.
What was the name again?
Pollard, Henry Pollard.
How do you know Mr. Bradway?
Is it, uh, Hardier Boys
or OC: The Return?
No, uh, from Party Down.
Never heard of it.
Is that on cable or something?
It's a, uh, catering company.
That's me right there, I think.
That says Henny Pollarb.
Or maybe
Henry Pollard misspelled?
Or Henny Pollarb's on the list
and you're not.
But are people named that,
Henny?
I mean, Henny Youngman,
I guess.
You answered
your own question, pal.
Okay, but his actual name
is Henry.
So Henny's a nickname,
and it's really Henry Pollarb?
Right. Pollard.
This says Pollarb.
[dance music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Shots, shots, shots!
So exciting! Ah!
[laughs]
- Look at that guy.
- Here he is.
Look at this. Look at this.
He was stuck outside.
- Henry!
- Get over here.
- Hi. Hi, Lydia.
- Henry! Oh!
- Hey, Roman.
- Hey.
- Come here, you.
- Hi, Constance.
- Oh, so good to see you.
- Now it's a Party Down reunion.
Oh, just what everyone's
dying for.
eeOh, I just love this stuff,
reunions, get-togethers,
catch-ups, do-agains.
I love seeing people
from the past
and seeing people from the past
see other people from the past.
- Why?
- I--
You know, this reminds me
of a superhero movie
that I was in,
Bazoom,
based on the Greek comic.
Oh, and my director, Gorbe.
- Mm.
- Imagine a young
Jan-Michael Vincent
with a very dense mustache.
- Hmm.
- From old sea sponge money.
- Huh.
- He was killed
in an accidental smothering
- Oh.
- in a Corfu strip bar.
We never finished the film.
- Time.
- Hmm.
- Treasure every moment, Kyle.
- Yeah.
Sackson,
what am I always saying?
No personal business
on company--
ah, group photo.
Come here!
[laughs]
[indistinct chatter]
Henry, Henry, hey.
Okay, get the old team leader.
You know, get the whole gang.
Yeah, but were you in the gang?
Weren't we the gang
and you were more management?
No, I was in the gang.
I just gotta say,
this is really inspiring.
Like, you all used to work
at Party Down, and now--
Yeah, I mean, I was you
ten years ago, man.
Now I'm Nitromancer.
- I mean, Lydia's a manager.
- Oh!
Her daughter's breaking in
in a big way.
Escapade Dunfree
starring in Spring Broken,
- March sixth everywhere.
- Yeah!
And I'm an actress
slash playwright.
I'm also a widow
slash heiress,
patron and donor of the arts,
helping make dreams come true.
And my dream
is to be a waiter forever,
so that's inspiring as well.
You know what else
is inspiring?
Guess who's gonna become
owner of Party Down.
Oh, shit, is that Jack Botty?
[Lydia gasps] It is Jack Botty.
Escapade worked with him
on Guardians: Infinity Sticks.
Jack! Buddy, you made it.
- Hey.
- Thanks for coming.
- Yeah, man.
- What's going on?
Hey, we gotta toast the new kid
in the extended universe.
Hey, just a drive-by
for me tonight.
I'm meeting my lady, and then
we're heading to Pumice.
That's why I want to be famous.
I want to get reservations
at Pumice.
Dude, I'm not even that famous.
I only got in
'cause I'm an investor.
Oh.
Is that the--
"Are we having fun yet?"
[laughter]
Remember the beer ad?
- He looks like that guy.
- No, it's actually him.
Well, that's what I was saying.
Right on.
All right, thanks, man.
Hey, okay, let's wrap this up.
Uh, Henry,
what about you, buddy?
You still acting?
Uh, I'm a high school
English teacher.
Oh, nice. On what show?
No, in real life.
And we got it.
- Yeah!
- Whoo!
- Bradway!
- Chaps Hogan,
- star of tomorrow!
- Is he somebody?
- Hey, uh, thanks, man.
- Yeah.
And since you're just
starting out,
okay, so scene study:
Armand Gerst.
Um, best book on craft:
Colin Farrell's
The Courage to Be.
- Now, we got--
- Nah, I'm-I'm not an actor.
I-I do web content.
Oh, like those little
dance videos online?
Yeah, for now, but-but I'm
thinking of doing
a-a brand pivot into, like,
personality and--
Cool. Good luck with that, man.
Uh--
- Whoo!
- Great seeing the old gang,
seeing what everybody's up to.
I'm actually due at a thing.
Hey, ooh, you want to see
something so cool?
- Wow.
- Yeah. Wow is right, huh?
And this is just
a prototype, Henry.
I'm gonna have a fleet
of these, you know.
I've upgraded the web page,
so now you can
leave a comment card
on the web.
[laughs]
I'm meeting cool new chefs
who are doing new foods.
Foams, pastes, vapors.
- Vapors?
- Savory vapors.
- Oh.
- Lobster smoke, clam mist.
It's amazing.
I mean, that's the thing.
I always had a vision, but I
never got to do it my way.
You know, even when I was
warehouse manager,
I had to bow down to that boss.
You know? You gotta own, right?
Otherwise, there's always
someone up there
messing with you,
but as of tonight
- I'm the owner.
- That's great, Ron.
- It is, right?
- Yeah.
You know, financially,
prestige,
but also knowing
that if you work hard,
the system pays off.
Anyway, you probably want
to get back inside.
Uh, not really.
I mean, as a failed actor,
I've been to many
friends-make-it-big parties,
which is usually just them
hanging out with their
cool new crowd,
who all ignore me.
Well, that's the great thing,
though, because pretty soon,
that's gonna be me
in with the cool crowd.
[laughs]
You know, life is funny,
don't you think?
I mean, ten years ago,
I was gonna marry
the owner's daughter
and run Party Down for them.
But then, you know,
she meets a hot cop
at a women's march, and boom.
A- a twist of fate, right,
can change the course
of everything.
Like, ten years ago,
Casey Klein gets SNL,
and now you're married
to someone else.
- Yup.
- How's things?
Yeah, uh, you know,
teaching's all right.
The kids haven't seen
the fucking beer ad.
[chuckles]
Uh, we just bought a house.
And when I roll those
trash cans out Thursday nights
with the neighborhood dads,
I feel like I finally made it.
You know, middle-class dream.
[cell phone buzzes]
Whoop! Gene Sleibs,
world's greatest lawyer.
How we looking, my man?
What? What? Wh-wh-why?
How'd that happen?
No. What do you mean?
Let me, uh-- [clears throat]
Let me find those numbers,
and I'll, um--
I'll ring you right back.
Everything okay?
Hmm? Yeah.
Line you up,
give you a number ♪
- Dude, do you see this?
- Hmm?
Oh, no way.
My old band, Karma Rocket.
Aww, when you played
at my wedding.
Yeah, that's so cool.
Where'd you find that?
It's floating around
on Twitter.
There's a link,
"Is Nitromancer a Nazi?"
What? A Nazi? Why?
Well, it was a Jewish wedding.
The song was called
"My Struggle."
- So what?
- My Struggle is also
the title
of Adolf Hitler's book.
That guy wrote a novel?
- Best seller, apparently.
- Wow.
Yeah, but I mean,
the song's not even about that.
No.
"They brand you a star,
"put you
on that midnight train,
line you up, give you a number,
shoot you down."
It's so clearly about
your struggle in Hollywood.
- What's the big deal?
- Thank you.
People just don't get
poetic rock lyrics.
- Mm.
- You know?
And that is sadly
why The Doors never caught on.
[sighs]
Damn.
Oh, yeah, I saw that.
That's what happens.
You get big, and then
just stuff from your past
comes out online.
I already have
my apology video
all set up, just in case.
Apology video? It's like,
I didn't even do anything.
Nitromancer, we meet at last.
Karma Rocket!
We were just talking
about you guys.
we look forward to more
sci-fi martial arts action
soon.
Is Stabilizer star Matt Bricker
dating on-screen sidekick
Casey Klein?
Spokesmen for the couple
were mum,
but the chemistry between
TV's favorite crime stopper
and the quip-slinging hacker
was on full display
at the Broadway premiere
of Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Weird, huh?
Could've been one of us.
- Sure.
- Casey made it big
doing quips and zingers on some
dumb show for boomer fascists.
Kyle made it big prancing
around in a scuba suit.
You know, you make it big
in this cultural void,
it only proves that you suck
on some level.
Hmm, it's good
that you're not bitter.
I haven't even hit
my intellectual peak.
Toni Morrison didn't publish
till she was 40.
Proust, 43.
I accept the possibility
that I probably
won't be appreciated
in my lifetime.
You know, if I get discovered
as they're reviewing my papers
after I die, well
I'll be fine with that.
So you still doing
mostly hard sci-fi?
Yeah.
You remember the magnum opus
that I started
on a roll of toilet paper?
- Uh-uh.
- Well, that was just
the beginning,
and I'm just kind of tweaking
one little thing,
but then it's ready to sell.
- And I still have my blog.
- Yeah.
Well, which is now a vlog
'cause of my carpal tunnel
incident.
Cool. Hey, you know what?
I should probably get going.
- I have a dinner.
- Mm.
Yeah. See you in 12 years.
Fuck it, right?
Henry, hey, you gotta meet
Karma Rocket, dude.
Eddie on drums, Teddy on bass.
And on lead guitar,
the mad genius himself, Miles!
I mean, this guy
is alternative indie rock.
Well, he looks it--
the hair,
the sweet hand tattoos.
Nah, I mean, he-he invented it.
He invented alternative rock?
Alternative indie rock.
Alt ind could've been big.
We were this close
to getting signed
when he got Hardier Boys.
Yeah, I had to quit.
Band broke up.
I was like, "No!"
That's the way it goes.
One dream dies
so another can live.
Aw, thanks, dude.
- Yo, Bradway.
- Yeah?
- Need you to meet someone.
- Jaff, again, really?
[scoffs] Agent beckons.
I mean, it's been like this
all night; it's wild.
Yeah, I gotta go anyways.
It's the twins' birthday
tomorrow,
and our fucking Olaf
just canceled.
[cell phone dings]
I'm on the Vegas shuttle
at dawn.
Vitamin expo, baby.
[laughter]
- I'm in vitamins.
- Nice. See you guys.
- Proud of you, buddy.
- Thank you.
You guys should stick around.
It's gonna be a fun party.
Excuse me,
I have to return this.
Sure.
You know, it's funny.
The thing they don't tell you
about inheriting
a huge sum of money
is the positive side.
I've found it very freeing.
[chuckles]
Mm-hmm.
Linda!
Congratulations.
So I heard
about your daughter's big--
Don't you mention my daughter,
you sloppy,
flopped-out pig's anus.
- Got you. Point taken.
- What the fuck?
I expected a counter,
not three rats' worth
of rat diarrhea.
No. No, you listen.
This offer is like
a shrimp's dick.
It's dumb, like you.
Yup. Yup.
Okay, thanks, Pat. Bye.
Ugh, sorry, business call.
[laughs]
I'm just setting up
Escapade's latest, Proms Away.
- Ooh.
- Whew.
I'm working on being meaner.
I can see why they do it.
It really works.
- Yeah.
- Could I have
a white wine, please?
Oh, it's so fun
seeing the old gang again,
right?
Oh, yeah.
Is Casey Klein gonna be here?
[Constance groans]
She's shooting in New York.
Too big-time
for the likes of us.
That's a shame.
Ooh. Poor Henry, right?
Yeah, I mean, I was hoping
they'd hook up tonight,
you know, for old times' sake.
Oh, wouldn't that
have been wonderful?
It would.
You know, I always rooted
for them as a couple.
- Me too.
- Why?
Wh-- I don't un--
why, because they hooked up
ten years ago on and off
on a shit job?
They never just dated
or had a normal relationship.
What if their bullshit
got in the way
of each of them finding
the right person?
Hmm? Why not root against them?
Why root for them?
Um, because
they're both skinny.
They both have brown hair.
They could be
brother and sister.
It's just so romantic.
She could wear his jeans
no problem.
Tiny mouths like
[both babbling]
Absolutely.
And I think of them having sex
sometimes.
Okay, so-so-so I-I-I don't--
I don't understand
how I'm now short ten grand.
- We agreed on a price.
- Apparently
there's a lien
against Party Down
that must be cleared by close,
or the deal is void.
Seems like Party Down's
warehouse ordered plates
a year ago but the invoice
was never paid.
But how-how is this
just coming up now?
Well, I could give you
some legal mumbo jumbo,
but in plain English, I just
kind of blooped over it.
- Blooped over it?
- In law, you come across
weird words all the time--
for instance, "lien."
Usually I just bloop over 'em
and it's fine,
- but this time, well
- Jesus Christ, Gene.
I never said I was
the world's greatest lawyer.
That's your term.
But the invoice, what happened?
- What happened with--
- You'd have to ask
whoever was warehouse manager
last year.
I was, and I never--
Ron, you there?
Honey, I'm sorry, it-it-it-it,
you know, went longer
than I thought, and--
No, it's--no, go ahead and eat.
I'll-I'll just--
I'll come after.
[text messages whooshing]
Wh-okay. Bye.
I swear I wasn't eavesdropping.
I went to sneak a smoke,
which my boyfriend hates,
and then I had a work email,
which he really hates.
- And now I'm oversharing--
- Which he hates?
No, it's actually how we met.
- Hmm.
- Shoot, I'm totally spacing
on your name. Evie.
Henry, but I-I don't think
we've met.
Evie Adler, Logos Pictures.
I swear I know you. [chuckles]
Are you an actor?
- Uh, once upon a time.
- That must be it.
You must have read for
the Defender universe movies
at some point.
No? Max America, Red Glare?
Any of the -mancer movies:
Ecomancer,
Hydromancer, Cryptomancer?
Manputer? Guyote?
- Nope.
- Okay.
Thing with being a producer,
you assume you've met everyone,
so when you blank on a name,
you panic.
Anyway, Henry, nice to meet you
for the first time.
Bad habit. Gotta quit.
Gotta quit.
[traffic whooshing]
[grunting]
God damn it!
God damn it! God damn it!
- Damn it!
- Uh, Ron?
- Hey.
- You okay?
Ye-yeah. I'm totally fine.
[choking up] I'm not fine.
I, uh-- I-I'm short ten grand
and I'm gonna lose Party Down.
What? I thought
it was a done deal.
It was, yeah.
And then something happened.
Now I need ten grand
by midnight,
or the bid fails.
Where am I going to find
ten grand tonight?
What about Constance?
Didn't her husband
leave her millions?
Constance?
No, that's great, Henry.
I slave away for ten years
to buy this company,
only to be tied
to hippie-dippie looney tune
from planet Ding-Dong.
Oh, why is this happening?
It's like I'm cursed.
Oh, my God.
I never should have gone
to the bathroom
- in that old house.
- You what?
There was this old house,
and everybody said
it was haunted,
and they dared me
to go take a shit in it,
and I did.
I don't know, Henry.
I work it. I rise and grind.
I hustle. What am I missing?
- I mean--
- Oh. Okay.
I got it.
"Are we having fun yet?"
That's you.
That's what I know you from.
Or am I crazy?
- No, that was him.
- No. Yup.
Okay. I thought I was crazy.
Anyway, sorry to bother you.
Are you okay?
Oh, is it-it--
no, it's just dye.
I got a customer comment card
that said I seemed
"like a child," so I--
you know, I added
some silver for gravitas.
- I meant your hand.
- What?
[Henry inhales sharply]
Oh.
Ron, holy shit.
Do you need me
to bring you anything?
No, no. I've done this before.
I just tape it.
But, you know, if you do mean
anything, uh,
I-I can use an investor
interested
in the food service sector.
What, are you kidding?
My boyfriend,
since he got money,
it's like investing in this
kind of thing is now his hobby.
Bars, restaurants,
food trucks,
- CloudKitchens--
- Who's your boyfriend?
- Jack Botty.
- Wait, what?
Yeah, if you want to--he loves
talking about this stuff.
You know what I mean?
Like, yeah, sure, I made it.
But I'm also gracious.
You know, even to, like,
nobodies,
I'm gonna be like,
"Hey, what up?"
[chuckles]
- Dude, you okay?
- Yeah, I don't know.
It's just like, we started
in this biz at the same time.
- Yeah.
- We have the same agent.
- Yeah.
- Killed my callbacks.
Chemistry read
had mad chemistry.
- Hell yeah.
- I'm as ripped as you.
Yeah, we're, like,
the same level of ripped.
That's why we're so tight,
you know?
We're practically the same guy.
- Right.
- Yeah.
Which is why I keep thinking,
like, why did you
get Nitromancer
and I didn't?
Well, I worked it hard,
never stopped believing,
and guess what:
it paid off.
I worked it,
never stopped believing,
and it didn't pay off.
Did you work it hard?
Did it just come down to, like,
a random twist of fate?
- Yeah, I don't--
- Did God just, like,
flip a coin?
No. No, man. I mean,
it's like, there's an order,
you know?
I deserved it.
I got it.
Yo, Kyle.
- Yeah.
- Hey.
- Um, come here a second.
- Yes.
[indistinct chatter]
Her boyfriend is Jack Botty?
- Yeah.
- Can you believe our luck, man?
Henry, 20 minutes ago, I was
gonna walk into the ocean,
and now I'm gonna be business
partners with Max America?
I mean, talk about
a twist of fate.
[sighs] How glad are we
you did that beer ad?
- Thrilled.
- Ron!
- Good luck.
- Thanks, man. I don't need it.
I've been training for this
my whole life.
She'll do the intro, right,
and then I'll gush
a little bit,
you know, "Big fan,"
that kind of thing.
And then I'll segue
into Defenders: Wormhole,
how I loved the big scene
at the Met Gala.
Spydor's minions steal
the eternity rhombus.
- You know the scene?
- No.
Point is, he'll still think
we're talking about him,
but now we're on my turf:
parties, catering,
event services, right?
Cool new trends,
and this guy's like,
"Huh? What? What's going on?"
And that's when I very subtly
steer us towards a deal, man.
Wow.
Ron, I'm actually impressed.
Yeah, well, it's what I do,
Henry.
- Henry!
- Yup.
Come on.
This is the cool catering guy
I told you about.
Uh-oh, she thinks I'm cool,
so clearly her judgment
is suspect.
Ron Donald, only slightly cool.
And, Jack, let me just say
up front,
I'm a huge fan of your work.
I'm a huge fan of Max America,
and it is a real pleasure
to shake your hand.
[bones crunch]
[shrieks]
[crowd gasps]
Ron?
Is he dead?
Hey, buddy. You okay?
Can you hear me?
Oh, man, come on,
let-let me help you up.
Ah!
- I'm-I'm-I'm up.
- All right, bud?
Yup, yup. [groaning]
Return that call okay?
Oh, yup.
Yeah, called 'em back.
Oh.
So are-are you
still playing or
Nah. Work, mostly.
- Oh.
- Guitar Warehouse.
- Oh, cool.
- Sucks.
- Okay.
- Mindless job,
dildo boss who thinks he's
some kind of business genius
with "Rusty's Sales Do-Nows"
and "Rusty's Sales Do-Nots,"
shit like that.
Yeah, actually,
kind of been there.
Number one "Do," get a name.
Personal sales connection.
See, but to me, all these
chodes are just a blur.
Joe, Greg, Rob, Charlie,
who-the-fuck-ever.
These aren't tattoos.
I write their names down
so that I can remember.
All those chords,
the whole sound of alt indie,
came from this hand.
It's all I was ever good at.
But then Kyle left,
and that dream died.
Now my left hand,
my whole life,
is just a tool to boost sales
for fucking Rusty.
You know, Kyle was half right
when he said
I was a mad genius.
I am mad.
Cool.
Fuck.
So Nazis, yea or nay?
No judgment either way.
Just, as your agent,
I should know.
Nay. Jaff, come on,
this was, like,
a dumb mix-up,
like, ten years ago.
- It's nothing.
- Yeah, no, I get it.
It's just, the studio's
been a bit jumpy
since the Gary Duddis thing.
- Uh, Gary Duddis?
- Yeah.
Played the space bigfoot
on Orbs of Yu'ub,
caught on mic ranting about
Jews making kids into soup.
Big mess for the studio.
You really think
it's that serious?
Who knows these days?
[both chuckle]
But one way or another,
we'll be fine.
- Yes.
- I didn't do all this
fucking work
to lose the Nitromancer deal.
[laughs]
Thank you.
But just to confirm,
Nazis, yea or--
- Nay!
- Nay.
Be the light you want to see
in your life.
[door squeaks open]
You are the only you.
You're--
You're the only you--oh.
Hey. Do, uh--do you need
something?
Ah, nah, just looking.
Old times' sake, you know?
- [chuckles] Oh, God.
- Mm.
I remember these trays.
Oof. Crazy days.
Hey, um, you know,
earlier you were talking about,
like, apology videos.
Is that something you, like,
know-know about, or
- Me?
- Yeah.
Oh, no, I-I just do little
dance videos on my phone.
No, okay, my bad.
- Thanks, man.
- Yeah, I'm being sarcastic.
Oh, okay,
I-I thought you were doing
some sort of, like,
Gen Z persona.
Oh, no, you dissed my craft,
so I'm giving you attitude.
Your craft? What-what craft?
Content.
Little dance videos?
It is so much more
than that, okay?
I've been doing content
for years.
I know enough
about the craft to know
that to answer the question
you're too afraid to ask,
yes, you need an apology video.
For just some dumb
misunderstanding?
My mentor, BeeWee,
he always used to say,
"Good or bad, right or wrong,
- nothing matters."
- Right.
I think what he was trying to say was,
nothing matters
except for attention.
You have a lot of bad attention
right now.
You-you need some good
attention to offset it.
- An apology video?
- Yeah.
It's a rite of passage.
All the big web celebs
have done it:
Dough Ray, Bryce T,
Jeff'n'Stuff, Qbot,
Je'Zazzle, Howzit, Grambles.
I think I get it.
- Thank you so much.
- Yeah.
Whew. Okay.
[clears throat]
Yo, yo, yo, yo--
Ugh, Jesus Christ.
- Well, I wasn't done.
- Look, you clearly
have no idea what you're doing,
so let me--let me help you.
First things first,
you want to make sure
you come across
as raw and sincere--hold this--
but not so raw or so sincere
that it gets, like, weird.
And not only do I want
to apologize.
I want to say this
very clearly.
Now, listen up.
Nazis aren't cool.
They weren't cool then,
and they are not cool now.
And as I'll tell anyone
who will listen,
that whole Nazi thing
[zipper scratches]
P-Penny, can you--
can you not just stand there?
Can you do something?
Like, can you circulate?
Sackson, can you circulate?
Can you not just sta--oh, God.
God damn it.
I feel like I've said this
constantly
a goddamn million times.
No personal business
on company time!
Circulate. Ah-ha-ha!
Ow!
Wasn't my phone.
[wincing]
[inhales sharply]
[exhales heavily]
Hey, Ron,
do you have your stain stick?
This is organic hemp, and look,
I spilled cherry juice
all over it.
Oh.
I'm sensing some distress here.
- Constance.
- Yeah?
Uh, you know how you talked
about being a donor
and h-helping people's dreams
come true?
Oh, yes, very fulfilling work.
Yeah, do you ever help with
small business?
Well, as a patron of the arts,
I mostly focus on the arts.
Right, well,
but if you think about it,
you know, business
is kind of an art.
Is it? Uh, I don't know, Ron.
It's more like politics.
It's so compromised.
Ugh, if we could only get
the money out of business.
You were in the film business.
Yes, and it's a point of honor
with me
that I never made any money.
- Okay, Constance, look.
- Yes.
- I'm-I'm-I'm-I'm in a jam.
- Oh.
Okay, I need ten grand
by midnight,
or I'm gonna lose Party Down.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
So I was just thinking,
you know,
since we're old friends
- Yes.
- maybe you can
- loan it to me.
- Oh, Ron. My gosh.
- Ten grand. Oof.
- Yes.
Between booking the Geffen
and the shark carcass
for Dino's installation,
the bean bill for Tim's
spiritual community,
my available cash at hand
is kind of low right now.
Right.
[Constance sighs]
You know what?
I'm giving you ten grand.
That's just how it is.
- What?
- I'm giving you ten grand.
No, come on, you--
oh, are you kidding?
Because you just said
you didn't have it.
Yeah, well, I'm gonna let my
accountant work that out, okay?
Because what is the point
of having money
if you can't help
your friends, right?
Ah!
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- That's all right.
Ah, this is gonna be fun.
[both laugh]
We're gonna be
like business partners.
B-business partners? You--
wait, you said
you didn't like business.
Well, you know, when you said
that business is like art,
that got me thinking.
Like, what if
[giggles] we hired a shaman?
- Huh?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yes, well, that's something
we should definitely consider.
- We should.
- Yes--
Ten million dollars.
Ten grand, right?
A grand means a thousand.
Really?
Well, that explains a lot.
Hey, we're heading out
to a dinner.
Sorry it didn't work out
with Jack.
Uh, wow, it really didn't,
did it?
Well, it did a little.
In a happy twist of fate,
our caterer just fell out
for Jack's surprise 44th.
So it was nice
to meet you, Henry.
Yeah, have a-a good night.
[cell phone dings]
- Hey, man, um--
- Excuse me.
Sorry, I-I-I was about
to take off,
but h-h-have you seen this?
Mm. Yeah. No, it's nothing.
And I'm out ahead of it
with an apology vid.
My agent says
it's gonna be fine.
And, you know, it's me.
Stuff just kind of works out.
Hey, uh, so Ron got really mad
about the whole
"personal business
on company time" thing,
so he completely smashed
your phone, and I, uh
What?
No, like, smashed to bits?
couldn't post the video.
Yeah, it's destroyed,
but I found
something really interesting.
I got it! Whoo!
[laughter]
- I knew it!
- He got it!
Nitromancer, I deserved it.
Wait.
Uh, what's happening here?
I got it!
- Yes!
- You earned this!
I'm the new Nitromancer!
Jaff!
Jaff, what's going on?
[Jaff sighs]
I-I thought you said
I'd be fine.
Oh, no, I said we'd be fine,
like, collectively,
as an aggregate.
It's @ghost emoji
Sinister Manus.
See, it's an anonymous
Twitter account.
The original source
of the video
and song links,
and this account
was created last Friday.
The same day they announced
Kyle as Nitromancer.
- Yeah.
- Sinister Manus?
Sinister--
well, sinister man, maybe
Man, sinister
- man named Manus
- man
sinister man who is us.
Several sinister men--
It's Latin, you dolts.
Sinister manus.
Left hand.
Left hand? Left hand?
I--
Left hand.
Left hand.
[ominous music plays]
Left hand.
Oh, my God.
Miles from Karma Rocket.
He blames Kyle
for breaking up the band,
and now
his hand has no purpose.
His guitaring hand,
his left hand.
Oh, my God.
How could this happen? Why?
Why me?
[Miles laughs]
[smooches]
[blows sharply]
Oh, man.
- Sinister Manus.
- Sinister Manus.
[eerie music plays]
♪
Whoa.
And in Hollywood tonight,
the studio behind the new
Nitromancer franchise
responded to concerns
that actor Kyle Bradway
had in the past espoused
what some called
white nationalist beliefs.
- Shooting is expected
- Whoo. What a night.
As-as if mine is even close
to being over.
I gotta review expenses.
I gotta set meetings
with new chefs.
You know, running a company is
not a walk in the park, fellas.
How you doing
with the comment card?
Well, it keeps saying
I'm a robot.
Mm-hmm.
Hey, if it's any consolation,
I gotta admit you were right.
This whole Nitromancer saga
played out
just like a Greek drama.
And there was even
a real-life supervillain.
I stand corrected.
- Good night!
- Good night, ladies.
Congratulations, Kyle.
If only Casey
could have been here.
Oh, it would have been
so romantic.
Okay, guys,
I'm going to head out.
- Kyle, I'm so sorry.
- Uh, Henry, Henry.
- Yeah.
- What a night.
What a night
for old Ronald Wayne Donald.
Yeah, no, it's great.
Congratulations, man.
It's a long time coming.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
and-and, Henry,
I already booked
a primo new gig.
- Yeah?
- Jack Botty's girlfriend
hired us to do
his birthday surprise party.
It's an amazing feeling
to know that, for a fact,
this year, 2020,
is gonna be the best year
of my life.
contain an outbreak
of what is being called
a novel coronavirus.
And studio officials
remain optimistic
for a big holiday opening
Christmas '21.
[upbeat jazzy music plays]
♪
[cell phone ringing]
Hello. Party Down Catering.
How many I direct your call?
One moment, please.
[clears throat]
Hello, this is Ron.
How may I help you?
Yes, of course
we're open for business
and ready to serve you.
Yes, I just need your name
and your event info,
and I will help you get
the party started.
Ah!
Fucking--
♪
T-R-E-E, tree.