The actor spoke to ET about reviving the Starz series and filming the new season of the Apple TV+ thriller.
For the first time in 13 years, Adam Scott is donning the familiar pink bow tie and white dress shirt that became synonymous with his character, Henry Pollard, a failed actor forced to work at a catering company with oddball employees on the comedy, Party Down. After running for two seasons, Starz has revived the series for another installment, reuniting Scott with most of his original co-stars as their characters pick up after a decade after where they left off.
"I think we all kind of freaked out when we finally were there putting the ties on," Scott told ET's Will Marfuggi ahead of Party Down's return with season 3. "It was just kind of off to the races."
For Scott, who has since gone on to star on Parks and Recreation, Big Little Lies and Severance, "it was really special" to not only get back into uniform, but to also get to work with everybody again. "The thing that freaked me out was not only seeing everybody together, which we have gotten together over the years here and there, but seeing everyone play those characters again was sort of shocking how much it moved me and how much I missed these characters," he said.
In addition to Scott, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Martin Starr, Megan Mullally and Ryan Hansen are all back, reprising their roles as various members of the catering team whose lives have changed significantly since they all last worked together. Meanwhile, Zoë Chao and Tyrel Jackson Williams have been enlisted as new staffers, helping to fill the void left by Lizzy Caplan, who was unable to return as Casey Klein.
"Lizzy wanted to do it badly. We'd, of course, planned on having Lizzy be a part of the season. It just wasn't possible schedule-wise," Scott shared, referring to the fact that Caplan recently starred in the FX limited series, Fleishman Is in Trouble, and has also been busy shooting the upcoming Paramount+ series adaptation of Fatal Attraction.
But Caplan's loss is Jennifer Garner's gain, with the latter joining season 3 as Evie. "I still can't believe Jennifer Garner actually did this show," Scott said, explaining that when thinking about who should play the role, they were leaning toward "a Jennifer Garner type."
He added, "The fact that we actually got Jennifer Garner is bonkers. She is so funny and so great and cool. And I just loved working with her."
Also guest-starring on season 3 is Scott's former co-star, Nick Offerman. Though, his appearance in one of the season's upcoming episodes all but makes for an official Parks and Rec reunion since they don't share any scenes together even though their characters are technically in the same place at the same time.
"Part of the reason that we don't share the screen [is that] Nick and I are not on speaking terms," Scott joked before going on to praise his performance in The Last of Us on HBO. "The Last of Us, oh lord… It's just beautiful and anyone who watches that or anything else that Nick's in knows that he's one of our great actors. And so, having him on the show was lovely and it's always fun to hang out with Nick."
It's any wonder if Offerman or any of Scott's other Party Down co-stars will ever appear on Severance, especially given the wide array of performers they've added just to season 2. "It's great, we have Alia Shawkat and Gwendoline Christie and Bob Balaban and a bunch of great people," Scott said, referring to the eight new cast members brought on for the upcoming episodes. "Just incredible people and playing really interesting roles. And they just bring so much to it, it's great."
While Severance is still in production, filming that as well as Party Down has given Scott the opportunity to work with so many friends within the industry. "I have so many friends that are so incredibly talented. I always feel like any time I get to work with friends it's a great [thing]," he said. "Part of what Party Down really taught me was when you can, you should work with your friends 'cause you get to spend time with your friends, which is harder and harder as you get older and busier. But there's also a comfort and an unspoken language that really helps in a kind of an endeavor like acting."
And given how seamlessly everyone gets back together on Party Down, which is just as fun to watch now as it was when it was first on the air, Scott is right. "Working with friends is great," he concluded.
Party Down season 3 premieres Friday, Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Starz and at midnight on the Starz app.
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