Martin Starr, who appeared in The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Spider-Man: Far From Home, is pretty sure it’s no coincidence that the superhero got a name-drop in the latest season of Party Down, the Starz series that came back this month after 13 years away. A sitcom created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd, originally aired on Starz from 2009 to 2010. Not long after the series ended, Thomas, Enbom, and Etheridge went to work on iZombie together, while Thomas and his iZombie collaborator Diane Ruggiero-Wright also brought back Veronica Mars, their first cancelled-too-soon cult hit. And, as with just about everything in the world now, superheroes found a way in, with a hard-to-miss joke about Spider-Man.
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Speaking with ComicBook.com’s Chris Killian, both Starr and his co-star Ryan Hansen started laughing when we mentioned Ol’ Webhead, and Starr confirmed that the reference was obviously a wink and a nod to his big-screen success with Marvel.
“After more than 10 years, we’re excited to have the cast, many of whom are now hugely popular award-winning stars, return to don their pink bowties and head back to the party,” Jeffrey Hirsch, President and CEO at STARZ, said when the return was announced. “The fan demand for a Party Down revival is clear and we look forward to what Rob, Paul, John, Dan and now Adam will do as they bring this special project and these hilarious characters back to life.”
You can see the series synopsis below.
Ten years later, most of the Party Down catering team have moved on, including failed actor/bartender Henry Pollard, who has a new life as a high school teacher. He and the old gang briefly reunite at a party celebrating former waiter Kyle Bradway’s big breakthrough, where they find old team leader Ron Donald is about to buy out the company, finally making himself the owner of Party Down.
But after unexpected misfortunes brings the old team back together, Henry finds himself again moonlighting as a bartender at Party Down to make ends meet, stoically enduring the procession of random parties and oddball guests. But when he meets Evie Adler, a successful movie executive who might be able to help revive his acting career, he finds himself considering if he could give his long-abandoned dreams one last chance.
