Jane Lynch Talks 'Party Down' Return and Looks Back on 'Best in Show' With Jennifer Coolidge (Exclusive)
Lynch talks to ET about reviving 'Party Down' over a decade later and shares where her character from 'Best in Show' might be now.
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After 13 years, Party Down is back for a third season, with the series being revived with its original cast on Starz. That includes Jane Lynch as Constance Carmell, a former actress and one of the titular catering company's many eccentric employees run by Ron Donald (Ken Marino).
Ahead of the premiere on Feb. 24, Lynch spoke with ET's Will Marfuggi about returning to Party Down, what it has been like watching former co-star Jennifer Coolidge make a welcome comeback in Hollywood and who she's sharing the screen with in the upcoming, star-studded season of Only Murders in the Building.
"It's a joy," Lynch said of getting back into the swing of things on Party Down, which picks up a decade after the events of the season 2 finale. Constance is now one of the many original teamsters who have moved on and found success outside of the event-planning world as the gang reunites in the season 3 premiere and takes stock of where they've all ended up.
The remaining episodes also welcome a number of new faces, including Zoë Chao and Tyrel Jackson Williams as new members of the catering team, as well as Jennifer Garner as full-time cast members. "We also scored James Marsden," Lynch quipped, referring to the Dead to Me star who appears in a guest-starring role as Jack.
When it comes to the newcomers, "they're wonderful," Lynch said, before explaining how Zoë and Tyrel's characters represent "the passage of time" on the series, adding to the humor that comes with not only the age gap, but a technological one. "You know, they're concerned with things like 'content,' and we don't even know what that means. So, you know, it's 12 years for us and since our characters were catering."
She added, "We thought we'd never have to do this again. So, not only are we thrown back into our old job, but we have to deal with the new kids on the scene and we're talking about things we don't understand anymore."
And it's the way the new cast members seamlessly blend in with the returning ones, including Adam Scott, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen and Megan Mullally, that makes Party Down so fun to watch, even after all this time.
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"I think it's kind of a lightning-in-the-bottle thing in terms of cast. Like, who had the foresight to put all of us together? It just really worked and I don't know if the other people were offered and they couldn't do it or if they fell out, [but] right from the beginning it was just such a great cast," Lynch said, reflecting on the entire ensemble, which also included Lizzy Caplan and Coolidge.
"And I think you plop them in a situation where you have a really good cast, really good characters, really good ensemble energy, you know, where nobody's the star -- it's really an ensemble show -- and you put them at a different party every week. We never were at the same place, but we were the same," she continued, noting that, "We were the constant."
While Coolidge is not back for season 3, it's pretty understandable considering her Emmy-winning performance and work on back-to-back seasons of The White Lotus on HBO. But Party Down wasn't the only time she and Lynch worked together. The two famously appeared as Sherri Ann Cabot and Christy Cummings in Christopher Guest's 2000 mockumentary, Best in Show, about various pet owners competing in a prestigious dog show.
Looking back on Coolidge's recent success, "I always said, 'You know, why isn't Jennifer a bigger star?' I always said the world has to catch up to her," Lynch said. "She is what she is and the world needs to catch up to her and they did and it's happening."
And when it comes to where Sherri and Christy might be today, Lynch has a few thoughts. "They would still be together, for sure," she said. "There would be absolutely no sharing of beds anymore. In fact, I think that probably ended as we said cut on this movie. Sherri was like, 'I think you better sleep in your own bed.'"
Lynch added, "They'd still be raising dogs and I don't think they would have grown one iota. They'd be the exact same people just in older, fatter bodies."
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Following the revival of Party Down, fans can also catch Lynch on Only Murders in the Building, when the series returns to Hulu with season 3. On the hilarious murder mystery starring Martin Short as Oliver Putnam, Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora and Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage, Lynch appears as the latter's stunt double named Sazz Pataki.
After appearing in one episode each in the first two seasons, "I have been invited back," Lynch said, confirming, "I have an episode." As for whom she'll be sharing the screen with, she teased that she "might be acting with Steve Martin, a real professional… Oh, and Meryl Streep."
Yes, Lynch will be among the upcoming episodes' many A-List guest stars, including Streep and Paul Rudd, who just so happens to be a co-creator and executive producer on Party Down, bringing her story full circle.
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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