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--
[Kyle] 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]
[Henry] No, honey, I told you.
A guy I worked with way back, he got a movie.
[person] 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.
[bouncer] What was the name again?
Pollard, Henry Pollard.
[bouncer] How do you know Mr. Bradway?
Is it, uh, Hardier Boys or OC: The Return?
No, uh, from Party Down.
[bouncer] 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]
[person] Shots, shots, shots!
- So exciting! Ah! - [laughs]
- Look at that guy. - [Kyle] 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.
[Lydia] Oh, 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.
[Sackson] Oh, shit, is that Jack Botty?
[Lydia gasps] It is Jack Botty.
Escapade worked with him on Guardians: Infinity Sticks.
[Kyle] Jack! Buddy, you made it.
- Hey. - [Kyle] 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.
[Kyle] Oh.
[Jack] 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.
[Sackson] And we got it.
- Yeah! - Whoo!
- Bradway! - Chaps Hogan,
- star of tomorrow! - [person] 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--
- [Kyle] 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.
[Henry] 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 ♪
- [Chaps] Dude, do you see this? - [Kyle] Hmm?
Oh, no way.
My old band, Karma Rocket.
Aww, when you played at my wedding.
[Kyle] Yeah, that's so cool. Where'd you find that?
[Chaps] 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 Struggleis 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.
[newscaster] ...we look forward to more
sci-fi martial arts action soon.
Is Stabilizerstar 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. - [Roman] 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. - [Roman] 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. - [Roman] Mm.
Yeah. See you in 12 years.
[Kyle] 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 isalternative indie rock.
[Henry] Well, he looks it--
the hair, the sweet hand tattoos.
[Kyle] 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.
[Ted] 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.
- [Eddie] Proud of you, buddy. - [Kyle] 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?
[Constance] 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.
[Lydia] Tiny mouths like...
- [both babbling] - [Constance] 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. - [Gene] 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?
[Gene] Well, I could give you some legal mumbo jumbo,
but in plain English, I just kind of blooped over it.
- Blooped over it? - [Gene] 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.
[Gene] I never said I was the world's greatest lawyer.
That's your term.
But the invoice, what happened?
- What happened with-- - [Gene] You'd have to ask
whoever was warehouse manager last year.
I was, and I never--
[Gene] 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. - [Evie] That must be it.
You must have read for the Defenderuniverse movies
at some point.
No? Max America, Red Glare?
Any of the -mancer movies: Ecomancer,
Hydromancer, Cryptomancer?
Manputer? Guyote?
- Nope. - [Evie] 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. - [Henry] 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?
[Ron] 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?
[Ron] 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? - [Chaps] 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. - [Chaps] 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.
[Chaps] 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.
[Jaff] Yo, Kyle.
- [Kyle] Yeah. - [Jaff] Hey.
- Um, come here a second. - [Kyle] 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. - [Evie] 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.
- [Evie] Henry! - Yup.
Come on.
This is the cool catering guy I told you about.
[Jack] 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?
[person] Hey, buddy. You okay?
Can you hear me?
Oh, man, come on, let-let me help you up.
[Ron] 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. - [Miles] 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.
[Miles] 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. - [Jaff] Yeah, no, I get it.
It's just, the studio's been a bit jumpy
since the Gary Duddis thing.
- Uh, Gary Duddis? - [Jaff] 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 Nitromancerdeal.
- [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." - [Kyle] Right.
[Sackson] 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? - [Sackson] 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. - [Sackson] 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.
- [Ron] 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.
- [Constance] Yeah? - Yes, well, that's something
we should definitely consider.
- We should. - [Ron] Yes--
Ten million dollars.
Ten grand, right?
A grand means a thousand.
[Constance] 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.
- [Chaps] I got it! Whoo! - [laughter]
- I knew it! - He got it!
Nitromancer,I deserved it.
Wait. Uh, what's happening here?
[Chaps] 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--
[Henry] 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]
[Roman] Oh, man.
- Sinister Manus. - Sinister Manus.
[eerie music plays]
♪ ♪
Whoa.
[newscaster] 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.
[Roman] 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.
[Constance] 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. - [Ron] Uh, Henry, 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.
[newscaster] ...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]
[Ron] 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--
♪ ♪
[person] T-R-E-E, tree.