My other new favorite comedy of the season (along with BETTER OFF TED), PARTY DOWN, will return sometime in 2010 with the second season, Variety reports.  Most of the principal cast members, including Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, and Ryan Hansen are on board.  Jane Lynch, currently doing great work on GLEE (premiering May 19 on FOX), will have to figure a way to juggle both shows – she’s the only one who hasn’t signed on yet. 

From Variety:

“Party Down” centers on wannabe Hollywood players making ends meet by working for a catering company. Thomas exec produces with John Enbom, Paul Rudd and Dan Etheridge.

Fred Savage is also back to direct the series, along with Bryan Gordon, and both serve as supervising producers. Marino is also set to helm an episode.

“Party Down” airs its season one finale Friday. Starz programming exec veep Stephan Shelanski said the premium cabler wanted to send a message by renewing the show before its first season wrapped.

“This is an indication of how strongly we see the show,” he said. “It’s something we’re really proud of.”

“Party Down” is part of Starz’s recent push into the original series arena, which includes the drama “Crash” and comedy “Head Case.”

“Party Down” will likely return to production in late summer, with a return airdate sometime in 2010. Shelanski said the cabler is still ironing out its programming for next year, with an eye toward filling the Friday night 10 p.m. slot with originals year-round.

“We feel we’re on plan,” he said. “We have a continual growth model in place in terms of our original strategy. Hopefully we can accelerate that and bring on more new shows.”

What do you think – are you excited about this news?