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Due to the recent news of the untimely death of Party Down I thought I’d talk about the two shows that are a wonderful window into the crazy world of Hollywood. Entourage is about a bunch of young kids from Queens N.Y., one of whom strikes it big in Hollywood, and they all come along for the ride. It’s loosely based on Mark Wahlberg‘s experiences, who also Executive Produces the show.

Party Down on the other hand is about a bunch of people trying to make it in the industry. One of the leads is a guy who in fact, largely gave up on acting after having his 15 minutes. There is also a sci-fi writer, a washed up actress and a struggling pretty boy. These misfits are truly on the fringes of the industry, and I can’t help but relate to them for personal reasons (My day job is also in catering for American/Canadian film and television productions shot in Toronto – so maybe the show just makes me feel less lonely ;)). Both shows are great, but for very different reasons. One is about the successes and the wonderful ride, while the other is about the struggle.

Party Down is definitely more cerebral and wittier. Both the acting and writing are strong here, and there are lots of great cameos.Entourage is pure eye candy, but it should be said there are some wonderful unexpected cameos, as well as two great characters that carry the show (Jeremy Piven‘s super agent Ari Gold and Kevin Dillon‘s D-List actor Johnny Drama). It’s really a fun carnival ride; if on that carnival ride everyone was driving a fast luxury model car, and there were lots of models in bikinis.

Interesting how one got canceled after a mere 2 seasons, while the other is on it’s seventh with talk of a feature film to follow.