The answer is a "D-Trip." The episode opens at a high-concept, low-rent party for a faux-avant-garde performance artist named Jackal Onassis (a brilliant parody of '90s shock artists like Karen Finley). The "backstage party" is actually a dingy theater lobby where the "talent" smears chocolate on themselves while reciting nihilistic poetry.
The D-Trip isn't just a joke about bad movies. It’s the slow realization that the party you’re serving will never be your party. You will always be outside the velvet rope, holding a warm chafing dish. party down s02e01 dthrip
That is the thesis of Party Down Season 2. Season 1 had hope. Season 2 has the D-Trip. Henry looks at Kevin—a younger, fatter, louder version of his own failure—and sees his future. The horror on Adam Scott’s face as he hands Kevin a tray of shrimp cocktail is funnier and more tragic than any monologue about the death of a dream. Watching "Jackal Onassis Backstage Party" today is a strange experience. It aired in 2009, deep in the recession. The joke was that catering was the last stop before homelessness. Now, in the gig economy, the joke lands differently. It’s less satire and more documentary. The answer is a "D-Trip