The creators of "Veronica Mars" are behind this gem, and they've enlisted guest appearances by Kristen Bell, J.K. Simmons, Loretta Devine, Thomas Lennon and . . . Jane Lynch. If you watch only one episode of "Party Down" - or any other series, for that matter - don't miss the fifth episode, which is set at Steve Guttenberg's house. A classic.

"Party Down" has been paired with an intriguing newcomer: "Gravity," a series about people who have attempted suicide . . . and failed. That's the kind of thing that really does a number on your psyche.

For instance, Ivan Sergei ("Crossing Jordan") plays an ophthalmologist who can't get over his wife's death from cancer. Despairing, he drives his car over a cliff - and directly into the swimming pool of a passing gay cruise ship. He survives, only to become a joke on YouTube known as "the suicide dummy."

He's forced to join a support group run by a former baseball player named Dogg (Ving Rhames) who's now in a wheelchair. Rachel Hunter is a regular, as is Krysten Ritter ("Breaking Bad"), an actress so startlingly vivid she could be a cartoon.

With nothing left but the possibility of trying suicide again, the group clings together and develops a dark sense of humor about the whole thing.

Co-creator Eric Schaeffer ("My Life's in Turnaround") plays an obsessed cop who's a vegan/gambler/yoga enthusiast. Schaeffer's come up with original, fascinating characters who, as Dorothy Parker would say, might as well live.

If you don't subscribe to Starz, check out a couple of the new episodes online at starz.com. Or get chummy with somebody whose cable is fully loaded.