'Free Agents' is not 'Party Down' ... but it does share some very key elements with that cult favorite, canceled-too-soon show.

First and foremost: creator John Enbom, who shared creator credit on 'Party Down' with Paul Rudd, Dan Etheridge and Rob Thomas, whom Enbom first teamed up with after working in the writers room on Thomas' other other cult favorite series 'Veronica Mars.'

But possibly even more important than pedigree here is set-up. Much like the Casey-Henry 'Party Down' romance rollercoaster, 'Free Agents' PR execs Alex (Hank Azaria) and Helen (Kathryn Hahn) get the wham-bam-thank you ma'am out of the way really early on. It's the "what now?" that drives their relationship -- at work and in the bedroom -- as opposed to the more popular "will they/won't they" dilemma. They did already, and as Enbom, Azaria and Hahn all promise, they will again and again.

And thirdly, well, let's just say they'd welcome any 'Party Down' alums to stop by for a guest spot.

The good news about 'Up All Night' (10PM ET Wednesday, NBC) and 'Free Agents' (10:30PM ET Wednesday, NBC) is that they are among the better comedy offerings for fall.

It's true that the broadcast networks' half-hour offerings for fall are not strong, but I'm not trying to damn these two shows with faint praise. Given time to work out a few kinks and settle into a rhythm, they may provide some quality guffaws going forward.

To their credit, neither show overindulges in sentimentality. It's hard to walk that fine line between sincerity and sarcasm in a comedy, and though each show is a bit broad here and there, neither of these shows overindulges in the kind of false, cynical patter or the unearned, warm-and-fuzzy mawkishness that sinks so many network sitcoms.

Those looking forward to enjoying the wry sense of humor the men behind 'Party Down' became famous for in NBC's 'Temp,' don't hold your breath.

The project from John Enbom, Dan Etheridge and Rob Thomas received a put-pilot order from NBC in August, but a source tells me it "looks like 'Temp' is not getting a pick-up."

In August, Thomas, who also created 'Veronica Mars,' told me the trio started work on 'Temp' when they learned Starz was passing on a season 3 of the beloved and criminally under-watched 'Party Down.'

Fans of cult hits everywhere, pay attention: Rob Thomas, John Enbom and Dan Etheridge, the guys behind 'Party Down' and 'Veronica Mars,' have scored a put pilot order from NBC.

Thomas told TV Squad that the new series, 'Temp,' has been in the works since the trio learned that 'Party Down' would not be getting a third season. It'll feature a group of main characters doing different jobs every week.

"The show is similar to 'Party Down' in the sense that there's a new job each week, but unlike 'Party Down,' we actually see the home life of our main characters," Thomas said. "It has more of a 'Mary Tyler Moore' home life/work life dynamic, except the job changes from week to week."