Each week, I take a look back at a pilot from the 2010-11 season, first reviewed on my blog during that season. This week, I am looking at ABC's cult hit comedy Happy Endings!
The Details:
Premiered: April 13, 2011 on ABC
Starring: Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr., Casey Wilson
Created by: David Caspe
What I Thought Then:
"Basically it's an episode of Friends right after Ross and Rachel broke up. Of course it is nowhere close to Friends."
"I was tempted to copy and paste my review of Perfect Couples on here because it's just as unfunny and just as much of a mess as that show is,"
"I realize sitcoms take awhile to get into their groove but some you can tell from the beginning have a shot and others you just know won't work."
"These actors did not show the promise of rising above bad writing and there doesn't seem to really be much chemistry between them despite the writers' desperate attempts."
What Others Said:
"Happy Endings quickly gets its game in gear and emerges as ABC's best new sitcom since Better Off Ted unfortunately failed to find an audience." - Ed Bark, Uncle Barky
"Original, it's not. But these friends do have chemistry, and some great moments as a hipster Greek chorus." - Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times
"Happy Endings is both a retro version of Friends and a more superficially progressive one." - Ginia Bellafante, The New York Times
"Friends was not a shockingly original premise. It's what you do with it that matters, and Caspe and crew do almost nothing that doesn't feel secondhand and artificial." - Robert Bianco, USA Today
"Its all too frantic, too full of obnoxious people contorting themselves into stupid lines in service of jokes that never quite land." - Alan Sepinwall, HitFix
What I Think Now:
As you can see from lines from my original review, I was very down on Happy Endings in 2011. I believe I only watched the first episode even though it was a two episode premiere, and decided it wasn't for me. I always heard about it getting better and finally, a few years ago, I ended up giving the show another chance and I watched the whole series. I really ended up liking the show - it was a joke-a-minute riot that had many great characters as well as sayings unique to the show. There were moments where I was laughing out loud and I thought it stayed strong - or perhaps got even better - through its three seasons. I still don't think the pilot is all that good though. I think a show that is very clearly going to be a hangout friendship comedy gets way too bogged down in the pilot with the breakup of the wedding. While it's an interesting way to start the series, it's a little plot heavy for a show that ultimately didn't care that much about the plot for the rest of its run. So I don't think everything I said in 2011 was off base, I think I just needed to give it more of a chance. Sometimes I do that with sitcoms but I was very negative about this one at the time.
What Happened to the Show:
Happy Endings was one of many shows that were hangout comedies featuring a roughly even group of men and women in the 2010-11 season. There was also Perfect Couples, Traffic Light and Friends with Benefits. And Better With You and Mad Love sort of fit into that camp too. Happy Endings got a very late premiere without much fanfare and it was set to air at 10pm, which is never a good sign for a sitcom. It got a double episode premiere after Modern Family before airing regularly in the 10pm slot. Reviews from critics were pretty underwhelming (57 on Metacritic) but the show outperformed its tough timeslot and critics started to come around by the end of its first season. ABC gave it a big vote of confidence by moving it to the post-Modern Family slot for the 2011-12 season and critics started banging the drum for the show. Despite the improved timeslot and reception, it could never find a mass audience even as it did develop a very loyal following by its fans. By the 2012-13 season, it was sent to an island on Tuesday and then eventually banished to Fridays before getting cancelled after three seasons. There was some hope for USA to pick up the show but that didn't come to pass. Happy Endings has lived on as a "gone too soon" show for many fans and critics who still beat the drum for it. It has continued to have a devout following while rumors of a pickup or revival lingered for years. It was one of a few shows to produce a "new" episode during the pandemic. Happy Endings definitely wasn't the biggest hit of the 2010-11 season, but it has lived on much longer than many shows from that year.
Final Episode: May 3, 2013
Episode Count: 57
Where to Watch: Hulu/Disney+, available for purchase on DVD
I'm excited to be contributing to The TV Ratings Guide! You can read my regular work at Benjamonster's TV!
