Ever since Friends, TV executives have consistently tried to revive its success, launching failed pilots about groups of young, twenty-something friends living the city. Many of these actors lack the comedic chops to measure up to the original. Besides How I Met Your Mother, these TV shows rarely see it past the first season. But Happy Endings is the new underdog of television, premiering last year and rising steadily in ratings ever since.
So far, the second season has outperformed itself, pulling in eight million viewers a night, right after Oscar-awarding winning Modern Family. It details the lives of six friends living in Chicago, and the actors play their characters with perfected ease and hilarity. Each facial expression, punch line and catchphrase is spoken with just the right zing. For a show that everyone expected to be canceled, Happy Endings has been a surprising but great success.
One great thing about the show is its breaking of social stereotypes. Brad and Jane are an interracial couple, and Max is described as a straight guy who likes guys. Without flaunting the diversity of their cast like so many other shows do, Happy Endings glides right through its jokes. No one becomes “that black guy” or “that gay guy.” Everyone is unique to their own character and it only makes Happy Endings a much more enjoyable television experience.
More importantly, it’s funny. So many failed sitcoms were brought down by stale, overused jokes and poor writing. Sometimes a show lacks a certain spark. Sometimes it’s not the writers’ fault but the casting directors’. Some actors can do comedy and others can’t. Happy Endings succeeded with its casting choices. Great actors and superb writing make it obvious that the show will last for many more seasons.
Dare I say it? For once, a Friends-esque show measures up to the original – and perhaps even outshines it.
I LOVE THIS SHOW! 🙂