Know Your Show: Happy Endings #AtoZChallenge

This post is part of my #A2ZChallenge for April 2016 where my theme is TV Sitcoms.

For the letter H, I choose the insanely underrated Happy Endings.

Premise:

Starting with the breakup of two members of the gang, the show follows the hilarious antics of six friends from Chicago as they try to succeed in life, love and pretty much nothing else!

   

10 reasons you will love it:

1) Seriously, like fans around the world and even the star cast, I could punch the guy who pulled the plug on this show while it was still at its peak. Its cancellation was called the "worst TV decision" of 2012-13 (Vulture). Rolling Stones called it 'the most underrated, under-watched series on TV, that may also be the funniest'.

2) On paper, the premise of friends hanging out seems mighty familiar. But believe me, this was one of the most hilarious comedies of the last decade with amazing comedic chemistry between all 6 leads. You had the dreamer/food truck owner Dave who had just been Runaway Bride'd by his ex-fiance, the air-headed blonde Alex but is still friends with her. You had the married duo of the successful businessman and the control-freak wife. You had the laziest gay guy ever and to round it off, the only woman he slept with who as you can guess, just does not have any luck with men.

3) Today, the Russo brothers are entrusted with directing the biggest movies in the biggest movie franchise in the world - the upcoming Avengers 3 & 4. Their first movie with the studio 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' was a grand success, surprising the audience by being a smart thriller. A large part of what made Marvel sit up and take notice of these brothers was their outstanding work in two shows: Happy Endings and Community, both of which showed that the brothers had the pulse of what the audiences wanted.

8) The writing is insanely brilliant. It takes all the regular cliches you see in sitcoms and still makes it feel fresh. 

5) With no live show laughter track to slow it down, the jokes in this show whizzed by faster than a hummingbird who's drunk Red Bull. Facial expressions, taunts, flashbacks, imbecilic self-praise - it all worked.

6) If you asked me which TV based married couple I would wish to emulate in my own personal life, rest assured, my answer is always going to be the insanely in-sync Brad & Jane. 

Jane (Eliza Coupe, previously in 'Scrubs' & now in 'Quantico') is the perfectionist wife who will go to every extreme to win. And yet her husband, Brad (Damon Wayans Jr) though different by nature is also the right match for her, calling her bluffs when she lies, matching her madness in love and even occasionally winning a bout or two against her.

7) Casey Wilson as the insanely optimistic Penny Hartz is my favourite. Tremendously unlucky in love, she used to resort to all sorts of stunts to keep herself upbeat.

8) A complete show (only *SNIFF SNIFF* 57 episodes) with minimal continuity issues and maximum hilarity. High re-watchability factor too. I've seen the series thrice already (don't judge me. I have no social life.)

9) One of the shows with the highest "Feel Good Factor". You know in advance that there is no moment of stress or pathos in the show so you always could relax after a tense day with it. 

10) Personal Opinion: I know this is blasphemy to you all but the truth is, if you gave me a choice between picking up a DVD set of Friends or Happy Endings, I would actually choose the latter. 

That is how much I recommend it. 

If aliens were to judge us based solely upon this show:

They would all disguise themselves and go around asking everyone where they can get Happy Endings.
Which may be a bad idea if they end up in a massage parlour in Bangkok. Or a good idea. Like the characters in this show, who am I to judge?

Trivia:

• Irony? Penny Hartz in the show is always unlucky in love and yet so hilariously positive. Casey Wilson (who played the role) did such a bang up job of it that the man who created the character of Penny fell in love with her and they ended up getting married in real life.

To see all the shows  I have talked about till date, please CLICK HERE.