''Happy Endings''

I love most of the characters, especially Penny, Max, and Alex. One of the reasons that I like the show (not the main one) is that the characters are not all twigs.

Least credible gay character ever.

Really, R2, I thought Max was realistic, just not a stereotype.

He's not a stereotype, he just doesn't read as gay at all. In all my 20 years of meeting and knowing gay men, I've never met one remotely like him.

Television is MY mirror!

Really enjoying the marathon today on VH1. Such a great show cut down before its time (while shit like HIMYM stays on for 10 fucking years).

Mandonna coming up!

I have one gay friend who is kind of an overweight loser who doesn't care about fashion or anything stereotypically gay. He's ire of a geek than sports type guy like max but similar.

So busy watching the Happy Endings marathon that I forgot about the de Blasio inauguration. I saw him sworn in and now watching his speech.

I fucking miss this show!!

Casey Wilson is engaged to the creator.

I liked Max. Unfortunately for the rest of us the mainstream only likes the type of gay man portrayed on Modern Family and Will and Grace.

Is she? Good for her...

Happy birthday, Jane...and Jesus....

One of my favorite comedies from the past few years, and so sad it got canceled early. Some of the episodes were uneven and mediocre, but when they were on they hit it out of the park. All the characters eventually grew on me, even ones I thought were "blah" at first like Dave and Alex.

Penny had some of the greatest lines - I still laugh remembering her "whore's bath".

Why ABC did not leave it on Wednesday nights after MF (where, I think, it did pretty well in the ratings) is beyond me, especially when you consider that the time slot is now being wasted on shit like that Super Fun Night.

Damon Wayans Jr.'s character was definitely the "gay one" on that show. :)

"Shut up LaToya!"

Loved this show.

[quote]"Shut up LaToya!"

One of my favorite moments.

That, and Hip-Hop Santa.

[quote]Least credible gay character ever.

Except that unlike 90% of gay characters on television, he had sex frequently and wasn't reticent about it.

My favorite was when one of the characters (can't remember which one) got stuck at the Skype table at a wedding. Just her and 9 laptops asking her to point them toward each other as they Skyped.

When Penny gets drunk, she speaks Italian.

ABC should have put it in a block with "Cougar Town," "Suburgatory," and "Don't Trust the B_____ In Apt. 23."

I really loved the show at first, but as it went on, it got really stupid and weird. Just because something is absurd doesn't necessarily mean it's funny. How about writing some fucking jokes?

R4 is correct. In terms of "overcorrecting" the depiction of stereotypical gay men on television, this show went too far the OTHER way.

R22 - That's true for a lot of shows.

"GET YOUR POOR HANDS OF ME!!!"

How did I not know about this series? It must have aired opposite two other shows I watched or something... (my DVR only has two tuners)

But Zachary (played by Dave Rose) is SO FUCKING HOT. Damn. I want to do a ton of nasty things to that guy.

The show itself? Slightly amusing, mostly annoying, I can see why it didn't last. But... I kinda wish I had watched while it was on.

I'm wondering if R8 knows me.

Because I'm totally a shlubby nerd that doesn't "read" as gay at all. I'm way less gay than this guy. Except when I'm in a male stripper bar I guess.

Actually, R26, his character's name is Dave but his real name is Zachary Knighton.

Zachary Knighton has really nice feet that they displayed in one episode. And he kind of looks like ashton kutcher in a weird way.

He's so got I got all flustered and got it backwards. Sorry!

I seriously get depressed every time I remember Happy Endings. I haven't loved a show so much since Pushing Daisies.

This show is funny but it somehow never gelled. I think it's the cast. They just never looked right together. It wasn't like Friends where the casting is perfect and there's instant chemistry and you couldn't imagine anyone else playing the parts.

Why didn't ABC just give it one more season so it could go into syndication and make big money. ABC Studios was the one producing it so they themselves would benefit.

There was talk that TBS, Netflix or some cable channel was going to pick this up like they did Cougartown and Arresting Development. Any news yet?

"Hello, you're a [italic]woman[/italic]... you should know what part of the butt a baby comes from!"

Always found it too forced - just a series of snarky comments for shock value. Unlikeable characters and lazy writing.

Yeah, it was too forced. Friends just seemed more natural. This seemed more like people doing SNL sketches.

Max looked really bad in season 3. He was overweight, bad haircut and he was clean shaven. He looks so much better with stubble. He just looks weird completely shaved.

I love how Friends is being lauded as if it was some masterpiece.

Friends was a masterpiece. Especially more so now in hindsight. Every episode was a classic in the making. No ensemble sitcom has cum close since, least of all that horrible How I Melt Your Mother.

"Friends" seemed like actual people, who would actually be friends.

"Happy Endings" don't seem like real people. At all. Or people that would be friends and hang out.

That said, it's fun.

And for all the bitching, I think the gay character is the most realistic gay character on TV. I know more gay guys like him than like any of the stereotypes you usually see.

[quote]"Happy Endings" don't seem like real people. At all. Or people that would be friends and hang out.

Yeah, the casting was all wrong. But the writing saves it. The writing is the star. With the right casting, this could have been a huge hit.

I was surprised when it came back. Everyone tries so hard to be clever or witty or edgy or raunchy. The writing is sophomoric. Cast has no chemistry and the characters are uninteresting and underdeveloped. I was never a big fan of Friends, but it worked compared to this turd.

[quote]Max looked really bad in season 3. He was overweight, bad haircut and he was clean shaven. He looks so much better with stubble. He just looks weird completely shaved.

Adam Pally is in The Mindy Project now and he looks so much better -- he's lost weight and he has a beard. Too bad he's not playing gay anymore.

I didn't think there was anything wrong with the casting, or that they looked wrong together. They were all funny, even Elisha Cuthbert. But they should have been reined in. Their performances became too manic and self-impressed, and it turned people off.

MARY, at R30! Lol! But I completely agree.

One line did have me LOL tonight. Dave was being overly suspicious of everything. One of them says, "In fairness to Dave, he has been overly suspicious ever since he accidentally got on that Bait Bus."

I was turned off to the show when I read on a gossip site that they were all self-important assholes on the set and hostile newcomers. Megan Mullally apparently told them never to ask her back.

I try not to put much stuff in gossip, but in this case, I can totally see it being true. They radiate smug.

I don't really see how Max was the most realistic gay character on TV. It's all a pendulum. Either a gay guy is a total flamer or completely adheres to heterosexual norms. And, in the case of this show, it seemed like a bunch of straight guys trying to write a gay guy similar to them, which is well-meaning but ultimately entitled.

I think a truly realistic, and three-dimensional, gay character would be one with a broad range of interests and contradictions. It is possible to like showtunes AND football. Why are we so desperate for characters that place us into tiny, easily-designed boxes?

That said, I did respect how they never shied away from the fact that Max was sexually active, and they'd often show him in bed or being intimate with other guys.

All well said and excellent points, R49.

Well, Megan Mullalley made multiple guest appearances on the show so I find that BI suspect.

My favorite episode is the Halloween one from Season 2 where Jane and Brad housesit in the suburbs while the rest of the gang goes to a costume party in the city.

"Are we going to see any Jackson Five's tonight? Yep! Are we going to see any marionettes? Mos def! Are we going to see any Mos Def's? I wouldn't know it if I saw one..."

I think it's wrong to compare the show to "Friends." It's more akin to Seinfeld because they're all unlikeable sociopaths who only care about each other's opinions.

Although they weren't above poking fun at the Friends comparison either; in the season 2 Valentine's Day episode, a high-as-balls Brad called the rest of them the Friends' names (Max was "Fat Joey!"). The best was him snapping at Jane "Don't patronize me, Monica!"

Best comedy since Arrested Development.

Fuck "Friends" forever.

"What was the movie about the horse going to war?"

"Duh...War Biscuit."

Jesus, R34. Those deals have been dead in the water for months. Couldn't have been too interested, could you?

[quote]"Duh...War Biscuit."

No show made me laugh out loud as consistently as Happy Endings did. That exchange was just the perfect example.

Dave and Alex were the two characters that it took them the longest to get a handle on, but once they did, everything out of Alex's mouth was usually golden.

I was just remembering the episode that featured the death of her Neo-Nazi parrot, who she was convinced committed suicide because they'd gotten into an argument over who was the best Celebrity Apprentice: "I said Melissa Rivers, he said Joseph Goebbels..."

I liked this show a lot.

I didn't completely love it because I do think it could get too forced and absurd, but when it clicked it was amazing.

Still, the network gave this show three seasons to find an audience so no one can say they didn't give it a chance.

Still the seamless integration of racial and sexual orientation diversity in a friend group and the way it was (as it should be) treated as no big deal but another source of comedy was a beautiful thing to behold.

R58, I watch a TON of TV... and I have somehow never seen a single episode of this show (before last night, watching several episodes in the marathon), never saw ANY promotions for it... and only vaguely heard of it (and I think it was from here, people bitching about the "unrealistic" gay character that I found incredibly realistic last night).

So I'm not sure the network really gave it THAT much effort. I watch probably 10-20 hours of TV a week depending on the week and the season... so how did I miss this?

I couldn't even tell you what network, night, or time it was on. I can only guess (as I said above) that it was on opposite two other good shows that I record, or that it was sandwiched in between two awful shows that kept me away or something.

I think if I had KNOWN about the show, I would have watched it.

Once ABC moved it from Wed nights, it was tough to find. I think it was on Friday nights for a while which is a TV graveyard.

Jane looks for a "work husband" but gets busted for sexual harrasment instead. HR Guy: "You told Javier that you are no stranger to the three-hole punch..."

I about spit out my drink at that one.

R60, they got away with a lot of double entendres under the radar. One of my favorites was the Halloween episode where Dave discusses his and Alex's Sean Penn costumes - "I thought you loved Double Pen(n)!"

And R49, it was interesting to see Max contrasted with the flaming gay side-character, Derrick(?), and with Max's various boyfriends (forgot their names, but they were played by James Wolk and that guy from the New Girl). I also really liked the episode where he tries to figure out what "clique" he belongs to and goes to various bar nights with Jane, like "Gay Ostriches" and "Chameleon Gays". It really revealed his vulnerable and insecure side, which I think gave him some additional depth and differentiated him from a stereotypical straight slob character.

Max's "gay identity crisis":

[quote] they got away with a lot of double entendres under the radar.

Such as Dave referring to someone's "pre-comeuppance," and all his horrible folk songs about wanting to make a woman come... back to him.

I loved the show, and still laugh at: "He invited me to see that gay Four Tops cover band, the Four Tops."

Derek, the screaming queen, describes himself: "I'm a soft, soft, soft, soft, soft butch."

So sad the show ended early, but happy that hopefully people will get to see it. Enjoyed watching the reruns.

Great momemt when a gassed-up Brad calls out the characters as their "Friends" archtypes: Fat Joey, etc.

Max to Brad (when they're impersonating a gay couple to get in to a wedding expo):

"Oh, like YOU haven't thought about it, Harvey Chocolate Milk."

Both Casey and Elisha ping.

Also a Max line (when he hears Brad complain that cabs won't stop for him):

"Oh, boo-hoo. You can't get a cab. Well, I can't get married. Or into heaven."

I just downloaded season 1 and hadn't seen them all. It really holds up. I think later it did get a bit forced but am really cheered by this as my NYE was not exactly a stunning event.

Thanks for bumping this thread as a reminder.

Penny's whore's bath:

Brad: A small typo on the word canal and you are in a whole different family of sites

Jane: I know - the same thing happened to me when I searched for a pair of black crocs

Back on Max for a minute, while this seems like pandering, I do give Adam Pally a lot of credit for being so unflinching when it came to Max being affectionate with other men, which not a lot of straight actors pull off without giving some of it away.

Max actually had sex, whereas Will and Jack just had brunch.

Thanks R70

You're welcome, R69 (I'm the one who bumped it).

Can't tell you what a pleasant surprise that was when I got home NYE night. I spent all day Wednesday surfing between three programs (HE, TZ and the Honeymooners) and enjoyed all three immensely.

Happy New Year!

Thanks, r75! Happy New Year to you too.

The BI of Megan Mullally telling producers not to invite her back was debunked a while ago (see link).

I don't see how people say the actors don't have chemistry - I thought they had terrific chemistry. I think one of the problems was that the characters weren't very lovable and often obnoxious to each other, and a lot of people don't care for that. But I see a lot of that in my own friends; we're quick to bust on each other and the stupid things we do, but at the end of the day we know we have each other's backs.

Penny teaches the gang Jazz Kwon Do.. sort of sums up why I love this goofy show.

Thanks so much R79 - Casey does goofy so well.

There was so much gay content on this show -- Max was gay, Jane came out as bisexual, Derrick was a really funny take on how horrible a Sean Hayes-style gay would be in real life, Max had a string of boyfriends, and even the straight characters talked about "tops" and "bottoms" casually.

"Long Gay's Journey Into Night," where they took Max to all the weird niche gay bars to find out what kind of gay he might be (like "a power seal"), was hilarious: "You're like Anne Hathaway's accents! All over the place!"

[quote]I just downloaded season 1

Where do you download this for free?

I think the show became way too absurd and unrealistic. The later episodes were completely not grounded in reality and was just a series of sight gags like you're watching The Naked Gun or Airplane movies.

Examples:

Jane had full size pictures of Max and Penny in their underwear installed in her living room that she could pull down whenever she wanted. Could never happen in real life unless the person was an insane stalker.

Jane makes under Max by sticking gum in his hair and pouring a bucket of dirt on him. Sight gag. Doesn't make sense in real life.

Dave buys 40 cell phones to make reservations at a restaurant. Would never happen in real life.

Max is paid $1000 in pennies and decides to dump it all on a restaurant table as payment. Would never happen in real life.

Max takes down the door to his apartment because he needed a headboard. Doesn't make sense.

It was like watching a real life episode of Family Guy with all these sight gags.

R82 = Buzz Killington

Those things would never happen on Friends, or Seinfeld, or any show that's grounded in reality. Those things happen on SNL sketches and Family Guy. So it kinda feels like you're watching a series of sketches.

R82: Someone who is totally humorless and way too literal. Would never happen in real life.

I'm more horrified that r84 thinks that Friends and Seinfeld is grounded in reality.

Yes, Friends and Seinfeld are grounded in reality in that if there are any "Naked Gun" type scenes the viewer would immediately think it's a dream sequence. Not so on Happy Endings.

R82 is right.

It's a common thing. The first couple of seasons of HIMYM were grounded in reality, but they became less and less so with each season.

Happy Endings marathon today on LOGO! Love this show!

The cast really did have a great chemistry together. Even the characters of Alex and Dave who were stiff at first became quite funny.

Sometimes the writing failed them however and I agree the humor became way too over the top as the show when on.

Meh. There was no there there, no matter how hard and how long they tried to make this happen. Season 1 New Girl blew this away.

Seeing the promos with the actress from this, Casey Wilson, and Ken Marino, from their new sitcom, it seems like Marino hasn't aged since "The State", 20 years ago.

I was surprised by how well Elisha could do comedy.

"...so did I rub some dryer sheets on my pits and splash some water on my hush in the bathroom of an Au Bon Pain? Yes I did."

I hope Casey does well in her new show.

Max was such a great character. So nice to see a gay character who was just a real relatable guy.

I think I love you, R93.

"It's one of our many gay categories. We have our bears, our queens, our daddies, our sugar caddies, our maple-smoked sausage patties, our Belgian waffles, and our six tops. Fun fact: those last four are just things that are in this room, but you believed me because you are stuuuupiid."

My main issue with Max is I never bought him being gay. Not in the sense that he didn't act stereotypically gay, but just when he was around his love interests and guys he was supposed to be attracted to. Adam Pally never put effort into selling that, I guess it is a sitcom and he cared more about being funny than being real.

Max: "Corey's gay. Yeah, he hits on me all the time. I just never reciprocate because... I could do so much better."

Dave: "Eh, he's kind of your ceiling."

Max: "Eh, he's kind of my floor."

Dave: "The second floor, if you're standing on the first floor."

Derrick: "Eh, you know you're both fat."

Dave and Jane try to set up Max with copies of themselves:

Jane: "My guy is the ta-tas; he's in my spin class, he's an i-banker, and he drives a crossover vehicle, so... yeah, he's white."

For r93 (and me)

Casey wants more nudity in Magic Mike.

The way Casey says "Au Bon Pain" just cracks me up.

I adore Casey!

I liked the chemistry between Casey and Elisha.

All I can see now is Elisha riding dongs with a full face of makeup and loving it.

I see Elisha eating ribs when drunk.

I love Casey, but her new show (Marry Me) sucks big time.

I just put in a DVD of S2, the one where Brad's dad (Damon Wayan's Sr.) comes to visit. The resemblance between father and son is astounding.

I hate to agree with r108 but it's true. I thought the pilot was actually very funny but it's been downhill from there. With all the supporting characters it feels like they're trying to recreate "Happy Endings" but it ain't gonna happen.

Derrick season 1 . Hilarious!

Penny speaks Italian

The writers who brought the Happy Endings twitter page back to life in February have still been toying with fans.

The other HE thread finally MAXed out but I posted a couple of things on it previously.

The recent items -

A few weeks ago they posted a link to the song "Return Of The Mack."

They keep referencing a cryptic hashtag for "It's Almost A New Day."

Seems they still want people to think there will be an exciting announcement in April - possibly on April Fool's Day though which would just keep the confusion going.

R113-

Don't tease.

"HE" was "Friends" minus the suck. I just watched the episode where DW Jr. dad (DW Sr.) shows up again. Damn they look alike!

Love(d) this show.

This, plus "Community" on Yahoo! proves TV is dead.

Casey Wilson says she has no idea what the countdown to April 1st is all about.

Because of who her husband is, you'd think she's be well aware of a plan to start the show up again.

Is she just being coy? Or is there really nothing of significance planned for April 1st?

You know it's April Fools Day, right? Maybe it's just one big joke..

Yes of course it was an April Fools joke.

Or maybe they were hoping that enough interest would get sparked that something would happen and they wouldn't have to say it was a hoax.

And Caspe tells EW that that is kind of true. They are at least thinking about trying to make something (more episodes) happen, but no real plans at all right now.

If Netflix can reboot shit like "Full House," they should definitely be willing to reboot a great show like "Happy Endings." Plus, I don't think the ratings were that great for his new show last week, so looks like Zach might be available soon.

It's funny to see the costars in other projects that are similar to HA, but just don't get much right.

Like you said, r118, Zach's show had a miserable debut. I didn't see it, so I can't comment on how good it is.

But I have watched Cuthbert playing another version of Alex in One Big Happy (which has little to laugh at.. no matter what the laugh track tries to trick you to believing).

And Wayans playing another version of Brad on New Girl

And Coupe playing another version of Jane in that USA courtroom show Benched.

And Pally playing a straight (not that there is any difference) version of Max in Mindy Project.

And Casey Wilson playing another version of Penny in Marry Me - had high hopes for that show, but it's nothing special.

None of them have the "magic"? that HA had when they were all together.

And I agree that someone should be able to put something together if that stupid Full House can get new episodes.

Happy Endings is now streaming on Hulu! All 57 episodes!! YAY!!!!

I'm just catching it on Netflix and I love it.

It's one of those shows where every episode is good and has hilarious LOL moments.

Derek the Stereotypical Gay was my favorite.

The actor who played Pete is hot. He needs to play Brad Pitt's son in a movie.

That tattoo is tragic

I was SO pissed when Penny and Pete broke up.

I loved this show. I so identified with Max as a gay slob myself. I thought it was better than 'New Girl'. Yet NG survived and this didn't.

The writing on the show was excellent and smart.

New Girl was excellent but this show, at its best, was amazing. Yes, in season 3, things eroded, but I’ll bet that had to do with less money being thrown at the production.

I never liked the gimmicky attempt to make Penny sound funny with her overuse of the cringeworthy "ahmaazing".

R129 it was hilarious when they made fun of it in the next season. I don't think that was meant to make her funny so much as show how corny she was.

So many good guest stars. Everyone from Megan Mullaly, Damon Wayons, Drew Doege, Andy Richter, Colin Hanks, so many