Happy Endings Season Premiere: New Episodes Promise More Quirkiness and Laughs

It's been a long six months and 13 days since we last saw the quirky cast of ABC's Happy Endings in action. Tonight, we welcome back the crew — Elisha Cuthbert (Alex), Eliza Coupe (Jane), Adam Pally (Max), Damon Wayans Jr. (Brad), Casey Wilson (Penny) and Zachary Knighton (Dave) — when they kick off their third season on prime-time television.

It's no longer "The Year of Penny;" in fact, Penny has dove deeper into despair being stuck in a full-body cast after a major (yet hilarious) accident. Who has volunteered to tend to her around-the-clock, but Max, her gay best friend. Max is known in the show as "The Lazy One," the guy who sports Ray Bans, mooches off Dave and Brad and sings vocals for the show's Madonna cover band Mandonna.

While its first season disappointed critics who wrote it off as a Friends-wannabe, its second season soared with delicious reviews. "Rather than improve ratings by noticeably changing course ... the cast and crew leaned into the weirdness of their comedy," wrote New York's Alex Morris. 

But this ensemble of 30-something BFFs living in Chicago sends sparks through our flat-screens and Macbook Pros; their chemistry is both palpable and genuine, as they're known to get down both on and off the screen as a tight-knit unit that seems to speak their very own language.

We love Penny as the struggling singleton who says things like "Ah-mah-zing" and abbreviates memories to "mems" and we can't get enough of Max, who for en entire episode pretended to be a bear (in hibernation). The type-A personality Jane, who considers getting bangs "crazy," and her doting husband (who wears women's clothing and wants to wear baby-tees), Brad, play off each other as well as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. And then there's the token Ross-Rachel couple, Alex and Dave, that see-saw from frenemies to soul mates and back again after admitting to each other they hate the other's seafood jumbo and obsession with frolf (frisbee golf, of course).

Last we checked, this rambunctious bunch was at a gay wedding in their second season finale (entitled "Four Weddings and One Funeral (Minus Three Weddings and a Funeral)." Brad got fired; Jane wore a pee-yellow tux; Penny met Chris (Brian Austin Green) at the Skype table after re-discovering her love for Dave; Dave and Alex made amends; and Max championed "Like a Prayer" with a faux birthmark above his lip.

As for what's in store for Part III, according to Adam Pally, we'll find out how he and Brad met (on a reality TV show) and Alex's store may in fact be a front for a child-smuggling operation. We can also expect "epic" guest stars. While Tina Fey may be a stretch, Casey Wilson affirms Megan Mullally will be back as her mother and Michael McKean as Dave's dad. Jason Sudeikis is on their short-list, and if they're dreaming big, Catherine O'Hara may be bribed for an appearance.

Happy Endings Season 3 premiere @ 9PM on ABC (before Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23).