'Happy Endings' TV Show: Why It's the Best Sitcom On Television

Culture

Happy Endings is the best sitcom on television. It is also on the list of shows that will probably get the axe due to low ratings. Why so few are watching this comic gem is beyond me. It has all the elements of a hit, but for some reason is missing an audience. It could be that it is simply too quirky to find a faithful following. But it is the quirkiness that makes it the best sitcom on TV.

The show centers around six friends. If this sounds familiar, it should, since you could deem this the Friends scenario. But it is nothing like Friends, which is not at all disappointing. Each character on Happy Endings is certifiably insane. The writing is a whiplash of pop culture references one right after another. It's all at once a stream of consciousness flow, making it almost impossible to keep up.

Snappy and sharp, the zaniness of the first episode in season three just built on itself. Happy Endings is like watching a continuous improvisation act, with something new and exciting in each scene. The more random the reference the better. Other shows like New Girl are wacky and weird, but Happy Endings can out-weird even the very "adorkable" Jess Day.

All six main cast members fit together like snug gloves. Jane, played by Eliza Coupe, and Brad, played by Damon Wayans Jr. provide the most laughs. They are the crazy like a fox married couple, complete with the wackiest chemistry that any couple on TV today could hope to have. But it works. It's magic watching the two of them work together. Eliza Coupe is a comedic genius as the uptight and "Type A personality" on crack cocaine Jane.

Today, sitcoms are struggling. They either run like standard 90s sitcoms with a laugh track or they are single camera like Happy Endings. But this sitcom is able to combine references from all segments of pop culture and streamline it with references taken straight from today without a hitch, and the audience doesn't know what hit them. It's like being smacked in the face over and over again with a hammer — but a hammer that feels good.

Unequivocally, Happy Endings is the best sitcom around. Its uniquely weird, wacky storylines and characters sell it. It has an improvised sketch comedy meets delicious script feel to it that never goes stale. So, because of this it pops continuously like a killer Roman candle. But is this also its undoing in terms of finding an audience that will stick around?

Time will tell, but it is possible that Happy Endings will go the way of another notoriously amazing freak show affectionately titled Arrested Development.