Never before has Dave's steak truck gotten so much attention in two consecutive Happy Endings episodes!
In "The Incident," Penny accidentally got the truck stolen when she borrowed it to move furniture. In the second installment, "Bros Before Bros," Dave went to war with a fellow steak truck owner known as "The Brazilian."
The Happy Endings happy hour was filled with sisterly fights, forbidden romances and a life sized Brad doll. Let's discuss.
In the first half of the hour, Max's hairdresser died and he needed a replacement. After trusting Dave for some stupid reason, he ended up looking like his clone, highlighted goatee and all. Jane and Alex to the rescue! Besides better skills, Jane and Alex's hair dresser played by RuPaul had a major advantage: gossip. Max being Max, he was obviously enticed and went to town with his new information. He's a troublemaker, he couldn't resist!
Everybody knows there are just certain things that are better left unsaid, especially within families. I have four siblings all who are married so I technically now have 8. You gotta know when to pick and choose your battles. Sometimes airing your grievances can just make it all worse, especially when you're Jane and Alex. The girls fighting went all the way back to childhood when there was an all out cold war.
Max and Brad did a little digging and found an article that talked about how the girls made up. Question posed by Max, what's creepier: the random anatomically correct doll of Brad or the fact that a local newspaper was super obsessed with Jane and Alex? At least the paper had some answers. Nana Kerkovich to the rescue and all was right in the world again! Also Dave found his truck and had to sanitize it after the guy who stole it, admitted to making love to the meat...literally.
On to the second episode: Steak Me Home Tonight got even more attention as Dave braced for opening day at Wrigley field when he'd have to face his steak truck rival: The Brazilian. With the girls off planning Penny's wedding, the boys helped Dave plot to win the steak-off. Sidenote, how timely was Alex's comment about North Korea:
You had Jane plan you a backup wedding in an underground bunker just in case North Korea quote grew a pair, but you never thought of who's gonna walk you down the aisle? | permalink
What's scary about that timely and relevant comment was that it was made my Alex. Did you see her 4th grade book report that Max found? "F, is this a joke?" Amazing. Enter Penny's long lost dad who abandoned her to be an actor at a young age. He had a hard road with having to impress Jane, but he managed to do so after buying Penny her dream dress and getting involved in the steak truck showdown.
That showdown may never have happened but of course Max had to make trouble once again and sleep with the competition's son. Oh Max, what are we going to do with you? If it weren't for the fact that your actions resulted in a Ladybugs reference, I might have been kinda mad at your for messing things up for Dave!
He's not lying. He once Ladybugs'd himself into a Jr. High girls soccer tournament, bet against the team, and threw the game. | permalink
Amazing and under-appreciated movie reference. This is why I love Happy Endings! I thought this week's back to back episodes were better than last weeks. How about you guys? Hit the comments!
If 2012 was the "year of Penny," then tonight was the "night of Penny and Pete." Alas, in case you thought the writers forgot about Penny's upcoming nuptials the way ABC forgot about how awesome Happy Endings is, fear not. "She's Got Game Night" and "The Storm Before the Calm" were all about P & P.
Unfortunately, it wasn't all smooth sailing. While Penny and Pete whooped butt at couples game night, even beating Jane and Brad (say what?!?), they found that they had bigger issues to deal with.
It started off innocently enough. Penny was jazzed about the wedding when she ran into an old friend. Suddenly her subconscious seeped in and she was questioning whether she and Pete knew each other all that well. When Jane added to that insecurity by saying that Penny and Pete had the rest of their lives to get to know each other, Penny decided she needed to prove that no, everything was just dandy. What better way to prove how well you know your significant other than couples game night?!
Competing against Jane in anything is...well, frightening to say the least. The only thing that turns Jane on more than competition is making lists and people agreeing with her. So it was off the races. Imagine walking into Jane and Brad's apartment to find them chanting in matching track suits?
Winners win and losers lose and alcoholics they just booze. They win at drinking, that’s their thing but our thing’s always just win-ning. We’re Brad and Jane, let’s start the game. Sup suckas? | permalink
In the end, couples game night really didn't prove anything. Brad and Jane tanked and they're one of the best TV couples of all time. Even Max and stalker Scottie did better than them! Alex and Dave never showed because of the dumbest b-story ever about Dave and some psychics. Let's not even go there. Ultimately Penny just didn't have that gut feeling about Pete. Cue: the breakup cocoon.
The second episode "The Storm Before The Calm" was all about how Penny deals with a breakup. I have to say, that scene where Max walked into Penny's breakup cocoon too early when she was all Exorcist style was hilarious. The play wasn't my favorite part of the episode. It was just a little over the top.
I know, I know Happy Endings is over the top and that's why we love it. Just something about "The Black Plague: A Love Story" was a touch too much on the crazy scale. I kind of preferred the Max and Alex idiot tastemaker scam. Watching the two of them try and sell products and not realize they were getting completely gipped was awesome; As was how jealous Jane acted not to be included.
By the way, you know you're not promoting a cool product when you get Dave's endorsement. Case in point:
Those are cool. And this is coming from a guy who wore a bandana around his jeans leg in high school, so I know what I speak of. | permalink
Oh boy. The bandana around the jeans leg. I can picture it so well! At least Dave and Brad saved the day with Penny's disastrous play. Who knew how easily they would both be seduced into the theater world? Sorry Derek, but Brad definitely would've made a better Clete.
Well R.I.P. Penny & Pete. You guys had a good run. I was proud of Penny for dealing with her breakup in a new way. What did you all think of the latest Happy Endings happy hour?
Penny’s attempts at trying to move on past Pete land her in the arms of the car czar in “The Ballad of Lon Saforsky.”
The czar is just about the last man on Earth anyone would want to have sex with, and so naturally poor choices Penny ends up unable to quit him; much like Brad can’t stop inviting people over when he’s in an awkward or uncomfortable situation.
Penny’s desire to find a hookup to get Pete out of her system is perfectly fine, but it become old pretty quickly as I watched Penny continually jump into bed with the Czar. If Jane hadn’t done some smoothing over he may have never left her. Which is the biggest gripe I had: Penny makes a big decision to break of the engagement with Pete – showing a lot of courage and backbone on her part – and then she winds up stuck in another relationship with very little courage or backbone.
Max’s decision to enter the best gay man pageant isn’t the first one Max has entered, but the tricks and antics between Max, Alex, and Dave make it enjoyable. Dave’s impersonation of Sonny and Cher is both genius and slightly creepy, and Alex attempting to school Max in throwing just the right amount of shade also got me.
"Un-sabotagable" is the stronger comedy of the hour, however, with Mark Paul Gosselaar making a quick cameo as one of Max’s very upset ex-boyfriends.
Eliza Coupe has proven to be versatile with Jane’s neuroses, and is able to keep them fresh and interesting even when they’re bordering on overused. Jane’s attempts to make over Max, her pull down diagrams for areas of improvement, and learning that Max’s life is so terrible that not even his ex wants to attempt to sabotage are hilarious.
Jane using her powers for good and making over Max is a great start to sabotage-ability, and I really enjoy seeing put together Max once in a while, but we all knew it was never going to last. Max is the type of guy who is going to use his front door for a headboard and find gum in his hair.
Dave’s attempts at sabotaging Alex’s groupons are mostly a reflection of him being just as crazy and impulsive as Alex, but in different areas. Dave talks a big game, but he’s sometimes just a carbon copy of Alex with a better vocabulary. Chase’s subsequent monologue of doom for Max at the closing of the episode is rather amazing – no, not the monologue itself – but the reaction it brings out in the rest of everyone else. They couldn’t care less about what Chase said only his perfect timing.
The final Happy Endings happy hour of Happy Endings season 3 was all about family. In the first episode "Deuce Babylove 2: Electric BabyDeuce" we had a visit from Penny's mom Dana and Dave's dad Big dave, played by Megan Mullally and Michael McKean respectively. In "Brothas and Sisters" Jane and Alex's big sister Brooke was in town for her wedding.
Now I know what you're all thinking...there's a third Kerkovich sister?!? I was pretty darn surprised myself. All you really need to know about her is that she out-Jane's Jane. But we'll get to that in a minute.
It's no secret that Happy Endings has suffered at the hands of ABC scheduling, first getting knocked out for a month and a half for Celebrity Wife Swap with Coolio and Kate Gosselin. Really America? That's sad. Then it was bumped to Fridays which everyone knows is kind of a death sentence in the TV world. If in fact, these were the finale two episodes of the series and it's not rescued by USA Networks, then at least Happy Endings had some consistency and went out the way it came in: wedding chaos!
Double points for consistency because it was another Kerkovich sister wedding: the one sister nobody knew existed, big sis Brooke. Apparently Jane and Alex have an older sister and she is more neurotic, organized, and uptight than Jane but not even remotely as fun. When Brooke is around Jane loses it and kind of regresses into Alex. Alex just stays Alex and enjoys her role as the baby. If an unraveling Jane isn't bad enough, Brad was shaken up when he found out Brooke's fiance Elliot is black and wouldn't have to endure the same ordeal he did with the racist Kerkovich relatives.
With Brad proclaiming himself the "Jackie Robinson of the Kerkovich family" and Jane repeating the mantra "strength, courage, composure, no carbs" it's no wonder everything else almost fell to pieces. The world is off its axis when our main couple are not themselves. I'm not going to lie, watching Jane meltdown and get weird Brooke-induced sweats was pretty funny. Brad's meltdown led to a lot of incoherent babbling and bug-outs, but Damon Wayans Jr. always excels in his comic delivery. Max had it pretty on the money when he told Jane:
Jane you’re actin extra nuts, and I’m not talking about mistaking the teaspoon with tablespoon kinda nuts, I’m talking about Mel Gibson downing a 5-hour-energy and showing up at a Bar Mitzvah kinda nuts. | permalink
I think the second episode was probably my favorite of the two because I love when the gang is all together. However, Penny and Dave freaking out about their parents adopting and regressing into total children was also a riot. I especially love Megan Mullally and Michael McKeon as guest stars. I loved Penny and Dave's reaction when they thought the announcement was an engagement and Dave quietly dropped a Rachel Zoe "I die."
Even better than Dave putting on his best Zoe face was the fact that he dropped a line from on-screen girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert's starring role in The Girl Next Door. The juice was worth the squeeze. I'm not sure if that was intentionally done by the writers, but if it was I want them to know that this reviewer noticed it and appreciated it!! Also the two of their dumbasses trying to make the baby cry was so stupidly funny.
When all else fails, there's nothing like some good old-fashioned physical comedy and competition between Brad, Jane, Max, and Alex. The fact that they noted that nobody solves problems by tennis matches past the 80s was amazing. It brought on images of movies like Trading Places and the tennis montage was well done. Happy Endings knows all of the obvious assumptions people make and beat them to the punchline by cracking the joke themselves.
Max: I wouldn’t say we spend that much time together, I mean just breakfast 4 or 5 times a week before work.
Dave:And drinks during the day most days, not everyday but definitely every evening.
Penny: And sure we always deliver news in person. | permalink
A great hour of television and what I truly hope isn't the last we'll see of Happy Endings. Were you surprised Dave and Alex broke up? What did you think of Brooke Kerkovich? Who had the best lines? What did you think of the season 3 finale episodes? Hit the comments!
Via Entertainment Weekly, the network announced today that it has acquired all 57 episodes of the beloved sitcom and will actually air a marathon of them starting at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31.
The marathon will conclude on New Year's Day.
But this is merely the hilarious appetizer.
Happy Endings will subsequently land in its new time slot on Wednesday nights from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. beginning on January 8.
With the number of shows on television, it makes sense we lose more than we gain, right?
Some of the shows that have been canceled stick with us. Their loss causes us pain. We miss them. We hope for reunion movies and to find other people who might share our feelings.
The most recent case in point: Witches of East End, whose axing after two seasons had the Internet buzzing and complaining last week.
Below, we've assembled a list of programs that can still bring a tear to the eye at the thought we'll never see the characters we fell in love with and the stories they shared ever again.
Whether it was one season and done or 72 years long, when a series disappears, it takes characters who have come to life with it and it proves one sad fact about television:
There aren't always Happy Endings.
We've shown you ours, now you show us yours! Hit the comments with some of canceled series that left you scarred, bitter and maybe a touch weepy.
From one-season wonders to long-running shows that still felt like they had great potential, many beloved series have bitten the dust.
Yes, the list of painfully canceled television shows is a personal one, and one that could run longer than we have time to cover here.
But we polled the TV Fanatic staff and came up with a rundown of sitcoms and dramas that we still can't believe have been shut down.
Some of these go back many years now.
Some of these just recently occurred.
But all of them hurt. A lot.
Gather up your strength, break out the tissues and don't give up hope, because in the modern TV landscape, anything is possible.
Heck, if Full House and The X-Files can come back in some form, who knows what the future holds for these fan favorites...
1. Firefly
Admittedly I didn't watch Firefly until fellow Castle fans compelled me to buy the dvds, but by 30 minutes into the pilot I knew I'd be broken hearted by the end. The writing, the characters, the unique setting, I fell in love with it all. I laughed out loud during "Our Mrs Reynolds" gasped during "War Stories" and almost cried during
"The Message" Like a leaf on the wind, I will always get a wistful ache in my heart that there isn't more Firefly to enjoy. -- Christine Orlando
2. Veronica Mars
The modern day answer to Nancy Drew. Veronica Mars only lasted 3 seasons, but became a cult hit and eventually became a highly successful and much talked about movie. Veronica was everything missing from other female characters on TV. She was a complicated, tough, smart, witty, resilient, emotional, badass who just happened to be a teenage girl. The series followed Veronica as she tried to solve various mysteries in the fictional Neptune, California. This show may have seemed like a teenage show on the surface, but the writing was so brilliant and way darker than one would expect dealing with rape, murder, abuse, class warfare, and race. The show was cancelled after 3 seasons, but thankfully fans got closure when the Kickstarter funded movie came to fruition last year. -- Amanda Steinmetz
3. Happy Endings
The cast was ah-mah-zing, as was their undeniable chemistry. When it got unceremoniously canceled, all I wanted to do was crawl into a Max-like hibernation until Jane and Brad had their Annual Spring Smackdown on ABC and got them to reverse its decision. That sadly never came to pass. But at least there's the DVDs! -- Winston Rice
4. Ghost Whisperer
The show aired on CBS for five years and never got below 7 million viewers on average. While it was being aired on the Friday night death slot, seven episodes of the fourth season garnered more than 11 million viewers. Unfortunately, in 2010 it was canceled and viewers, characters and ghosts were all left with some unfinished business. -- Amanda Wolf
5. The OC
Ryan, Marissa, Seth, Summer, Sandy, Kirsten, Julie Cooper-Nickel! We watched as Ryan's life was turned around by his being brought into the Cohen household, and none of us were ever the same. Ryan Murphy wasn't afraid to kill a main character, so we said goodbye to Marissa Cooper at the end of Season 3. Then we said goodbye to everyone else when the series was canceled at the end of Season 4, just 8 episodes shy of syndication. Sigh. Californiaaaaaaaaa! -- Miranda Wicker
6. Enlisted
Enlisted was a rare gem: a network comedy that was truly funny, but at the same time completely endearing and heartwarming. You could be laughing so hard at the 3 Hill Brothers to the point of your stomach aching in one moment, and then not realize your eyes welling up with tears in the next. Enlisted was dealing with a stacked deck from the get go as Fox buried the show on Friday nights, refusing all logic as the show would've fit perfect alongside other Tuesday night comedies such as The Mindy Project and New Girl. The show was cancelled after only one perfect season, and instead of ripping the band-aid off all at once, fans were continually given glimmers of hope for a renewal, first by Fox and later by Yahoo (who had already saved cancelled Community from death). I think we're all in need of a serious "Hands on Head" moment of silence for one of the best comedies on TV in recent memory. I'll forever be like Randy, ugly crying over what could have been out of this perfect little show. -- Bridget Liszewski
It's not just about ghouls and goblins, although some of these parties have actual demons on the guest list. Whether it's fearful or funny, Halloween may be the one holiday that every TV show eventually celebrates.
From the nerdiest costumes to a couple's very first kiss, heartbreaking declarations to the return of lost love and playing epic pranks to the joy of finding full size candy bars in your trick-or-treat bag, these Halloween parties go from hilarious to heart warming.
Don't be scared. The bunnies aren't really evil, at least we don't think so. Check out the 19 most memorable Halloween parties on TV.
1. Castle - "Vampire Weekend"
An investigation into a vampire fetish community eventually wrapped up with Rick Castle throwing an epic Halloween bash for all of his friends. Castle actually wore two costumes in Castle Season 2 Episode 6, “Vampire Weekend” The first was from Nathan Fillion’s cult favorite Firefly character Capt. Mal Reynolds but for the actual party he dressed as one of his favorite authors, Edgar Allen Poe. Our favorites were Lanie as Cat Woman and Martha as Cruella de Vil.
2. How I Met Your Mother - "The Slutty Pumpkin"
Marshall was Jack Sparrow and Lily the green parrot. Robin's boyfriend broke up with her when he showed up as Hansel but she skipped the Gretel costume. But it was Ted (as a Hanging Chad) waiting to find his Slutty Pumpkin, the girl whose number he lost when Lily threw away his Kit Kat that stole the show. Ten years later Ted finally found the girl (Katie Holmes) but realized that after ten years of searching, the chemistry was gone.
3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - "Halloween II"
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of those shows that knows how to do Halloween right, using the holiday to provide the perfect backdrop for a hilarious and tense competition between two intelligent cops. Jake and Captain Holt spend each Halloween trying to get the best of each other. In Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 1 Episode 6, Jake proved his cunning and his worth, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 2 Episode 4 had Captain Holt completely dominate the competition. We hope this goes on for a long time!
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - "Fear, Itself"
Buffy and her friends dress up for a Halloween party at a frat house inhabitated by a demon that feeds on their individual fears. Who wouldn’t have fun with that? Buffy goes as Little Red Riding Hood, Giles is wearing a sombrero, Willow is Joan of Arc and Xander goes as James Bond but our favorite is Anya in a bunny costume because what could be more terrifying than bunnies?
5. Cougar Town - “You Don’t Know How it Feels”
Cougar Town Season 2 Episode 6 had a lot of heart to go along with the laughs. Since her mother’s death, Jules was desperate to find a way to bond with her Dad but he seemed to be interested in anything but that at her Halloween party. On the strangely funny side we had Ellie and Laurie dressing as each other or Travis dressing as Andy. Now that’s something we’d only see on Cougar Town.
6. Bones - "Mummy in the Maze"
A mandatory Halloween party at the Jeffersonian meant mummified bodies, a hay maze, an amusement park funhouse and a shootout with a clown. What more could you want from Bones Season 3 Episode 5? How about the the most memorable moment of the entire episode? Temperance Brennan decked out in her Wonder Woman outfit!
The cast of the ABC comedy series is set to reunite for a charity reading, according to Casey Wilson.
“We’re going to do a Happy Endings little reading of something at this time,” the actress, who played Penny Hartz on the series, told Variety.
“We’re gonna get together and do a little new material… the writers, they’re tapping away.”
This will likely be welcome news for fans of the series, which lasted just three seasons from 2011-13, before being canceled by the network amid low ratings.
Fans took aim at the network for erratic scheduling, which made it difficult for the people watching to keep up with when the episodes would actually be airing.
Sony TV tried to wheel and deal to get the show back on the air, but they didn't amount to anything, with the production company struggling to find an interested party to keep it on the air before the cast contacts expired.
There was even a hoax that the show was being revived in 2016, with a countdown timer being tweeted from the show's official Twitter account.
Unfortunately, it was revealed to be a hoax, and the show remained dead.
No details on where the special will air at this moment in time.
The news comes just one day after Parks and Recreation returned for a reunion that earned almost $3 million for Feeding America's Covid-19 Response Fund.
Happy Endings followed the dysfunctional adventures of six best friends living in Chicago.
There's the "crazy-in-love" married couple, businessman overachiever Brad (Damon Wayans, Jr.) and his neurotic perfectionist wife Jane (Eliza Coupe), as well as ditzy Alex (Elisha Cuthbert), a happy-go-lucky boutique owner and Jane's younger sister.
Outside of the family is daydreamer Dave (Zachary Knighton), an aspiring restaurateur and food truck owner; slacker manchild Max (Adam Pally), who struggles to hold a job and maintain a consistent relationship; and outgoing party girl Penny (Casey Wilson), a serial dater on an eternal search for Mr. Right.
Okay, what do you think of this news?
Are you still clamoring for a revival after all these years?
It's been seven years since one of the most beloved comedies in TV history was canceled.
Yes, we're totally talking about the wonderful Happy Endings, which was cut short after three seasons.
The creators of the hit series crafted an all-new episode featuring original cast members Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Damon Wayans Jr., Eliza Coupe, Adam Pally, and Casey Wilson.
After it played out, a Q&A arrived, and naturally, the conversation turned to a potential revival of the series in the form of an ongoing series, or as a movie.
Despite there being a desire for another network to pick up the series after its ABC cancellation, a deal could not be struck that would have been feasible.
“Everybody wants to do it,” David Caspe said.
“Everybody is sort of in a different place as far as getting everybody together, making it work business-wise for all these different companies."
"I know we’re all willing and want to do it. I know it’d be fun. Yeah, we want to do it, man. Anyone out there? I think we all want to do it.”
With a brand new pandemic-proof episode being produced via zoom, Caspe said that other shows that got creative helped pave the way for the Happy Endings reunion.
“A bunch of other people did it first so we thought maybe we could do it too,” he said.
The special episode proved that the characters were still funny, and very relevant today, meaning that a potential revival could blossom into a hit.
The series was a casualty of terrible scheduling during its third and final season, so if it lands at the right home, new and old viewers could find it.
The TV industry has changed in the years since the show aired, with more ways than ever to catch up on TV.
The special served as a benefit to raise money for World Central Kitchen and Color of Change.
It had raised over $11,000 by the end of the episode, and over $14,000 by the end of the Q&A.
The final Happy Endings happy hour of Happy Endings season 3 was all about family. In the first episode “Deuce Babylove 2: Electric BabyDeuce” we had a visit from Penny’s mom Dana and Dave’s dad Big dave, played by Megan Mullally and Michael McKean respectively. In “Brothas and Sisters” Jane and Alex’s big sister Brooke was in town for her wedding.
Now I know what you’re all thinking…there’s a third Kerkovich sister?!? I was pretty darn surprised myself. All you really need to know about her is that she out-Jane’s Jane. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
(ABC)
It’s no secret that Happy Endings has suffered at the hands of ABC scheduling, first getting knocked out for a month and a half for Celebrity Wife Swap with Coolio and Kate Gosselin. Really America? That’s sad. Then it was bumped to Fridays which everyone knows is kind of a death sentence in the TV world. If in fact, these were the finale two episodes of the series and it’s not rescued by USA Networks, then at least Happy Endings had some consistency and went out the way it came in: wedding chaos!
Double points for consistency because it was another Kerkovich sister wedding: the one sister nobody knew existed, big sis Brooke. Apparently Jane and Alex have an older sister and she is more neurotic, organized, and uptight than Jane but not even remotely as fun. When Brooke is around Jane loses it and kind of regresses into Alex. Alex just stays Alex and enjoys her role as the baby. If an unraveling Jane isn’t bad enough, Brad was shaken up when he found out Brooke’s fiance Elliot is black and wouldn’t have to endure the same ordeal he did with the racist Kerkovich relatives.
With Brad proclaiming himself the “Jackie Robinson of the Kerkovich family” and Jane repeating the mantra “strength, courage, composure, no carbs” it’s no wonder everything else almost fell to pieces. The world is off its axis when our main couple are not themselves. I’m not going to lie, watching Jane meltdown and get weird Brooke-induced sweats was pretty funny. Brad’s meltdown led to a lot of incoherent babbling and bug-outs, but Damon Wayans Jr. always excels in his comic delivery. Max had it pretty on the money when he told Jane:
Jane you’re actin extra nuts, and I’m not talking about mistaking the teaspoon with tablespoon kinda nuts, I’m talking about Mel Gibson downing a 5-hour-energy and showing up at a Bar Mitzvah kinda nuts. | permalink
I think the second episode was probably my favorite of the two because I love when the gang is all together. However, Penny and Dave freaking out about their parents adopting and regressing into total children was also a riot. I especially love Megan Mullally and Michael McKeon as guest stars. I loved Penny and Dave’s reaction when they thought the announcement was an engagement and Dave quietly dropped a Rachel Zoe “I die.”
Even better than Dave putting on his best Zoe face was the fact that he dropped a line from on-screen girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert’s starring role in The Girl Next Door. The juice was worth the squeeze. I’m not sure if that was intentionally done by the writers, but if it was I want them to know that this reviewer noticed it and appreciated it!! Also the two of their dumbasses trying to make the baby cry was so stupidly funny.
When all else fails, there’s nothing like some good old-fashioned physical comedy and competition between Brad, Jane, Max, and Alex. The fact that they noted that nobody solves problems by tennis matches past the 80s was amazing. It brought on images of movies like Trading Places and the tennis montage was well done. Happy Endings knows all of the obvious assumptions people make and beat them to the punchline by cracking the joke themselves.
Max: I wouldn’t say we spend that much time together, I mean just breakfast 4 or 5 times a week before work.
Dave:And drinks during the day most days, not everyday but definitely every evening.
Penny: And sure we always deliver news in person. | permalink
A great hour of television and what I truly hope isn’t the last we’ll see of Happy Endings. Were you surprised Dave and Alex broke up? What did you think of Brooke Kerkovich? Who had the best lines? What did you think of the season 3 finale episodes? Hit the comments!
Via Entertainment Weekly, the network announced today that it has acquired all 57 episodes of the beloved sitcom and will actually air a marathon of them starting at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31.
The marathon will conclude on New Year's Day.
(ABC/Carol Kaelson)
But this is merely the hilarious appetizer.
Happy Endings will subsequently land in its new time slot on Wednesday nights from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. beginning on January 8.
Of course, if you cannot wait that long, you can always watch Happy Endings online at TV Fanatic.
From one-season wonders to long-running shows that still felt like they had great potential, many beloved series have bitten the dust.
Yes, the list of painfully canceled television shows is a personal one, and one that could run longer than we have time to cover here.
But we polled the TV Fanatic staff and came up with a rundown of sitcoms and dramas that we still can’t believe have been shut down.
Some of these go back many years now.
Some of these just recently occurred.
But all of them hurt. A lot.
Gather up your strength, break out the tissues and don’t give up hope, because in the modern TV landscape, anything is possible.
Heck, if Full House and The X-Files can come back in some form, who knows what the future holds for these fan favorites…
Firefly
1
Admittedly I didn’t watch Firefly until fellow Castle fans compelled me to buy the dvds, but by 30 minutes into the pilot I knew I’d be broken hearted by the end. The writing, the characters, the unique setting, I fell in love with it all. I laughed out loud during “Our Mrs Reynolds” gasped during “War Stories” and almost cried during
“The Message” Like a leaf on the wind, I will always get a wistful ache in my heart that there isn’t more Firefly to enjoy. — Christine Orlando
Veronica Mars
2
The modern day answer to Nancy Drew. Veronica Mars only lasted 3 seasons, but became a cult hit and eventually became a highly successful and much talked about movie. Veronica was everything missing from other female characters on TV. She was a complicated, tough, smart, witty, resilient, emotional, badass who just happened to be a teenage girl. The series followed Veronica as she tried to solve various mysteries in the fictional Neptune, California. This show may have seemed like a teenage show on the surface, but the writing was so brilliant and way darker than one would expect dealing with rape, murder, abuse, class warfare, and race. The show was cancelled after 3 seasons, but thankfully fans got closure when the Kickstarter funded movie came to fruition last year. — Amanda Steinmetz
Happy Endings
3
The cast was ah-mah-zing, as was their undeniable chemistry. When it got unceremoniously canceled, all I wanted to do was crawl into a Max-like hibernation until Jane and Brad had their Annual Spring Smackdown on ABC and got them to reverse its decision. That sadly never came to pass. But at least there’s the DVDs! — Winston Rice
Ghost Whisperer
4
The show aired on CBS for five years and never got below 7 million viewers on average. While it was being aired on the Friday night death slot, seven episodes of the fourth season garnered more than 11 million viewers. Unfortunately, in 2010 it was canceled and viewers, characters and ghosts were all left with some unfinished business. — Amanda Wolf
The OC
5
Ryan, Marissa, Seth, Summer, Sandy, Kirsten, Julie Cooper-Nickel! We watched as Ryan’s life was turned around by his being brought into the Cohen household, and none of us were ever the same. Ryan Murphy wasn’t afraid to kill a main character, so we said goodbye to Marissa Cooper at the end of Season 3. Then we said goodbye to everyone else when the series was canceled at the end of Season 4, just 8 episodes shy of syndication. Sigh. Californiaaaaaaaaa! — Miranda Wicker
Enlisted
6
Enlisted was a rare gem: a network comedy that was truly funny, but at the same time completely endearing and heartwarming. You could be laughing so hard at the 3 Hill Brothers to the point of your stomach aching in one moment, and then not realize your eyes welling up with tears in the next. Enlisted was dealing with a stacked deck from the get go as Fox buried the show on Friday nights, refusing all logic as the show would’ve fit perfect alongside other Tuesday night comedies such as The Mindy Project and New Girl. The show was cancelled after only one perfect season, and instead of ripping the band-aid off all at once, fans were continually given glimmers of hope for a renewal, first by Fox and later by Yahoo (who had already saved cancelled Community from death). I think we’re all in need of a serious “Hands on Head” moment of silence for one of the best comedies on TV in recent memory. I’ll forever be like Randy, ugly crying over what could have been out of this perfect little show. — Bridget Liszewski
The Lying Game
7
I’m going to represent the ABCFamily vote over here and say I really wanted to know what happened at the end of The Lying Game!!!! The twins, the murder mystery, I was into it. — Leigh Raines
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
8
The show propelled itself into the next episode each week with deep mystery, a fast pace and an incredible amount of detail matching the movie franchise. Lena Headly before Cersei was still a force to be reckoned with and the rest of the cast was also superb; Summer Glau, Garret Dillahunt, Shirley Manson, Busy Philips, Jonathan Jackson and more. Thomas Dekker became John Connor and the cliffhanger that thrust him into the future and the middle of the war made it absolute torture to witness the cancellation.
(Unavailable)
The Ringer
9
That was supposed to be SMG’s comeback. It was a sexy, murder mystery, also involving one shady twin and one good twin. Totally wanted to see what happened with that. What’s with my fascination with twin shows? — Leigh Raines
I reviewed Ringer. The cast was great! SMG, Ioan Gufford. The writing was all over the place. Thrilling one moment, eye roll worthy the next with huge stretches of groan inducing boredom in between. Then just as they had me wanting more they pulled the plug. I really couldn’t blame them. — Christine Orlando
The Glades
10
Granted, I had some issues with the show, but it was a fun summer series. And that cliffhanger! Awful. At least Matt Passmore moved on to another summer show, but I miss him as Jim Longworth! — Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Eureka
11
Sadly, it was the first major causality after Comcast purchased NBCUniversal (who owns SciFi er, Syfy) in 2011, Eureka was considered to expensive to produce by Comcast. The final 13 episode season was used to attempt to wrap-up all of the on-going story lines. Colin Ferguson was absolutely amazing as the resident “non-genius” Sheriff Carter, who got pretty good at saving the town from itself. I miss spending just another day in Eureka! — Jim Garner
Dallas
12
It’s still too close to comment on without tears. I’m heartbroken. The show is a legacy but TNT did a poor job of promoting it over this last season and splitting it into two short seasons did nothing to build viewership. I’d literally pay money to see what happens after that cliffhanger. It would have rocked the Ewings to their core. The TV gods can be cruel. — Christine Orlando
Terriers
13
I get the terrible ratings. I get the confusing title. But few shows have done as impressive a job in slowly building drama and storylines to such a tense crescendo. And that’s before we even get to the dynamic between Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James. Outstanding series all around. — Matt Richenthal
Journeyman
14
Journeyman was one of the unfortunate victims of the 2007 Writers Strike, and only 13 episodes were ever produced. Despite suffering from low ratings, it had an intriguing time travel premise and a good cast, including Reed Diamond (as the titular time traveler’s skeptical detective brother) and Moon Bloodgood (as the main character’s fellow time-traveling ex-fiancee). — Kathleen Weidel
Guiding Light
15
Thinking outside the box, my grandmother, my mother watched and then I all watched Guiding Light. Granted, it was sporadic through my adult years, but I graduated from high school with some the key characters who remained on the series until it ended. I fell for John Wesley Shipp as Kelly in the 80s and he’s now on The Flash. I watched Kevin Bacon, Allison Janney, Taye Diggs, Matt Bomer and Frank Grillo on GL, but I really miss the core families and the sense of loyalty and friendship their sagas inspired over 72 years and more than 15,700 episodes. Long live Reva and Josh, Beth and Phillip, the Spauldings, the Bauers, the Lewises, the Marlers, the Coopers and the Reardons and all the others who went down with the ship. I think about them all far too often to admit. RIP — Carissa Pavlica
Suburgatory
16
I’m still not over Suburgatory ending. There were some top notch comedians on that show, including Cheryl Hines, Chris Parnell, Ana Gasteyer and Alan Tudyk. That’s comedy gold right there! After 3 seasons, I was really excited to see where the show would go with the girls getting older and Lisa and Malik married. There were so many things that went unanswered at the end and it still makes me sad to think I can’t swoon over the body, Ryan Shay, anymore. RIP Suburgatory, you will be forever missed by me! — Whitney Evans
Longmire
17
Longmire’s fans were shocked when A&E pulled the plug on this show despite its popularity. The third (and final) season was arguably the best of the series and ended with a surprising cliffhanger. The gorgeous landscapes as well as the cast’s undeniable chemistry will surely be missed. Here’s hoping another network snaps up this gem! — Stacy Glanzman … UPDATE: Netflix has picked up the series for Season 4!!
The Finder
18
A fun, quirky spin-off to Bones, The Finder is a show that should have lasted longer than one season. Its cast was dynamic, and its concept was unique. Geoff Stultz played Walter, an odd war veteran with an uncanny ability for finding almost anything. He solved crimes, helped find prized possessions, and got himself in plenty of trouble. The worst part is that the season finale ended with a pretty serious cliffhanger as Walter was sent to jail. The show began as an episode of Bones, and also featured crossover episodes with visits from Jack Hodgins and Lance Sweets (RIP). — Ashley Bissette Sumerel
We know, we know: the ratings weren’t very good. But Hart of Dixie was simply a cute, fun, harmless television show… which we mean in the nicest way possible. We’re gonna miss spending one night per week in Bluebell.
With the number of shows on television, it makes sense we lose more than we gain, right?
Some of the shows that have been canceled stick with us. Their loss causes us pain. We miss them. We hope for reunion movies and to find other people who might share our feelings.
The most recent case in point: Witches of East End, whose axing after two seasons had the Internet buzzing and complaining last week.
Below, we've assembled a list of programs that can still bring a tear to the eye at the thought we'll never see the characters we fell in love with and the stories they shared ever again.
Whether it was one season and done or 72 years long, when a series disappears, it takes characters who have come to life with it and it proves one sad fact about television:
There aren't always Happy Endings.
We've shown you ours, now you show us yours! Hit the comments with some of canceled series that left you scarred, bitter and maybe a touch weepy.
It’s not just about ghouls and goblins, although some of these parties have actual demons on the guest list. Whether it’s fearful or funny, Halloween may be the one holiday that every TV show eventually celebrates.
From the nerdiest costumes to a couple’s very first kiss, heartbreaking declarations to the return of lost love and playing epic pranks to the joy of finding full size candy bars in your trick-or-treat bag, these Halloween parties go from hilarious to heart warming.
Don’t be scared. The bunnies aren’t really evil, at least we don’t think so. Check out the 19 most memorable Halloween parties on TV.
Castle – “Vampire Weekend”
1
An investigation into a vampire fetish community eventually wrapped up with Rick Castle throwing an epic Halloween bash for all of his friends. Castle actually wore two costumes in Castle Season 2 Episode 6, “Vampire Weekend” The first was from Nathan Fillion’s cult favorite Firefly character Capt. Mal Reynolds but for the actual party he dressed as one of his favorite authors, Edgar Allen Poe. Our favorites were Lanie as Cat Woman and Martha as Cruella de Vil.
(ABC)
How I Met Your Mother – “The Slutty Pumpkin”
2
Marshall was Jack Sparrow and Lily the green parrot. Robin’s boyfriend broke up with her when he showed up as Hansel but she skipped the Gretel costume. But it was Ted (as a Hanging Chad) waiting to find his Slutty Pumpkin, the girl whose number he lost when Lily threw away his Kit Kat that stole the show. Ten years later Ted finally found the girl (Katie Holmes) but realized that after ten years of searching, the chemistry was gone.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – “Halloween II”
3
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of those shows that knows how to do Halloween right, using the holiday to provide the perfect backdrop for a hilarious and tense competition between two intelligent cops. Jake and Captain Holt spend each Halloween trying to get the best of each other. In Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 1 Episode 6, Jake proved his cunning and his worth, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 2 Episode 4 had Captain Holt completely dominate the competition. We hope this goes on for a long time!
(FOX)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – “Fear, Itself”
4
Buffy and her friends dress up for a Halloween party at a frat house inhabitated by a demon that feeds on their individual fears. Who wouldn’t have fun with that? Buffy goes as Little Red Riding Hood, Giles is wearing a sombrero, Willow is Joan of Arc and Xander goes as James Bond but our favorite is Anya in a bunny costume because what could be more terrifying than bunnies?
Cougar Town – “You Don’t Know How it Feels”
5
Cougar Town Season 2 Episode 6 had a lot of heart to go along with the laughs. Since her mother’s death, Jules was desperate to find a way to bond with her Dad but he seemed to be interested in anything but that at her Halloween party. On the strangely funny side we had Ellie and Laurie dressing as each other or Travis dressing as Andy. Now that’s something we’d only see on Cougar Town.
Bones – “Mummy in the Maze”
6
A mandatory Halloween party at the Jeffersonian meant mummified bodies, a hay maze, an amusement park funhouse and a shootout with a clown. What more could you want from Bones Season 3 Episode 5? How about the the most memorable moment of the entire episode? Temperance Brennan decked out in her Wonder Woman outfit!
black-ish – “The Prank King”
7
Dre worries that all his holiday fun is about to be ruined when the kids aren’t interested in the Johnson Family Halloween tradition of trying to pull off the best pranks. But it turns out that the pranks are turned upside down and sideways in black-ish Season 1 Episode 6. Bonus points for getting the party started with a The Jackson 5 family costume!
Modern Family – “Halloween”
8
The Dunphy family hosts their Halloween House of Horrors where Claire and Phil dress up as the Corpse Bride and Groom and Jay is upset when he asks Gloria to get him a prince costume but she comes back with Shrek. The funniest moment occurs when Mitchell thinks his new office dresses up for the holiday but when he arrives as Spiderman he realizes only the lamest employees are in costume. Suddenly he finds himself trapped in a bathroom stall trying to decide what to do in Modern Family Season 2 Episode 6.
The Big Bang Theory “The Middle Earth Paradigm”
9
The gang is invited to Penny’s Halloween party in The Big Bang Theory Season 1 Episode 6. Sheldon, Wolowitz and Koothrappali make a desperate attempt to put their mark on the social scene while Leonard ends up humiliated by Penny’s hunky ex-boyfriend. What makes this party most memorable is that in the end, Penny and Leonard share their first kiss.
Angel – “Life of the Party”
10
In Angel Season 5 Episode 5, Lorne’s empathic abilities get turned upside down due to a severe lack of sleep. Suddenly he is able to make Fred and Wesley loosen up, Gunn, stake his territory and Angel and Eve…well, you’ll have to watch to find out. During the party, Lorne pulls his own Jeckyl and Hyde before order, and sleep is restored.
Roseanne – “Boo!”
11
In what became the show’s Halloween tradition, Roseanne Season 2 Episode 7, was its first spooky installment. The entire Connor family created an extravagant haunted house, Roseanne explained what Hell is to Becky (there’s no chocolate!) and Roseanne and Dan competed to see who could be the spookiest.
The Office – “Halloween”
12
The Office Season 5 Episode 2 was the show’s first Halloween episode and someone had to be fired as Michael waited until the very last day of the month to choose which employee was going to get laid off. Meanwhile Jim and Pam tried to find Dwight a new job which was a debacle but did get them to each admit that the reason they remained at their job was for one another.
Parks and Recreation – “Meet ‘n’ Greet”
13
Andy & April are throwing a Halloween party, and someone is going to die…of fun! While the rest of the partygoers are dancing up on each other (looking at you, Sherlock Traeger,) Eggplant Ann and Pirate Ron take it upon themselves to fix things around the Dwyer household. And poor Potato Head Jerry spends the night watching his daughter getting dirty with her new boyfriend. Luckily, he can count on April to turn his potato smile around. Literally. No one throws a Halloween party like Parks & Rec!
Friends – “The One with the Halloween Party”
14
When Monica and Chandler throw a halloween party in Friends Season 8 Episode 6, she makes Chandler wear a pink bunny costume. Needless to say, Chandler isn’t thrilled, that is until he spies Ross as “Spud-nik”. It’s a combination of the Russian satellite Sputnik and a potato. Suddenly Chandler realizes he no longer has the silliest costume at the party.
Community – Epidemiology
15
In Community’s heyday, it was one of the smartest, sharpest comedies ever written, and it’s Halloween episodes were no exception. Community Season 2 Episode 6, Epidemiology, was a brilliant homage to – and parody of – zombie movies. It made fun of all the typical zombie movie tropes, but did so while exploring the characters’ friendships and personalities. Community took Halloween and made comedy with a little bit of horror and a whole lot of heart.
(Justin Lubin/NBC)
Happy Endings – “Spooky Endings”
16
Happy Endings Season 2 Episode 5 was a raucously funny Halloween outing with Dave as Austin Powers and everyone believing Alex was a drag queen in that Marilyn Monroe outfit. Not to mention Max and Penny in their almost creepy Mom and Baby Bjorn costume. Then there was Brad and Jane’s (gotta love the bacon outfit) nightmarish experience with the big kid trick-or-treaters in the ‘burbs and this installment was a Happy Endings’ classic.
New Girl – “Halloween”
17
New Girl Season 2 Episode 6 gave us one of TV’s most heart breaking installments as Nick’s college crush goes all wrong, Jess works at a haunted house where she tells Sam how she really feels, only to find out he doesn’t feel the same and Schmidt must go with his Halloween Plan B which is “Magic Mike”
Bob’s Burgers – “Full Bars”
18
Bob and Linda attend a Halloween party where someone kills Teddy’s guinea pig in Bob’s Burgers Season 3 Episode 2 but the truly memorable part of this installment is when the kids get full size candy bars while trick or treating. “How does this not topple your economy!?” We’re not sure but we want some too.
Frasier – “Halloween”
19
Frasier Season 5 Episode 3 has one of the most highbrow Halloween parties on TV when Niles hosts the party for the Library Association and everyone must come as their favorite literary character. But don’t think things are entirely sober and serious. Roz tells Frasier she might be pregnant but when Niles overhears, he misunderstands and thinks Daphne is having Frasier’s baby!
Everyone needs security in their lives, especially shippers who watch a lot of television.
The on again, off again, couples can keep viewers on their toes, but sometimes the best relationships are the ones that get together and stick together.
Couples who are always all in with each other are actually far more appealing than those that have continuous drama and scandals.
Who wouldn’t want a stable relationship that can make it through anything?
Check out our slideshow below of 21 of the most secure relationships on television.
Jane and Michael – Jane the Virgin
1
Poor Jane and Michael had to go through so much once Jane’s accidental pregnancy came out. But the only thing that truly got in the way of their love was death. Or not death? What exactly was with that cliffhanger?
(The CW/Danny Feld)
Ben and Leslie – Parks and Recreation
2
Once Ben quit his job to be with Leslie nothing could keep them apart. These two lovebirds will be together forever.
Randall and Beth – This Is Us
3
Although they went through some struggles, Randall and Beth came out the other side. They became both stronger and better from it.
Brad and Jane – Happy Endings
4
Some might say Brad and Jane might love each other too much. But really, how could anyone love too much? Their relationship is inspiring and we all want someone to love us as much as Brad and Jane love each other.
Magnus and Alec – Shadowhunters
5
Nothing, not even demons are keeping these two apart. We’re not even a little bit worried that Magnus and Alec will break up. Their love is unconditional and all they want is to spend their life together. With Shadowhunters coming to an end, we’ve got our fingers crossed for a wedding in the future.
Nomi and Amanita – Sense8
6
Nothing can scare Amanita away from Nomi, not even the fact that Nomi is literally connected to a group of random people. We also can’t get over the fact that they both proposed to each other at the same time. It doesn’t get any cuter.
Stef and Lena – The Fosters
7
Raising a family of five isn’t easy, but Stef and Lena were able to do it together. Even though they did experience marital problems, nothing was able to tear them apart from each other.
Rainbow and Dre Johnson – “Black-ish”
8
Rainbow and Drew always push each other to be the best versions of themselves. Despite contemplating separation, they realized they want to be together for better or worse. They’re always there for each other and it’s clear that their love is unconditional.
Monica and Chandler – Friends
9
Monica and Chandler are like America’s mom and dad. No matter what annoying or horrible things happened on the show, we always knew they would be there for us.
Sheila and Joel – Santa Clarita Diet
10
If you can bury a body with your wife and accept that she eats people then you’re definitely in love. If that doesn’t drive Joel away from Sheila then nothing can.
Jake and Amy – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
11
Jake and Amy are the healthiest relationship on television hands down. All of their disagreements are resolved with kindness and they do nothing but love and support each other.
Barry and Iris – The Flash
12
Barry and Iris are happily married and we are positive that they will continue to be so. Not even changing the timeline or ending up on a different Earth could keep them apart.
Fitz and Simmons – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
13
They were a will they/won’t they, but once they finally did they were together for good. Now if all the craziness in the world would only stop ripping them away from each other.
Frank and Amy – Black Mirror
14
Frank and Amy proved that if you’re lucky, sometimes compatibility is really all it takes to have a successful relationship.
Connor and Oliver – How to Get Away with Murder
15
We can’t imagine these two not sticking together forever. Connor and Oliver have always been meant to be.
Cheryl and Toni – Riverdale
16
Cheryl and Toni have the least amount of drama out of everyone on Riverdale. They’re always supportive of each other and will go out of their way to make the other happy.
Louis and Jessica Huang – Fresh off the Boat
17
These two are complete opposites, but somehow they make it work. As funny as they can be, there’s no mistaking just how much they care about each other.
Lily and Marshall – How I Met Your Mother
18
If you don’t want a relationship like Lily and Marshall have you’re wrong. They’re college sweethearts who think the world of each other and also happen to be the definition of commitment.
Monty and Harper – The 100
19
Monty and Harper deserve to be made a bigger deal out of. They were the only ship on The 100 that never hurt or betrayed each other yet they were the least appreciated. Monty and Harper lived out the rest of their lives alone on the ship with their new son. As painful as it was to lose them, it was nice to see them happy.
Stephanie and Jimmy – Fuller House
20
Stephanie and Jimmy are extremely underrated. They still look like they get butterflies around each other and they have a spark between that will never die out. Now that they’re engaged and have a baby, we can’t wait to see what the final season of Fuller House brings for them.
Mitchell and Cameron – Modern Family
21
Mitchell and Cameron are somehow perfect for each other. No matter what problems come their way, nothing could ever break them apart.
The cast of the ABC comedy series is set to reunite for a charity reading, according to Casey Wilson.
“We’re going to do a Happy Endings little reading of something at this time,” the actress, who played Penny Hartz on the series, told Variety.
“We’re gonna get together and do a little new material… the writers, they’re tapping away.”
This will likely be welcome news for fans of the series, which lasted just three seasons from 2011-13, before being canceled by the network amid low ratings.
Fans took aim at the network for erratic scheduling, which made it difficult for the people watching to keep up with when the episodes would actually be airing.
Sony TV tried to wheel and deal to get the show back on the air, but they didn't amount to anything, with the production company struggling to find an interested party to keep it on the air before the cast contacts expired.
There was even a hoax that the show was being revived in 2016, with a countdown timer being tweeted from the show's official Twitter account.
Unfortunately, it was revealed to be a hoax, and the show remained dead.
(ABC)
No details on where the special will air at this moment in time.
The news comes just one day after Parks and Recreation returned for a reunion that earned almost $3 million for Feeding America's Covid-19 Response Fund.
Happy Endings followed the dysfunctional adventures of six best friends living in Chicago.
There's the "crazy-in-love" married couple, businessman overachiever Brad (Damon Wayans, Jr.) and his neurotic perfectionist wife Jane (Eliza Coupe), as well as ditzy Alex (Elisha Cuthbert), a happy-go-lucky boutique owner and Jane's younger sister.
Outside of the family is daydreamer Dave (Zachary Knighton), an aspiring restaurateur and food truck owner; slacker manchild Max (Adam Pally), who struggles to hold a job and maintain a consistent relationship; and outgoing party girl Penny (Casey Wilson), a serial dater on an eternal search for Mr. Right.
(Nikki Nelson / WENN.com)
Okay, what do you think of this news?
Are you still clamoring for a revival after all these years?
It's been seven years since one of the most beloved comedies in TV history was canceled.
Yes, we're totally talking about the wonderful Happy Endings, which was cut short after three seasons.
The creators of the hit series crafted an all-new episode featuring original cast members Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Damon Wayans Jr., Eliza Coupe, Adam Pally, and Casey Wilson.
After it played out, a Q&A arrived, and naturally, the conversation turned to a potential revival of the series in the form of an ongoing series, or as a movie.
Despite there being a desire for another network to pick up the series after its ABC cancellation, a deal could not be struck that would have been feasible.
“Everybody wants to do it,” David Caspe said.
“Everybody is sort of in a different place as far as getting everybody together, making it work business-wise for all these different companies."
"I know we’re all willing and want to do it. I know it’d be fun. Yeah, we want to do it, man. Anyone out there? I think we all want to do it.”
With a brand new pandemic-proof episode being produced via zoom, Caspe said that other shows that got creative helped pave the way for the Happy Endings reunion.
(ABC)
“A bunch of other people did it first so we thought maybe we could do it too,” he said.
The special episode proved that the characters were still funny, and very relevant today, meaning that a potential revival could blossom into a hit.
The series was a casualty of terrible scheduling during its third and final season, so if it lands at the right home, new and old viewers could find it.
The TV industry has changed in the years since the show aired, with more ways than ever to catch up on TV.
(Nikki Nelson / WENN.com)
The special served as a benefit to raise money for World Central Kitchen and Color of Change.
It had raised over $11,000 by the end of the episode, and over $14,000 by the end of the Q&A.
You fall in love with a show. You fall in love with the characters. You fall in love with a UNIVERSE. And then, suddenly, without warning, your favorite show is canceled, and you feel a tremendous loss.
Television can be a comfort to many, and when you find that show or that perfect character that you connect with, it downright sucks to know you won't get to see them anymore.
Over the years, many shows have been cut short ahead of their time.
While others may have had a decent run, with years under their belt, the cancellation can still feel abrupt, especially when they don't get to end the series on their own terms.
We've seen fan campaigns change studios' minds (we're looking at you, Jericho) and cancellations reversed at the last minute (S.W.A.T. says hi!), but unfortunately, most shows don't have that same luck.
Their cancellations sometimes led them to a popularity they never achieved while the show aired.
Adding every canceled show is impossible, as there are far too many to list. And there are no criteria outside of quality television that deserved better, as we lament what could have been.
After you've checked out our list (in no particular order), let us know which cancellations still haunt you!
Pitch
(FOX)
One thing you'll see repeatedly on this list are shows that came out way ahead of their time. If you put Pitch on today, it would do much better.
Dan Fogelman, of This Is Us fame, created this gem of a series, which followed Ginny Baker as she became the first woman to play in the Major Leagues.
The series was a showcase for Kylie Bunbury, who stepped into Ginny's shoes beautifully, playing the young pitcher as the emotional, confident, and slightly terrified rookie she was.
Fans will never forget the finale, which leaned into the chemistry between Ginny and catcher Mike Lawson, played by TV veteran Mark-Paul Gosselaar. They left us on a cliffhanger as the will-they/won't-they couple got closer than ever.
But outside of the popular ship, there was an earnestness to the series, which was very popular with men and women alike, though that didn't necessarily translate to the viewership numbers.
If the show were on today, with baseball's increased popularity, there would be a lot more eyeballs on the series, and it would have found its niche.
The Big Leap
(Sandy Morris/FOX)
Sometimes, a show comes along that fills you with joy and is so brilliantly made that you can tell everyone involved truly loved what they were doing.
As with most cancellations, the series couldn't find a consistent audience, which was a shame because the aspirational story had a little something for everyone to enjoy.
A diverse cast full of extremely talented actors brought the story of a ragtag group working to put together a remake of Swan Lake to life, and those who fell in love with the series still mourn its early demise to this day.
This list is filled with unique series, and in the age of remakes and reboots, they're needed more than ever.
The Big Leap was a series that took a chance, and we're still saddened we didn't get to see this story through.
Roswell, New Mexico
(Lewis Jacobs/The CW)
This is a case of a series having a decent run (52 episodes of the sci-fi drama ran during its four seasons), but there was still story to tell about the infamous town home to aliens and the humans that loved them.
Purged during the great CW cancellation season, Roswell, New Mexico didn't necessarily get to end how it wanted to, which meant the series finale was nice but not wholly satisfying.
For starters, so much of the series revolves around Liz Ortecho, a human scientist, and Max Evans, a sheriff/alien, and the series ends with them on two different planets. Literally.
The ending wasn't all bad, with fan-favorites Malex getting married and other pairings setting sail, but the series could have used one final season to wrap everything up in a more fulfilling way.
Splitting that final season between the alien's home planet and Earth would have been monumental and wrapped the end of the series nicely.
Happy Endings
(ABC/Carol Kaelson)
We were AH-MAHZINGLY disappointed when ABC canceled this ambitious and hilarious comedy after only three seasons.
This is another series that had a decent run but deserved better because it was that funny.
The cast was a who's who of young actors with chemistry like nothing we'd seen since Friends. And they deserved that kind of longevity.
We could have watched many more years of Brad and Jane navigating marriage, Max floating through life, and Penny just happy to be there.
This is one best friend group we desperately miss.
Twisted
(ABC Family)
Can we get some justice for Kylie Bunbury? She's got two shows on this list that deserved so much better by us.
Remember when Freeform was THE place to be for teenage drama?
Once upon a time, Twisted was one of its best, but it never caught on with audiences, perhaps because there were too many similar shows on the same network at that time.
Avan Jogia (why is he not a bigger star?) was the lead in the somewhat frightening thriller as a teenager recently released from juvenile detention. Said teenager was charged with killing his aunt, but that little factoid was only the tip of the iceberg.
The series had a lot going on. There was the usual teenage drama that these kinds of shows highlight, but there was also deception, murder, and plot twists galore.
Perhaps because it existed at the same time as Pretty Little Liars, it could never find its audience. The two series were different but also similar in certain aspects.
Either way, the series had a fun cast and a decent premise that should have kept it on the air for many years.
The Secret Circle
(David Gray/The CW)
Ca
In the era of The Vampire Diaries, supernatural series centered around teens were never more popular, and The Secret Circle came along at a time when it should have been a hit.
And it did start strong, though this was another case of a series coming in hot but then cooling off as the season waned on.
Instead of vampires or werewolves, the series revolved around teenage witches and a coven called The Circle.
Of course, there was a lot of danger lurking around the corners in Chance Harbor, Washington, and the young coven of witches found themselves battling dangerous forces while still having to go to high school.
Unfortunately, the series, based on the same name written by L.J. Smith (who also penned The Vampire Diaries novel series), never could gain the sort of widespread support its sister series did.
Still Star-Crossed
(ABC/Bob D’Amico)
Forgive us for not moving on from this Shondaland period drama, which never got the credit it deserved!
Period drams on broadcast television are HARD to pull off, but there was such a lightness and true romantic feel about Still Star-Crossed that it has stayed with us for some ten-plus years since ABC dumped it after a single season.
Following two of the most famous families in literary history, the Capulets and Montagues, the series had a diverse cast. They pushed romance to the forefront while also focusing on the dreams and aspirations of his large cast of colorful characters.
Visually, it was stunning, but unfortunately, critics were never sold on the Shakespearean tale or the drama that came with it.
Vampire Academy
((Photo by: Jose Haro/Peacock))
Listen, was Vampire Academy the best fantasy horror show ever? No. But it was a good time and only scratched the surface of what it could have been.
The show's vampire lore, taken from the popular novel series, was engaging and set it apart from many of the vampire shows we're used to seeing.
There was action, romance, and mystery at the heart of things, which revolved around the morois, the dhampirs, and the happenings at St. Vladimir's Academy.
Vampire Academy started great but lost momentum as the first season raged on.
And you have to wonder, if they keep up the pace and excitement of the first few episodes, whether they could have been given a second chance to build their world more.
What ensued was four seasons and 50 episodes of plot twists, wacky shenanigans, and one of the weirdest series finales to date.
It wasn't bad, per se, but there was room to continue the story and not end things with everyone so fractured.
This series just needed ONE more season to wrap everything up and give closure to fans who rallied around this series season after season, even when things went off the rail sometimes.
Technically, this show's conclusion worked, but we're haunted by what could have been had they ended the series the way they wanted to.
Station 19
(Disney/James Clark (ABC))
The #SaveStation19 campaign still wages on, as the veteran series was unceremoniously canceled, catching its ardent fans off-guard.
The series will wrap up its run with over 100 episodes, which should be celebrated and appreciated.
But we can't help but wonder what new heights the show could have reached if it continued its trajectory and reached the heights of its predecessor, Grey's Anatomy.
There's still a lot of life left in this series, which leaves its cancelation all the more upsetting and puzzling.
We haven't seen how things will end as of this date, but we feel confident stating that there were still stories to tell with and around the Seattle Fire Department, and we'll never stop wondering where these characters could have gone if they'd gotten more time.
Prodigal Son
(Phil Caruso/FOX)
As previously mentioned, some canceled shows over the years got a second chance at life due to tremendous campaigns put together by devoted fans.
The fans of Prodigal Son tried their best to save the FOX procedural after it was canceled, but unfortunately, a streamer never picked up the series, and we were all left to wonder what could have been.
The series finale ended on a crazy cliffhanger, with father and son Martin and Malcolm coming to blow, and Malcolm stabbing his father in the stomach. Fate unknown. It was one hell of an ending to one of the more clever television series of the time.
There was no show like it, and no show has replaced it, as it's not easy to create a twisty, creepy broadcast drama that feels like a premium drama without the nudity and swearing.
There was something special about seeing the delectable Martin, a wondrous Martin Sheen, opposite strongwilled Malcolm, played to perfection by Tom Payne. There are a lot of procedurals on the air today, and none are as unique and entertaining as this series was.
Kevin was a guy who was down on his luck and came to live with his sister and his niece after a suicide attempt.
While trying to get his feet back under him, he was visited by a woman who told him that God needed him to save the world.
From there, Kevin was off on a quest to complete good deeds, and in the process, he learned about himself and became a better person. As the audience, we were better off from having watched such a good-natured series take flight.
Jason Ritter has been and will always be a phenomenal actor, and this was the perfect vehicle for him to show his dramatic chops and comedic timing.
It was a lovely show, with many life lessons learned each week, and more than one season was needed with the quirky cast of characters.
So Help Me Todd
(Michael Courtney/CBS)
Words can't express how sad it was to hear that So Help Me Todd would be wrapping up at the end of its sophomore season.
The CBS dramedy was actually a hit with viewers, but unfortunately, CBS had many series that were pulling in great numbers, and the delightful Todd drew the short straw.
Skylar Astin and Marcia Gay Harden was a dream duo as the titular Todd, a well-meaning but slightly chaotic private investigator, and his overbearing mother, Margaret, worked together to solve several wacky cases.
The series stood out as a true dramedy and could bring a tear to your eye through sheer emotions or laugh-out-loud comedy every week.
We're very disappointed we never got to see Todd get his happily ever after and Margaret settle down with the lovable Gus.
There were so many stories left to tell in Portland, and it's disappointing that we'll never get to see how everything turned out for the beautiful characters created in this universe.
Was the show who's cancellation broke your heart on this list? Let us know in the comments!
