Happy Together (American TV series) explained

Genre:Sitcom
Opentheme:"Happy Together"
Composer:Frank Ciampi
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:13
Cinematography:Wayne Kennan
Editor:Richard Candib
Camera:Multi-camera
Runtime:22 minutes
Network:CBS

Happy Together is an American television sitcom created by Tim McAuliffe and Austen Earl, that aired on CBS from October 1, 2018 to January 14, 2019. The series follows a young couple whose lives are suddenly thrown into chaos when a pop star moves into their home. It stars Damon Wayans Jr., Amber Stevens West, Felix Mallard, Stephnie Weir, Victor Williams and Chris Parnell.

In May 2019, the series was cancelled after one season.[1]

Premise

Happy Together follows "Jake and Claire, a thirty something couple who are tired of their mundane life and start to reconnect with their younger, cooler selves when an emerging pop star, who is drawn to their super-normal suburban life, moves in."[2]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Production

Development

On January 31, 2018, it was announced that CBS had given the production a pilot order. The episode was written by Tim McAuliffe and Austen Earl who were expected to executive produce alongside Ben Winston, Michael Rotenberg, and Jonathan Berry. Production companies involved with the pilot include Fulwell 73, 3 Arts Entertainment, and CBS Television Studios.[4] On May 9, 2018, CBS officially ordered the pilot to series.[2] A few days later, it was announced that the series, now titled Happy Together, would premiere in the fall of 2018 and air on Mondays at 8:30 P.M.[5] On July 9, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on October 1, 2018.[6]

On November 28, 2018, it was announced that CBS had declined to order additional episodes of the series beyond the initial order of thirteen, and that its timeslot on their schedule would be filled by the third season of Man with a Plan.[7] On May 10, 2019, CBS canceled the series after a single season.[1]

Casting

In February 2018, it was announced that Damon Wayans Jr. and Felix Mallard had been cast in the pilot's lead roles.[8] [9] In March 2018, it was reported that Chris Parnell and Amber Stevens West had also joined the pilot's main cast.[10] [11] On June 22, 2018, it was announced that Victor Williams had been cast to replace Tim Meadows in the recurring role of Gerald, West's character's father. Meadows was forced to drop out of the role after the series Schooled, which he had in first position against Happy Together, was picked up to series by ABC.[12]

Filming

Happy Together was filmed at Radford Studio Center in Studio City, California, but it is set in Los Angeles, California.

Release

Marketing

On May 16, 2018, CBS released the first official trailer for the series.[13]

Premiere

On September 12, 2018, the series took part in the 12th annual PaleyFest Fall Television Previews which featured a preview screening of the series and a conversation with cast members including Damon Wayans Jr., Amber Stevens West, and Felix Mallard.[14]

Reception

Critical response

The series has been met with a mixed response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 53% with an average rating of 5.17 out of 10, based on 19 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Happy Togethers premise won't win many points for originality, but the show still earns laughs thanks to a winning trio of central performances."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 48 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]

Ratings

Home media

The complete series of Happy Together was released on DVD on March 2, 2021, via DeepDiscount.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Happy Together Cancelled at CBS. Ausiello. Michael. TVLine. May 10, 2019. May 10, 2019. May 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190510212526/https://tvline.com/2019/05/10/happy-together-cancelled-cbs-season-2/. live.
  2. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. CBS Picks Up To Series Cedric the Entertainer's Pilot & Damon Wayans Jr.'s Comedy With Harry Styles Joining As EP. Deadline. May 9, 2018. May 9, 2018. May 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180509193503/https://deadline.com/2018/05/cbs-series-cedric-the-entertainer-comedy-welcome-to-the-neighborhood-damon-wayans-jr-harry-styles-ep-1202385998/. live.
  3. Web site: Happy Together Cast. CBS Interactive. May 28, 2020. September 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200922025217/https://www.cbs.com/shows/happy-together/cast/. live.
  4. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. CBS Orders Multi-Camera Comedy Pilot About Up-And-Coming Pop Star. Deadline. May 9, 2018. January 31, 2018. May 10, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510185536/http://deadline.com/2018/01/cbs-popstar-multi-camera-comedy-pilot-1202275845/. live.
  5. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. CBS Fall 2018-19 Schedule: Monday Shakeup With 'Magnum P.I.'-Led New Lineup, 'Murphy Brown' On Thursday. Deadline. May 16, 2018. May 16, 2018. May 16, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180516161621/http://deadline.com/2018/05/cbs-fall-2018-19-schedule-upfronts-new-shows-magnum-pi-murphy-brown-fbi-1202391950/. live.
  6. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . Pedersen . Erik . CBS Fall 2018 Premiere Dates: 'Big Bang' & 'Young Sheldon' To Help Launch 'Magnum PI' & 'Murphy Brown' Revival . Deadline . July 10, 2018 . July 9, 2018 . August 11, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190811060111/https://deadline.com/2018/07/cbs-fall-premiere-dates-2018-big-bang-theory-survivor-1202423513/ . live .
  7. Web site: Goldberg . Lesley . 'Murphy Brown,' 'Happy Together' to End After Initial Orders on CBS . The Hollywood Reporter . November 29, 2018 . en . November 28, 2018 . November 29, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181129004546/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/murphy-brown-happy-together-end-initial-orders-cbs-1164428 . live .
  8. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. Damon Wayans Jr. To Star In CBS' Tim McAuliffe/Austen Earl Comedy Pilot. Deadline. May 9, 2018. February 21, 2018. May 10, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510185517/http://deadline.com/2018/02/damon-wayans-jr-star-damon-wayans-jr-to-star-in-cbs-tim-mcauliffe-austen-earl-comedy-pilot-ben-winston-big-deal-1202298225/. live.
  9. Web site: Petski. Denise. Australian Actor Felix Mallard To Star In CBS' Tim McAuliffe/Austen Earl Comedy Pilot. Deadline. May 9, 2018. February 28, 2018. May 10, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510185513/http://deadline.com/2018/02/australian-actor-felix-mallard-star-cbs-tim-mcauliffe-austen-earl-comedy-pilot-1202305085/. live.
  10. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. Chris Parnell To Co-Star In McAuliffe/Earl CBS Comedy Pilot; Phill Lewis To Direct. Deadline. May 9, 2018. March 16, 2018. May 10, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510185523/http://deadline.com/2018/03/chris-parnell-cbs-tim-mcauliffe-austen-earl-comedy-pilot-phill-lewis-direct-1202339671/. live.
  11. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. Amber Stevens West Set As Female Lead In CBS' McAuliffe/Earl Comedy Pilot. Deadline. May 9, 2018. March 28, 2018. May 10, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510185539/http://deadline.com/2018/03/amber-stevens-west-female-lead-cbs-tim-mcauliffe-austen-earl-comedy-pilot-1202354845/. live.
  12. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . 'Happy Together': Victor Williams Joins New CBS Comedy Series In Recasting . Deadline . June 22, 2018 . June 22, 2018 . June 22, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180622220341/https://deadline.com/2018/06/happy-together-victor-williams-cbs-damon-wayans-jr-comedy-recasting-1202415863/ . live .
  13. Web site: Petski. Denise. CBS New Series Trailers: 'Magnum P.I.', 'Murphy Brown', 'God Friended Me', 'F.B.I.', 'The Neighborhood', 'Happy Together'. Deadline. May 16, 2018. May 16, 2018. May 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180517073723/http://deadline.com/2018/05/cbs-new-series-trailers-fall-2018-lineup-magnum-pi-murphy-brown-god-friended-me-fbi-happy-together-the-neighborhood-1202391817/. live.
  14. Web site: Pedersen . Erik . PaleyFest Fall TV Previews Sets Initial Lineup: Tim Allen, Sarah Silverman, Aaron Paul & More . Deadline Hollywood . July 29, 2018 . July 24, 2018 . July 28, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180728131322/https://deadline.com/2018/07/paleyfest-fall-tv-previews-tim-allen-sarah-silverman-aaron-paul-nathan-fillion-hulu-netflix-abc-cbs-1202432095/ . live .
  15. Web site: Happy Together: Season 1 . Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. May 15, 2019.
  16. Web site: Happy Together: Season 1 . Metacritic. CBS Interactive. October 4, 2018.
  17. Web site: Happy Together: The Complete Series Manufactured on Demand, Full Frame on DeepDiscount.com . 2021-03-06 . 2021-05-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210519041552/https://www.deepdiscount.com/happy-together-the-complete-series/810072540249 . live .