Have you ever experienced the simple pleasures of binge-watching the show Happy Endings? If not, you’re missing out, because in a word: it’s ah-mah-zing. The ABC series is a warm blanket of a comedy with its lovable characters and kind-hearted sense of humor. Even its opening credits create a warm feeling. Created by David Caspe (Black Monday), the comedy lasted for three seasons, two years, and 57 episodes, and while that is a lot of content and fun to be had, it was still canceled too soon.

Imagine if the show came out today, though, with an advertisement proclaiming, “From the visionary directors of Avengers: Endgame,” Joe and Anthony Russo. The filmmakers executive-produced the comedy and directed a handful of episodes, so when we spoke to them at the 21 Bridges press day, of course, we had to ask them about this, their greatest achievement.

It wasn’t the first time the Russo brothers had heard the ABC series is a fan favorite from their body-of-work. Joe Russo hears that a lot from fans. The comedy’s fanbase is a passionate one, and they’ve only grown in numbers through the years, thanks to Hulu. There’s a plethora of reasons why the Chicago-set comedy about a tight-knit group of pals remains watched and talked about, but according to the Russo Brothers, it’s because it was a smart comedy more about joy than misery. Both brothers talked about the show very fondly, starting with Joe:

It was one of our favorites as well. I think it had a social consciousness to it. I thought Adam Pally’s character was one of the most interesting characters that had been on network television, and the way he played that character was really unique. It had a lot of great ideas in it, and I think that’s why people respond to it, it’s the warmth and a point. Very few shows combine those together. I’ll say, Arrested Development is very caustic and very existential. Happy Endings has that level of wit, but it also has a heart at the same time.

Anthony continued on the same page:

I think that’s what it was with Happy Endings: the fun-loving irreverance. It’s so infectious and appealing, and I think that part of it endures. I don’t know where those characters would be [now], but somehwere in that zone.

The brothers don’t know what the endgame was for those characters, suggesting the cast would be better to ask, but what if on one beautiful, fine day we got to see them again on ABC or Hulu? There is still a chance. A few months ago, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke told The Hollywood Reporter “there’s a remote possibility” of a Happy Endings reboot. Burke, who’s a big fan of the show, said there have been whispers of a reboot, and that it is a dream project for some people at ABC, God bless’m.

The closest thing we have to a reunion was back in 2016 when the cast did a live reading of a “lost episode,” in which all the main characters had drifted apart but find their way back to one another. At the time, Caspe confirmed the cast and him would love to make the fourth season of Happy Endings, as long as it was the right situation.

Even if we never see Penny, Dave, Max, Brad, Jane, and Alex all in the same room again, we are still lucky to have those delightful 57 episodes. The fact there’s not six or seven seasons of Happy Endings maybe makes the show more special. Sometimes less is more, but then again, who wouldn’t want more Happy Endings in their life?

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