''Happiness'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

written by

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Harr ...

and David Cummings, with Whitehouse starring in the lead role. Two series were broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in 2001 and 2003. Whitehouse stated that there would not be a third.

Synopsis

Whitehouse plays Danny Spencer, a successful voice artist for a popular cartoon bear called Dexter. Spencer is trying to come to terms with the death of his wife, though much of his concern is that he finds he isn't feeling the loss as deeply as he should. Approaching his 40th birthday he is independent and single and the programme's themes are largely bound up with the opportunities and problems that this situation creates. His friends are a disparate group, ranging from the strait-laced Terry and Rachel (

Mark Heap Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, ''Brass Eye'', ''Big Train'', ''Spaced'', ''Jam (TV series), Jam'', ''Green Wing'', ''Friday Night Dinner'', ''Upstart ...

Fiona Allen Fiona Allen (born 13 March 1965) is an English comedian and actress, most known for her work on Channel 4's ''Smack the Pony'' between 1999 and 2003. Career Allen has appeared in many sketch shows, including ''We Know Where You Live'' (Channel ...

), through the down and outs - Charlie and Sid (

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, overweight appearance, angry comedic rants, and us ...

and

Pearce Quigley Pearce Quigley is an English actor of the stage and screen. He plays Will in the BBC Radio 4 Sitcom ''Alone''. Theatre credits ''The Seagull'' (Royal Court); ''Paul'' (National Theatre); '' Journey's End'' (Comedy Theatre); ''My Night with R ...

), to the archetypal man in a mid-life crisis, Angus (

Clive Russell Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in ''Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'' and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He also a ...

). To varying degrees these friends offer Spencer inspiration and cautionary tales as to how Spencer can fill his life.

Episodes

Series 1

Series 2

Awards

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

, 2001 **Won ***

, best newcomer for his role as Charlie. **Nominations ***Best TV Comedy drama. *

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

, 2002 **Nominations ***Situation comedy award.

Critical reception

Simon Hoggart described the series as "part of that newish genre, the situation tragedy", and Andrew Billen criticised it for the "emptiness at its heart and not enough going on peripherally to make up for it". Nicholas Barber described it as "an impressive leap from catchphrase-heavy sketch comedy" with "topnotch supporting actors". Many reviews identified Johnny Vegas's performance as being the strongest among the cast.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Happiness (Tv Series) 2001 British television series debuts 2003 British television series endings 2000s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms English-language television shows Television shows set in England