''Happyish'' (stylized as ''HAPPYish'') is an American

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satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

created and written by

Shalom Auslander Shalom Auslander (born 1970) is a prominent American novelist, memoirist, and essayist. He grew up in a strict, Orthodox neighborhood in Monsey, New York, where he describes himself as having been "raised like a veal", a reference to his strict re ...

and starring

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

Kathryn Hahn Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series ''Crossing Jordan'' (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence ap ...

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...

, Ellen Barkin and

Hannah Hodson Hannah Rose Hodson (born September 10, 1991) is an American actress, journalist, and poet. Autostraddle Retrieved July 31, 2016 She played Shameika Wallace in the TNT (American TV network), TNT television film ''The Ron Clark Story'' (2006), Cam ...

Ken Kwapis Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Presen ...

helped develop the program and directed its pilot and three of the first season's episodes. It first aired on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on April 5, 2015, as a sneak preview, before its official premiere on April 26, 2015. On July 24, 2015, ''Happyish'' was cancelled by Showtime due to low ratings.

Synopsis

Thom Payne (

), a depressed middle-aged man, is confronted with new, younger bosses at the advertising firm at which he works. Thom's pursuit of happiness is seriously compromised and he finds he must content himself with feeling "happyish." His wife, Lee (

), is an artist who angrily struggles with balancing her work and motherhood.

Development and production

first pitched the show, then titled ''Pigs in Shit'', to Showtime in fall 2011, and spent more than a year trying to get

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produ ...

on board to play the lead character. Auslander has said that Hoffman expressed interest in the show from the start, but the casting was held up due to "endless lawyering." A pilot was shot with Hoffman in the lead role, but after his death on February 2, 2014, it appeared that the project would be discontinued. David Nevins, President of Showtime, came to Auslander in summer 2014, and broached the idea of finding a new star. Names including

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''Wh ...

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and

Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award and three Tony Awards. In addition, he has received nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five ...

were considered until

signed on for the lead role in October 2014. Filming for the new pilot took place in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

from December 9–11, 2014. Part of the pilot was filmed at a house in the Byrdcliffe Art Colony, and additional locations were scouted in the neighborhood. Exterior shots were filmed at the "Welcome to Woodstock" sign on Route 212, Taco Juan's, the Golden Notebook, and at the Woodstock Library. After it was picked up to series by Showtime, filming was moved to New York City, but the crew returned to Woodstock around Christmas time to film the remaining exterior shots for the rest of the series. On January 12, 2015, Showtime announced the series pickup of ''Happyish'', exactly one year after it was originally announced at a Television Critics Association session in 2014. Showtime announced the series would premiere on April 26, 2015. However, the series premiered as a sneak preview on April 5, 2015. The series finale aired on June 28, 2015.

Episodes

Reception

''Happyish'' received mixed reviews. It has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 31 reviews on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the show a 30% 'rotten' rating based on 37 critic reviews, with the critical consensus "Instead of sly and shocking, ''Happyish'' comes off as shrill and self-satisfied, despite the efforts of its talented cast."

References

External links

* * {{Showtime Network programming 2010s American black comedy television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American satirical television series 2015 American television series debuts 2015 American television series endings English-language television shows Showtime (TV network) original programming Television shows filmed in New York (state)