The cult favorite series aired for three seasons, but struggled in the ratings
Credit: Bob D’Amico/ABC
NEED TO KNOW
- Elisha Cuthbert opened up about the stress she felt while making Happy Endings and the show struggled in the ratings
- Cuthbert said that almost “everyone passed” on appearing on the series
- The show was canceled after three seasons but remains a cult favorite with fans
Elisha Cuthbert says there was some major “stress” while making Happy Endings.
Cuthbert, 43, opened up about Happy Endings in an April 13 interview with the Television Academy. On the series, which aired from 2011 to 2013, she played Alex Kerkovich. The ensemble comedy also starred Eliza Coupe, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr. and Casey Wilson as a group of friends who get into their fair share of hijinks over the course of three seasons.
Cuthbert said it felt like there was “a lot of pressure” for the cast to make the pilot and the early episodes work. “We wanted the show to do well and get a full season,” she said. She said it wasn't until midway through the show's first season that “we felt like we figured out the tone.”
Credit: Bruce Birmelin/ABC
Asked if the network ever sent notes about the “show's unique tone,” she said she never heard anything. “For me, if anything, we were just more concerned about competing with other shows and trying to keep our ratings up so we could keep going,” she said.
The Love Actually alum remembered “a lot of stress” about that. “And we kept shifting timeslots on the network schedule. So, our audience constantly couldn't find us — and, unfortunately, our ratings reflected that,” she said. Cuthbert said that now, in the “age of streaming,” she thinks a show like Happy Endings could find success.
The TV Academy pointed out that the show did land some guest stars, like RuPaul and Megan Mullally. Mullally played the mom of Wilson's Penny.
“We did, and they were great,” she said. “But because we were in our first season, no one really knew the show well at that point.”
There were two examples she thought of. “At one point, for the role of a popstar who comes into the store that Alex owns, I think we had calls out to Fergie,” she said. “But everyone passed.”
She added, “Even in the pilot, there was supposed to be a small part for Hootie and the Blowfish. But they were like, ‘No.' ”
Credit: Adam Taylor/ABC
Cuthbert also remembered how her character, Alex, evolved from “playing it straight” to joining in the fun. “Alex and [Knighton's] Dave were supposed to be the ones that grounded all of the comedy. But, obviously, the tone shifted,” she said. “. . . Alex evolved into [having] a sort of comedic, Betty White-type of silliness. Which came from my own antics off-set.”
Creator David Caspe often wrote the things she did on set to make the others laugh into the show, including when she pretended to spin an imaginary hula hoop around her neck. “Caspe saw it and was like, 'We gotta put that in the show,' ” she said.
Happy Endings has retained a cult status among fans; PEOPLE named it one of the 10 most heartbreaking show cancellations of the 2010s.
But there is some hope of the series returning. In 2024, Wilson, 45, told PEOPLE of plans for a potential reboot. “They are trying to make it happen," the actress, who is married to Caspe, said. She blamed, in part, logistical setbacks, “which couldn't be more boring,” she joked.
All three seasons of Happy Endings are streaming now on Hulu.
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