Happy Endings
ABC | Release Date: April 13, 2011
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
People WeeklyTom GliattoNov 29, 2011
Season 2 Review: In it's second season, Endings has clicked as one of prime-time's most sophisticated ensemble comedies. [28 Nov 2011, p.58]
83
NewsdayVerne GayOct 19, 2012
Season 3 Review: Happy Endings, cast and all, has now officially jelled. The show exists on the same cosmic (and comic) TV plain as "Scrubs," "Arrested Development" and that other late bloomer, "Cougar Town."
83
Uncle BarkyEd BarkApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: Happy Endings quickly gets its game in gear and emerges as ABC's best new sitcom since Better Off Ted unfortunately failed to find an audience. Read full review
80
SlateTroy PattersonOct 23, 2012
Season 3 Review: The actors are loose, but the writing, overseen by series creator David Caspe, is tight. Read full review
80
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanOct 17, 2012
Season 3 Review: Happy Endings has so many things going for it that the occasional weak story line or meh scene is not a big deal at all. Read full review
80
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenApr 11, 2011
Season 1 Review: Happy Endings excels at fearless humor that's sometimes shocking, not because it's gratuitous, but because it's an unexpected surprise--and a welcome one at that. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyJessica ShawSep 26, 2011
Season 2 Review: It's not perfect (why must the characters refer to themselves in the third person?), but hey, neither was Friends when it started. Read full review
75
People WeeklyTom GliattoApr 14, 2011
Season 1 Review: At least Endings has something fresh at it's core....Even better, the well-cast ensemble includes Casey Wilson. [25 Apr 2011, p.44]
75
Boston HeraldAmy AmatangeloApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: When Happy Endings is funny, it's need-to-pause-the-DVR-because-I'm-laughing-so-hard funny. And viewers should easily be able to commit to that. Read full review
75
New York PostLinda StasiApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: Happy Endings, which sounds like the special at a cheap massage parlor, is so funny I heard a noise I haven't heard in a very long time while watching a sitcom: the sound of me yelping so loudly it could frighten dogs. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesPaige WiserApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: Original, it's not. But these friends do have chemistry, and some great moments as a hipster Greek chorus. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyKen TuckerApr 7, 2011
Season 1 Review: After seeing four episodes of the newest pal-com, Happy Endings, I'd have to say it's...not bad at all. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: It is nothing new, but it is well assembled and expertly played. Read full review
70
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: Turns out Happy Endings is one of those rare TV cases of rising above, as the writing and the ensemble energy trump the stale premise. Read full review
60
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Rick PorterApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: The show is no better or worse than "Perfect Couples," "Mad Love" or "Traffic Light." Which is to say it's populated with likable actors and rarely out-and-out bad, but it's also never much more than mildly amusing. Read full review
50
PopMattersBrent McKnightApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: As of one episode, it's decently entertaining, though its sharp writing suggests potential. It's earned my interest for at least a couple of more episodes. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: Some of the situations they encounter on the dating and relationship circuit are promisingly wacky, but the tortured jokes lean way too heavily on pop-culture references. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: Happy Endings isn't unpleasant, certainly, but might face the same dilemma as its characters: An inability to make--or at least keep--enough new friends. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: Created by David Caspe, Happy Endings needs better writing and characters who don't look like characters in other forgettable sitcoms. Otherwise, this show's ending may be anything but happy. Read full review
50
The New York TimesGinia BellafanteApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: Happy Endings is both a retro version of "Friends" and a more superficially progressive one. Read full review
42
NewsdayVerne GayApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: There's desperation here, and if Happy Endings would slow down long enough to let itself breathe, it might find a footing. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushSep 28, 2011
Season 2 Review: The largely chemistry-free ensemble of this under-inspired Friends wannabe has exactly two funny standouts: Penny (Casey Wilson) and Max (Adam Pally ). Read full review
40
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: Happy Endings is really no better than any of those other comedies ['Better With You,' 'Traffic Light' and 'Perfect Couples,'], which is to say, it's pretty weak. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: The characters on ABC's new sitcom Happy Endings seem likable and funny. So why, the viewer may ask, does the show give them such a forced and convoluted back-story that it keeps getting in the way of both those qualities? Read full review
37
USA TodayRobert BiancoApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: Friends was not a shockingly original premise. It's what you do with it that matters, and Caspe and crew do almost nothing that doesn't feel secondhand and artificial. Read full review
30
Washington PostHank StueverApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: Fact is, shows like this will never stop oozing out of Hollywood's groupthink writing rooms. "Perfect Couples," "Better With You," "Traffic Light" and now Happy Endings--each of them flat and mediocre in their own not-very-special way. Read full review
30
HitfixAlan SepinwallApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: It's all too frantic, too full of obnoxious people contorting themselves into stupid lies in the service of jokes that never quite land. Read full review
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