The Cast of "Happy Endings"

After an erratic first season of scheduling, the ensemble comedy of “Happy Endings” returned last night for its second season, following the Emmy-winning show, “Modern Family."  Despite having to face some uncanny competition from other sitcoms such as “Perfect Couples," “Friends with Benefits” and “Traffic Light," “Happy Endings” appears to have broken away from the pact and grown on its viewers by not shying away from comedy that addresses race or sexuality within the gang of six.

The second season starts off with Dave (Zachary Kingston), Alex (Elisha Cuthbert), Jane (Eliza Coupe), Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.), Max (Adam Pally) and Penny (Casey Wilson) enjoying the honeymoon suite that Dave and Alex paid for before their failed wedding day. As always, however, chaos soon breaks with Max accidentally stabbing Brad, and Jane requiring an epipen stab of her own due to a seafood allergy. 

Unlike most sitcoms that attempt to erase the diversity of their token African American and homosexual characters, "Happy Endings" embraces the comedic fodder the situations offer. In the season premiere, the audience discovers Brad lying to Max about having to work late. Max soon discovers Brad at a bar hanging with some of his “brothers.” Thinking Brad wants him to be less white, Max performs a string of hilarious, albeit cringe-worthy black stereotypes to prove otherwise. 

Meanwhile, Penny has finally become a homeowner by buying a condo despite still being single. She declares it to be “the year of Penny” and soon has a date, Jeremy, over to admire her white marble-topped kitchen island. However the idea of a single, successful female homeowner drives Jeremy out the door, mumbling something about working on his resume. 

A neighbor drops by to give Penny the delightful news that the building always thought her unit was cursed, and right on (slightly) clichéd cue, a spinster cat finds its way into the unit, and is soon followed by several more. Penny’s DVR has also mysteriously filled up with episodes of "The Good Wife" and "The View," and a “meals for one” menu is slipped under her door. She takes it all to be an undeniable premonition of inevitable spinsterhood.  

Alex and Dave find themselves in a feud that begins with Jane forcing them to be excruciatingly honest with each other for the sake of their friendship. Their new “honesty is the best policy” pact soon leads to a series of hurtful and embarrassing confessions with Dave admitting that Alex makes horrible jambalaya and is not responsible enough for a fireplace or a pet, and Alex revealing that she in facts hates the twelve-minute love song that he wrote for her and declares the game of “frolf” to be stupid (frisbee-golf, in case you were wondering). 

As with most thirty minute sitcoms, all story lines come to a head and are resolved with a Roaring 20's theme party hosted by Penny. Max and Brad vow to spend more time together, Alex and Dave agree to lie in order to spare each others' feelings and Penny’s mysterious spinster moments are explained away by a creepy neighbor and Max taking liberty with her DVR queue. 

Although the night’s episode had its amusing moments, each character's situation stayed undeniably stagnant, much like they had for the majority of the first season as well. "Happy Endings" still has time to prove itself. So here’s to hoping that we finally get to see some plot developments instead of just isolated instances of hilarity.