Happy Together tells the story of an Australian teenage pop superstar, Cooper James (Felix Mallard), who moves in with his accountant (Damon Wayans Jr.) because he needs to keep a low profile after a high profile breakup. It’s a plot that’s been done many times before in young adult fiction.
Based on the plot, Happy Together risks going into Hannah Montana “teen-wants-normal-life-while-secretly-super-famous territory,” yet it doesn’t. Cooper never pretends he’s not mega-famous. In fact, the writers make it obvious that Cooper James and his numerous girlfriends are fictional counterparts to Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Hailey Baldwin.
While fake Justin Bieber trying to live a normal life was probably how the show was pitched, Happy Together centers around Cooper’s relationship with married couple Jake (Wayans Jr.) and Claire (Amber Stevens West). By living with Jake and Claire, Cooper is able to learn how the non-famous live and takes a liking to it. When Cooper gets back together with ex-girlfriend Sierra Quinn (Peyton List), he quickly discovers that he hates staying in a relationship simply because it’s a valuable brand.
Despite not breaking any new ground, Happy Together is enjoyable. It’s a straightforward sitcom that’s well-written and intended for a broad audience. You can’t really ask for much more from a CBS half-hour comedy. The show’s good at what it does. Is it a show you must watch? No. Is it a show that will be rerun on Nick@Nite once it hits 100 episodes? Yes and you will gladly fall asleep to it. It’s the show you put on because there’s nothing else on TV and you’re too lazy to put on Netflix. Happy Together’s easily digestible right before bed and is hard to get invested in — and there’s no shame in that. Sometimes it’s what we all need.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Happy Together airs Monday nights on CBS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC3MaLWGGfc
