Happy Endings: The Complete Second Season

The 2011-12 second season of ABC's Happy Endings builds on the show's abbreviated mid-season debut, as six Chicago friends grapple with career and relationship issues, including the unresolved egg donor mystery from the first season. Childhood friends Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) and Dave (Zachary Knighton)—who were once engaged—form the nucleus of the ongoing storyline. Penny (Casey Wilson), also single, kicks things off by buying a condominium, after which Alex moves in. Penny's ex-boyfriend, Max (Adam Pally), who has since come out of the closet, lands a boyfriend (James Wolk), and a paying job as a limo driver. While it's not especially believable that Max secured the funds to buy the vehicle by selling his Beanie Baby collection, Happy Endings tends to prioritize humor over realism, otherwise Dave wouldn't have named his food truck Steak Me Home Tonight. As the only married couple, Alex's sister, Jane (Eliza Coupe), and her husband, Brad (Damon Wayans, Jr.), continue to keep their relationship lively. Guest stars include Megan Mullally as Penny's New Age mother, Michael McKean as Dave's sportscaster father, and Fred Savage as himself (Ed Begley, Jr. and Colin Hanks also drop by as particularly obnoxious versions of themselves). The 21 episodes compiled here touch on issues ranging from parental dating and divorce, to marriage-like workplace friendships (and V-neck shirt addiction). DVD extras include deleted scenes and outtakes. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)