Television series

Happy!

Name: Happy!
Genre: Drama, Crime, Fantasy
Released: 2017
Cast: Christopher Meloni, Lili Mirojnick, Patton Oswalt, Bryce Lorenzo, Ritchie Coster

Other titles called Happy!: the 2012 film.

Crime
Strange

Happy! is a delirious collision of hard-boiled noir and surreal comedy, where a cynical hit man must partner with an imaginary flying horse to save a kidnapped girl. It's garish, darkly funny, and genuinely strange—built for viewers who want their crime drama weird and their weirdness grounded in character pain. A guilty pleasure for people who don't feel guilty.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like hardboiled crime that is gritty and bleakly funny, and you enjoy a foul-mouthed antihero whose conscience arrives in the form of a chatty imaginary horse.

Skip it if you want a steady tone, since it lurches from brutal violence to cartoonish sweetness, and that whiplash can feel deliberate or simply wearing.

What it asks of you: Eighteen hour-long episodes across two seasons, so it asks for real commitment; it is slow to settle, hazy and profane, and it rewards patience more than attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Barry2018

Hitman genre comedy that earned critical raves: explores the collision of a violent life with accidental self-awareness. Darker and funnier than you'd expect, with a protagonist whose wreckage you actually feel.

But More grounded than Happy!—it favors psychological realism over surrealism. If you want genuine weirdness, this plays it straighter.

Dexter2006

Serial killer working within the system, surrounded by cops. Explosive tension, darkly funny, and that same magnetic tension between the protagonist's day job and their real nature.

But Loses credibility by season five; later seasons are trying too hard. The ending is infamous for leaving viewers cold.

Harley Quinn2019

Animated dark comedy with genuinely unhinged energy and a female antihero arc. Violent, profane, and weirdly touching about loyalty and self-discovery in a corrupt world.

But Relentlessly wacky—some find the comedy exhausting rather than liberating. Heavy reliance on DC Comics lore if you're unfamiliar.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Happy!

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore2017

Both follow a burnt-out, damaged antihero finding unexpected partnership and redemption through violence. Both use surreal hope (real person or imaginary horse) as counterweight to cynicism.

A woman and her neighbor—a veteran with emotional damage—hunt down burglars in their neighborhood. Crime noir as therapy: violent, blackly comic, about two broken people finding purpose in shared mission. Meloni-adjacent energy.

But Shot on a small budget with amateurish performances that some find grating. Tonally uncertain—never fully commits to either comedy or tragedy.

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore poster

Grimm2011

Cop discovers the supernatural world layered beneath ordinary life. Mythology-heavy procedural that sustains a strange tone across seasons, with real stakes and character growth.

But Network television restraint means it never swings as hard as Happy!. Episodic monster-of-the-week format can feel repetitive.

Preacher2016

Ultraviolent, profane adaptation of the comic about a preacher with cosmic powers hunted by angels and demons. Unapologetically weird and willing to go places most prestige TV won't.

But Tonal whiplash—bounces between gore-soaked spectacle and sincere emotion. Some episodes work better than others; premise gets stretched thin.

The Fall2013

Obsessive detective pursues a charming serial killer through Belfast. Psychologically intricate cat-and-mouse with genuine dread and a protagonist whose fixation costs everything.

But Methodical and bleak—no magical horses or relief comedy. Long stretches of procedural routine between shock moments.

Luther2010

Damaged detective with a gift for understanding killers, repeatedly compromising his ethics to close cases. Idris Elba's intensity carries the show through its best seasons.

But Later seasons dilute the formula with increasingly theatrical villains. Brutality starts feeling like spectacle rather than consequence.

Ozark2017

Mild accountant forced into money laundering navigates cartels and chaos. Addiction to moral compromise—the protagonist's transformation feels earned and genuinely dark.

But Pacing gets sluggish; final season feels obligatory. Less interested in fun than in relentless downward momentum.

One-Punch Man2015

Both are about hypercompetent protagonists spiraling through meaninglessness until forced to care again. Both treat depression as literally saving the world—a small positive force against total void.

Anime about a bored superhero who's invincible but depressed. A perfect deconstruction of power fantasy disguised as bombastic action—funny, visually stunning, spiritually exhausted in the best way.

But Anime format alienates viewers uncomfortable with the medium. Surreal humor is rapid-fire; subtitles required for English speakers.

Happiness1998

Both believe comedy and darkness are the only honest response to a world that offers no mercy. Both find weird, small redemptions (imaginary or human) in otherwise hopeless landscapes. Both say: if you don't laugh, you drown.

Todd Solondz's suburban nightmare about interconnected lives twisted by perversion and despair. Transgressive dark comedy that takes seriously the damage people carry. Completely uncompromising and genuinely hilarious.

But Deals with pedophilia, sexual assault, suicidal ideation—not performed for shock value, but unflinching. Some scenes are difficult; it offers no comfort. Bleak beyond almost anything on television.