''Merry Happy Whatever'' is an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series starring

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...

. The series premiered on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

on November 28, 2019, and consisted of eight episodes. In April 2020, the series was canceled after one season.

Premise

''Merry Happy Whatever'' takes place over the week or so around Christmas at the Quinn household. The story follows Don Quinn (Quaid) as he struggles with different stresses of the holidays. They are further complicated as Emmy (Mendler), the youngest of the family, brings home her boyfriend Matt (Morin) from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The pair seeks Don's permission to get married. The controlling patriarch of the family is not pleased because Matt is a struggling musician.

Cast

Main

as Don Quinn, the hard and conservative patriarch of the Quinn family and a deputy sheriff in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He always disapproves his children's spouses and does the same with Matt. *

Bridgit Mendler Bridgit Claire Mendler (born December 18, 1992) is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she began her career in the animated Indian film '' The Legend of Buddha'', later starring in the films ''Alice Upside Down'' (2007), ''The Clique'' (200 ...

as Emmy Quinn, Don's youngest daughter who brings her boyfriend home for the holidays *

Brent Morin Brent Morin (born August 31, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician and writer. He was a panelist in the sixth season of ''Chelsea Lately'' and played Justin Kearney on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'' and the agent Hobbs on the sc ...

as Matt, Emmy's boyfriend who is a struggling musician in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, constantly being shadowed by Don * Ashley Tisdale as Kayla, Don's closeted middle daughter, who becomes Matt's friend *

Siobhan Murphy Siobhan Murphy is a Canadian actress who has appeared in '' The Smart Woman Survival Guide'' in 2006, '' Men with Brooms'' in 2010, '' Max & Shred '' in 2014, '' Murdoch Mysteries'' in 2016 and '' Merry Happy Whatever'' in 2019. Early life F ...

as Patsy, Don's eldest optimistic and super excited daughter *Adam Rose as Todd, Don's

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

son-in-law and Patsy's husband, who at all times tries to impress Don unsuccessfully *

Elizabeth Ho Elizabeth Ho (born May 2, 1983) is an American actress. Early life and career Ho was born and raised in San Francisco, California. Her mother is actress and dancer Jennifer Ann Lee, who appeared in a number of Broadway productions including ''A ...

as Joy Quinn, Don's daughter-in-law and Sean's wife, who tries to warn Matt that Don will do everything to get him away from Emmy *

Hayes MacArthur Hayes MacArthur (born April 16, 1977) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He starred in the TBS comedy series ''Angie Tribeca''. Early life MacArthur was born in Chicago to Bruce and Shelley MacArthur. His stepfather is businessman ...

as Sean Quinn, Don's dimwitted son who is recently unemployed

Recurring

Garcelle Beauvais Garcelle Beauvais (, formerly Beauvais-Nilon; born November 26, 1966) is a Haitian-American actress and television personality. She is best known for her starring roles in the sitcom ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' and the crime drama series '' NYPD Blue ...

as Nancy, a nurse at Morristown Urgent Care and Don's love interest *Mason Davis as Sean Jr., Sean's eldest son who recently became an atheist *Lucas Jaye as Donny, Sean's younger son

Guest

* Tyler Ritter as Alan, Kayla's estranged husband who is planning to divorce her. *Chris Myers as Bryan, Nancy's son who disapproves the relationship between his mother and Don. *

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...

as Ted Boseman, Don's friend who is forced into offering Emmy a great new job after Don did not arrest him after committing a crime. *

Paul Dooley Paul Dooley (born Paul Brown; February 22, 1928) is an American character actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his roles in '' Breaking Away'', '' Sixteen Candles'', and ''Popeye''. Early life Dooley was born Paul Brown on February 22, ...

as Grandpa Jack, Don's father-in-law who openly dislikes Don and believes he was never good enough for his daughter.

Production

Filming began on May 21, 2019, and ended on July 24, 2019.

Filming

''Merry Happy Whatever'' was filmed at Radford Studio Center in

Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 192 ...

but it is set in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2019–present) 2010s American sitcoms 2019 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings English-language Netflix original programming Television shows set in Philadelphia Christmas television series Television series by Kapital Entertainment