''Happy Can Already!'' () is a Singaporean Chinese variety series which is telecast on

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

's free-to-air channel,

Mediacorp Channel 8 Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean Mandarin-language free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Singapore, owned by state media conglomerate Mediacorp. The channel broadcasts general entertainment and news programming in the Manda ...

. It stars

Jack Neo Jack Neo Chee Keong (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean filmmaker, comedian and actor who was a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. He established a unique presence with his genuine and relatable stories that highlight societa ...

, Mark Lee, Wang Lei, Benjamin Josiah Tan, Chua Lee Lian, and Jaspers Lai as the casts of the series. ''Happy Can Already!'' aired from 2 December 2016 to 3 February 2017, every Friday from 12:00pm to 12:30pm. This was the first non-Mandarin Chinese variety show to be produced on Channel 8 after a 30-year hiatus. This series is primarily targeted at

Singaporean Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial-religious origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, m ...

elderly as most of them speak Chinese dialects at home.

Plot

Liang Xi Mei laments that most of her old friends are not around anymore. Her eldest son Robert is now married to Mary and they have a daughter named Ah Girl. Her second son Albert is now in university, and Lion King has a son called Merlion King, where his father Lion King has been thrown in prison for the time being. Each episode will start with a guest performance and interview, before proceeding to the skit segment. Performers in this program include veteran getai singers such as Liu Lingling and Hao Hao. The skit segments also feature cameo appearances by Aunty Lucy and others.

Cast

* Wang Lei was cast as various characters ** Ah Gong, Liang Xi Mei's father-in-law ** Guangdong Ah Ma **

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

as Liang Xi Mei (or otherwise known as Cecilia Neo Sai Moi) * Mark Lee as Robert, Liang Xi Mei's elder son * Benjamin Josiah Tan as Albert, Liang Xi Mei's younger son * Chua Lee Lian as Mary, Robert's wife * Toh Xin Hui as Ah Girl, Robert and Mary's daughter * Jaspers Lai as Merlion King

Cameo appearance

* Leon Lim as Con man * Liu Lingling made two cameo appearances as two different characters, Fat Auntie and Kolianna Lotus * Amy Khor as Herself (Senior Minister of State with the Ministry of Health) * Moses Lim as Auntie Keow * Dennis Chew as Aunty Lucy, reprising his role from '' Paris and Milan'', a Singaporean Chinese comedy-satire variety show *

Kym Ng Kym Ng Kwee Khim (born 1 July 1967) is a Singaporean television host and actress. She is known as one of Mediacorp's Variety Ah Jies (综艺阿姐). Ng has received numerous accolades locally and regionally. At the Star Awards, she was rec ...

as Miss Tan, reprising her role from ''City Beat'', a Singaporean Chinese infotainment variety program. *

Aileen Tan Aileen Tan Lay Ching (born 18 October 1966) is a Singaporean actress. Life and career Tan studied at Willow Secondary School. Tan worked in sales for more than a year before becoming an office administrator at an advertising agency. Tan pa ...

as Yankee * Tay Yin Yin as Tiny

Guest performers

* Michael Huang * Liu Lingling * Angie Lau * Hao Hao * Leon Lim * Febe Huang *

Marcus Chin Marcus Chin On Kang (born 22 September 1953) is a Singaporean host, actor, comedian, singer, radio DJ, and businessman. Career Chin joined the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation during the 1970s. During the 1990s, he was mainly known for star ...

* Desmond Ng *

Chee Hong Tat Chee Hong Tat ( zh, s=徐芳达, p=Xú Fāngdá, poj=Chhî Hong-ta̍t, first=poj; born 4 November 1973) is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant who has been appointed as Minister for National Development in 2025. A member of the ...

Production

This 10-episode dialect variety series is produced by MediaCorp and J Team, in collaboration with local director Jack Neo and the

Ministry of Communications and Information The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI; ; zh, 数码发展及新闻部; ) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the development of the infocomm technology, media and design sectors, as well ...

. Through an entertaining format with informational components such as songs and skits, and using a language which seniors are most familiar with, each half-hour episode will reinforce relevant messages including health promotion, active ageing, retirement adequacy and support schemes for seniors (such as PGP and CHAS). Production started on 15 November 2016. The first promotional roadshow was held at Kreta Ayer Square on 14 November 2016 with artistes

, Mark Lee, Wang Lei, Benjamin Josiah Tan, Jaspers Lai, and Hao Hao. The second roadshow was held at Block 114 Aljunied Ave 2 on 17 December 2016 with artistes

, Dennis Chew, Chua Lee Lian, Jaspers Lai, and

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

Gan Kim Yong Gan Kim Yong (born 9 February 1959) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2024 and Minister for Trade and Industry since 2021. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he h ...

. The third roadshow was held at Kreta Ayer Square on 10 January 2017 with artistes

, Mark Lee, Wang Lei, Dennis Chew, Moses Lim, Benjamin Josiah Tan, and Minister

Sequel

A second season, '' Happy Can Already! 2'', was produced and released on 19 May 2017.

Discography

Accolades

References

{{reflist 2016 Singaporean television series debuts 2017 Singaporean television series endings Hokkien-language television shows Channel 8 (Singapore) original programming