Happy Endings creator teases new script, death of character

It’s time to start getting Happy again. At least for one day.

The cast of Happy Endings will reunite at EW PopFest, and not just to relive some old times — they’re creating some new ones, too. Series creator David Caspe and the Happy writers have been hard at work on a new script for the whip-smart, gone-too-soon ABC comedy about six friends in Chicago, and the show’s six stars — Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans, Jr., and Casey Wilson — will give it a proper debut at a table read on Saturday.

“Everyone is excited,” Caspe tells EW. “It was great to get as many writers together as we could. Everyone has kids and a family and works the whole week, so it’s pretty incredible that people would even do it. Writing a script is super hard, and to write for a show that’s been cancelled for three years, it kind of doesn’t make a ton of sense” — he laughs — “but it’s fun to get back together. And we’re really happy to get to do something for charity in honor of Tracy Scott [who was Happy Endings‘ script supervisor, see below]. That the whole cast was instantly in — it’s just really cool and a testament that everyone really had a lot of fun.”

How much pressure does he feel in reviving the beloved cult comedy — which ran for three seasons from 2011 until 2013 — for one night? “It’s the pressure of wanting that night to be great but not the pressure of, ‘Will it live up to the show?” says Caspe, who is currently writing a comedic series for Showtime called Manhunt. “It’s not the show. It’s a table read of the script. And that informs the writing. We’re not going to write some big physical race through Chicago if it’s just being read. That’s not going to be too exciting, so we focused on trying to get in a lot of jokes.”

And what exactly have they been plotting, you ask? Caspe is willing to divulge three hints:

1. “There was a huge fight one second after everyone was dancing on the dance floor at the end of the series.”

2. “The six of them have not been in the same room for 939 days. Until Saturday.”

3. “One of the friends dies.”

It would not be an understatement at this point to exclaim: Draaamaaaaaaa!, so exclaim away. And start theorizing about which character is Ending.

For those interested in seeing the Happy Endings table-read in person, it begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday at PopFest, which is being held at The Reef in downtown Los Angeles. For event and ticket information, click here.

* The new Happy Endings script, which was written for PopFest, is dedicated to the memory of Tracy Scott. A donation in her name has been made to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. To learn more and donate, click here.