Tonight sees the premiere of Happy!, which is Syfy’s much-anticipated television adaptation of the comic book by the brilliant Grant Morrison.
For those not in the know, Happy! centers on disgraced detective turned hitman Nick Sax who takes on jobs to nurse his drink problem. When a hit goes wrong and Nick has a heart attack, he awakes on a hospital gurney to a perky blue horse that calls itself Happy.
The series stars Christopher Meloni as the grizzled and hard-bitten hitman, while much-loved comedian and actor Patton Oswalt is the voice of Happy.
The first episode is a gritty fairytale with lots of blood, torture, and strangeness. Nick Sax, who is doing hits to fuel his alcohol and drug problem, happily exists in a world of blood-soaked hookers, corrupt cops and the new addition of a perky blue horse.
Nick fantasizes about blowing his head off while merrily dancing at a disco with blood spewing from his head like a volcano.
Set during the Christmas period, the story kicks into action when a little girl is kidnapped by a demented Santa Clause. Happy, who is the little girl’s imaginary friend, seeks out help from Nick to try and find her.
Nick has issues of his own. Due to him supposedly knowing a secret codeword, much of the criminal underground is after him. Which means that he will have to navigate through all that while looking for the little girl.
Much of the humor is derived from Nick’s interactions with the horse. No one can see Happy other than Nick, which makes for all manner of possibility. Christopher Meloni exudes a weary and battered cynicism, which works brilliantly with Patton Oswalt’s extremely perky and utterly bonkers take on Happy.
Grant Morrison, who wrote the comic the show is based on, has been very much involved in helping to bring Happy! to television and has contributed to a number of episodes of the show.
Happy! premieres tonight at 10/9c on Syfy.