History Series / HappyDays

Fitting for a show which launched so many [[SpinOff spin-offs]], ''Happy Days'' itself actually originated as an episode of the GenreAnthology series ''Series/LoveAmericanStyle'', though it also drew a number of conceptual elements (and cast members) from the movie ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''. It was something of a flop early on, but gradually became a ratings juggernaut and ended up having, in its own way, as big of an impact on U.S. television as ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' (also produced by Creator/{{Paramount}}) or ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''.

The series started out as a [[ThatNostalgiaShow nostalgic look]] at '50s America, centered largely around [[TheAllAmericanBoy gee-whiz]] high schooler Richie Cunningham (Creator/RonHoward) and his family, friends, and overall daily life in 1955 UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}. Said family included Richie's [[StandardFiftiesFather father]], hardware store proprietor and [[StandardFiftiesFather cardigan enthusiast]] Howard (Creator/TomBosley), and his mother, {{housewife}} extraordinaire Marion (Creator/MarionRoss), along with his [[{{Tsundere}} sweet-and-sour]] little sister Joanie (Creator/ErinMoran) and, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome initially]], his infrequently-seen, basketball-playing older brother Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy[[note]]in season one[[/note]] [[TheOtherDarrin and]] Randolph Roberts[[note]]in season two[[/note]]). But the show wound up being incredibly popular as [[BreakoutCharacter the home of]] Arthur "Fonzie/The Fonz" Fonzarelli (Creator/HenryWinkler), initially a soft-spoken {{Greaser Delinquent|s}} side character who subsequently became the Cunninghams' boarder, an auto mechanic, ''the'' ladies' man, and more or less a descended god -- in short, the very epitome of '50s (and '70s) teenage cool.

The early seasons were centered on [[TVTeen squeaky-clean]] Richie, who constantly gets into trouble through circumstance, but is usually bailed out by either his parents or the super-cool Fonzie, a former street hoodlum (and pastiche of '50s greasers) who mentored Richie and his pals Ralph Malph (Don Most) and Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) whenever he could, though still trying not to lose his tough-guy edge. Fonzie became so popular that when ratings were soft after two years, the show was [[{{Retool}} retooled]] around the character: Fonzie became a co-lead with Richie, and the producers brought in a StudioAudience to cheer and applaud for the Fonz.

The early seasons were centered on [[TVTeen squeaky-clean]] Richie, who constantly gets into trouble through circumstance, but is usually bailed out by either his parents or the super-cool Fonzie, a former street hoodlum (a pastiche of '50s greasers) who mentored Richie and his pals Ralph Malph (Don Most) and Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) whenever he could, while still trying not to lose his tough-guy edge. Fonzie became so popular that when ratings were soft after two years, the show was [[{{Retool}} retooled]] around the character: Fonzie became a co-lead with Richie, and the producers brought in a StudioAudience to cheer and applaud for the Fonz.

Later, Chachi (Scott Baio) was introduced to the cast as Fonz's Mini-Me cousin in order to [[YoungerAndHipper skew the fanbase a bit younger]]. By season eight (and one shark jump later), the show's timeframe had moved into the early '60s, Richie and Ralph had left to join the Army (with Ron Howard moving on to a very successful directing career), and focus shifted to Fonzie's townie friends; most notably Joanie and Chachi (who became a couple), followed by a slew of deeply unpopular replacements and newbies, none of whom had any lasting pop culture influence. ''HD'' finally ended after ten long years with a GrandFinale of epic proportions: Joanie and Chachi got married, and Howard spoke to the audience over a clip show of past events.

The series started out as a [[ThatNostalgiaShow nostalgic look]] at '50s America, centered largely around [[TheAllAmericanBoy gee-whiz]] high schooler Richie Cunningham (Creator/RonHoward) and his family, friends, and overall daily life in 1955 UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}. Said family included Richie's [[StandardFiftiesFather father]], hardware store proprietor and [[StandardFiftiesFather cardigan enthusiast]] Howard (Creator/TomBosley), and his mother, {{housewife}} extraordinaire Marion (Creator/MarionRoss), along with his [[{{Tsundere}} sweet-and-sour]] little sister Joanie (Creator/ErinMoran) and, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome initially]], his rarely-seen, basketball-playing older brother Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy[[note]]in season one[[/note]] [[TheOtherDarrin and]] Randolph Roberts[[note]]in season two[[/note]]). But the show wound up becoming incredibly popular for [[BreakoutCharacter being the home of]] Arthur "Fonzie/The Fonz" Fonzarelli (Creator/HenryWinkler), initially a soft-spoken {{Greaser Delinquent|s}} side character who eventually became the Cunninghams' boarder, an auto mechanic, ''the'' ladies' man, and more or less a descended god--in short, the epitome of '50s (and '70s) cool.

The early seasons were centered on squeaky-clean Richie, who constantly gets into trouble through circumstance, but is usually bailed out by either his parents or the super-cool Fonzie, a former street hoodlum (a pastiche of '50s greasers) who mentored Richie and his pals Ralph Malph (Don Most) and Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) whenever he could, while still trying not to lose his tough-guy edge. Fonzie became so popular that when ratings were soft after two years, the show was [[{{Retool}} retooled]] around the character: Fonzie became a co-lead with Richie, and the producers brought in a StudioAudience to cheer and applaud for the Fonz.

Fitting for a show which launched so many [[SpinOff spin-offs]], ''Happy Days'' actually originated as an episode of the GenreAnthology ''Series/LoveAmericanStyle'', but also drew both cast and conceptual elements from the movie ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''. It was something of a flop early on, but gradually became a ratings juggernaut and ended up having, in its own way, as big of an impact on U.S. television as ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' (also produced by Creator/{{Paramount}}) or ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''.

The series started out as a [[ThatNostalgiaShow nostalgic look]] at '50s America, centered largely on [[ButtMonkey gee-whiz]] high school student Richie Cunningham (Creator/RonHoward) and his friends, family, and overall daily life in 1955 USefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}, UsefulNotes/{{Wisconsin}}. Said family included Richie's parents -- his father, hardware store owner and [[StandardFiftiesFather cardigan enthusiast]] Howard (Creator/TomBosley), and mother, housewife extraordinaire Marion (Marion Ross) -- plus his [[{{Tsundere}} sweet-and-sour]] little sister Joanie (Creator/ErinMoran) and, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome initially]], his basketball-playing slacker older brother Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy[[note]]in season one[[/note]] [[TheOtherDarrin and]] Randolph Roberts[[note]]in season two[[/note]]). But the show ended up becoming incredibly popular for [[BreakoutCharacter being the home of]] Arthur "Fonzie/The Fonz" Fonzarelli (Creator/HenryWinkler), initially a soft-spoken {{Greaser Delinquent|s}} side character who eventually became the Cunninghams' boarder, an auto mechanic, ''the'' ladies' man, and more or less a descended god--in short, the epitome of '50s (and '70s) cool.

The early seasons were centered on squeaky-clean Richie, who constantly gets into trouble through circumstance, but is usually bailed out by either his parents or the super-cool Fonzie, a former street hoodlum (a pastiche of '50s greasers) who mentored Richie and his pals Ralph Malph (Don Most) and Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) whenever he could, while trying not to lose his tough-guy edge. Fonzie became so popular that when ratings were soft after two years, the show was [[{{Retool}} retooled]] around the character: Fonzie became a co-lead with Richie, and the producers brought in a StudioAudience to cheer and applaud for the Fonz.

A {{long runn|ers}}ing sitcom created by Creator/GarryMarshall and based around [[TheFifties 1950s]] nostalgia, which aired for 11 seasons (1974–84) on Creator/{{ABC}}.

** [[TropeNamer The original]]. After being played by three different actors, the third quitter led to Garry Marshall just axing Chuck entirely, and one day he ran up the stairs to his room and never returned; at the end of the GrandFinale, Howard makes a speech specifically mentioning that he and Marion only have two children[[note]]though funnily enough, in a famous outtake from said speech, Howard instantly turns around and says "Wait a minute, where's Chuck?!"[[/note]]. A very famous TV example, often subject to LampshadeHanging in other media about the show.

** [[TropeNamer The original]]. After being played by three different actors, the third quitter led to Garry Marshall just axing Chuck entirely, and one day he ran up the stairs to his room and never returned; at the end of the GrandFinale, Howard makes a speech specifically mentioning that he and Marion only have two children. A very famous TV example, often subject to LampshadeHanging in other media about the show.

* DemotedToComicRelief: Potsie was originally Richie's best friend and second lead, with most of the stories focusing on them [[ZanyScheme getting into trouble]] together. When [[BreakoutCharacter Fonzie]] took over as Richie's co-lead, Potsie TookALevelInDumbass and was paired with the existing comic relief character, Ralph Malph, as a ThoseTwoGuys duo.

[[quoteright:338:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Happy-Days-Posters.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:338:Not pictured: {{Chuck Cunningham|Syndrome}}.[[note]]Clockwise from top: [[StandardFiftiesFather Howard]], [[TheDitz Potsie]], [[{{Housewife}} Marion]], [[NiceGuy Richie]], [[LittleMissSnarker Joanie]], [[ClassClown Ralph]], and... [[TheAce Fonzie]], ''ayyyy''.[[/note]]]]