While a fair number of conference call interview opportunities come up around CliqueClack and I tend to take my share of them, none are half so exciting as whenever an e-mail comes through that some of the cast of Happy Endings is going to be on the other end of the line — this time it was Zach Knighton (Dave) and Adam Pally (Max). It becomes clear very quickly that the comedy on the show doesn’t just come from the writing room, but from the actors themselves. All of them come from a strong comedy/improv background (except, Knighton points out, himself), but Pally estimates that about 50% of the show stays as is written, and 50% comes from riffs on the spot, with Knighton improvising just as much as any of the cast members. Dave’s song from the season 2 premiere, “Love Times Love to the Power of Love,” for instance, had lyrics created by staff writer Matthew Libman, but the melody and performance was all Knighton.
Knighton and Pally were both eager to spill on upcoming guest stars, the likes of which include Rob Riggle and Saturday Night Live castmember Bobby Moynihan. And Happy Endings has already boasted fabulous guest stars this season like Megan Mullally, Fred Savage (who has also guest-directed), Brent Musburger, and Larry Wilmore.
“I think we’re still begging friends,” Pally says. “I’d like to say that there’s a big rush of Hollywood trying to sign up. But basically any guest star that you’ve seen is a friend of ours.”
“But we begged a lot of friends to do it and they haven’t done it,” Knighton points out.
“Yes,” agrees Pally. “So it’s all our friends that have turned us down. The rest are real assholes.”
And speaking of guest stars — both Megan Mullaly and Damon Wayans Sr. are set to reprise their roles as Casey and Brad’s parents, respectively. But instead of just returning to their parent roles, they might also be up for finding romance — in each other. And love is in the future for both Max and Dave as well. For Dave, it’s apparently with someone who is a big enough spoiler that no one’s letting it slip (my guess is Penny. If I’m right, I want a plaque in my honor), and with Max, it’s a rake. Not in the Jane Austen sense of the word, meaning “an incorrigible gentleman type,” but in the traditional sense of the word, meaning “a gardening tool used on leaves.”
“I think Max is starting to get a little lonely and is looking to find that special someone,” Adam Pally said in a recent conference call. “And he may or may not be out there because Max has very specific criteria.” Criteria that can, apparently, be met by something found in aisle four at Home Depot.
Only on Happy Endings.
Clacked by Julia Hass 
on Nov 04, 2011 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
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