Let's Talk About That Unaired 'Happy Endings' Kickball Episode

Despite Happy Endings being one of ABC's best new shows over the past few seasons, the network has had a weird way of showing gratitude toward the show. The network aired Happy Endings' first season out of order, often airing two episodes at a time. Either ABC was trying out a radical new model for airing a show, or the network had little faith in Happy Endings and was burning the show off. I'm going with the latter on this one.

To the surprise of ABC (and Damon Wayans Jr. who had already shot the New Girl pilot), Happy Endings developed a passionate fan base and the show was picked up for a second season. For the most part, ABC aired Happy Endings as you would normally air a show. During the end of Season 2 though, ABC started running new episodes of Happy Endings while Modern Family, its normal lead-in, was on break. If you look at Happy Endings' ratings, you can see the drop off when ABC sent it out to fight on its own.  Happy Endings will be back for a third season, so despite ABC's NBC-esque behavior, the show has survived whatever's been thrown at it.

Season 2 may be over, but if you count the episodes that were aired, you'll only get to 21. Happy Endings had a 22-episode order for its second season. Looking at the production codes for the Season 2 episodes, you'll notice that they go from 201 to 221, meaning an episode wasn't dropped during the season. Where's Episode 222 then?

Well, the twenty-second episode of Happy Endings second season is called Kickball 2: The Kickening and features Elisha Cuthbert's Alex signs the gang up to play in the community kickball tournament. It turns out that ABC just couldn't wait to start airing The B---- in Apartment 23, so Happy Endings lost an episode that probably should've come before the season finale. Now, I enjoyed The B---- in Apartment 23, but I enjoy Happy Endings a lot more. (I realize what I just said. I'm just going to keep going ...) Why shouldn't the show get to properly finish its season before giving way to a late-season replacement?

Kickball 2: The Kickening aired in the United Kingdom on May 17, but ABC hasn't announced any plans to let the United States enjoy the episode. What was the point of the Revolutionary War if the Brits get to watch entire seasons of Happy Endings and we don't? This isn't what George Washington fought for.

America did invent the Internet though, and while I'm not saying you should poke around online to find Kickball 2: The Kickening, I'm saying if you did poke around online, you might possibly find Kickball 2: The Kickening. And if you were to maybe possibly find it and watch it, you'd probably come to the conclusion that it's a very funny episode of Happy Endings. You might hypothetically agree that it has a bunch of quotable lines. Eliza Coupe's Jane could possibly drop the phrase, "I'm talking about yipsee-ki-yay mother failure over there." Dunno. Could happen.

C'mon, ABC, do your patriotic duty and air the lost episode of Happy Endings in the United States.