# Merry Happy Whatever (2019)

> A strong-willed dad sees his holiday season upended when his daughter brings a new boyfriend home for Christmas.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/79918

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Brent Morin, Hayes MacArthur, Dennis Quaid, Bridgit Mendler, Ashley French, Siobhan Murphy, Adam Rose, Elizabeth Ho
- TMDB rating: 6.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9770286/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: warm, breezy, comforting, lighthearted

## What critics say

Audiences found the holiday comedy warm and charming but thin, rating it mixed and wishing for more seasons.

## Synopsis

Merry Happy Whatever (2019) is an American family comedy created for Netflix, a single-season limited run of eight short episodes. Dennis Quaid plays Don Quinn, a strong-willed father whose holiday season unravels when his daughter Emmy Quinn (Bridgit Mendler) brings her new boyfriend home for Christmas. Hayes MacArthur plays Sean Quinn, another member of the household caught in the seasonal fuss, and Brent Morin and Ashley French round out the principal cast as the wider circle of family and visitors. The engine of the show is simple: a dad who wants everything to go smoothly, a daughter who wants her own choices respected, and a house full of relatives, tensions, and holiday obligations that keep colliding. Each episode unfolds in short, brisk bursts of domestic mishap, with the Christmas setting providing a steady backdrop of decorations, dinners, and awkward gatherings. Set in a present-day American suburban household, the series plays as a warm, breezy, lightly comic sitcom about family pressure and affection. Fans of The Family Stone, Christmas with the Kranks, and Fuller House will find a similar holiday-season comfort, with the emotional register kept gentle and hopeful throughout the run of the show.

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