Watch Philip Seymour Hoffman's Unseen "Happyish" Pilot

Not long before his untimely death, Philip Seymour Hoffman filmed the pilot episode for a series titled Happyish. It was created by author Shalom Auslander; the pilot was directed by John Cameron Mitchell. After Hoffmann’s death, the project was given a substantial overhaul, and that version ran for a season on Showtime with Steve Coogan in the lead.

Just what the original version of the pilot looked like remained a mystery, until now. The Film Stage reports that John Cameron Mitchell has uploaded the version of the pilot that he directed to YouTube.

On his Instagram account, Mitchell commented on the pilot:

I directed the original unaired 2013 pilot of #Happyish, a Showtime comedy starring the brilliant #philipseymourhoffman in his last filmed role. (He is fraternizing w a double-stuffed Keebler elf in this pic). It’s now on youtube – find the link in my bio. A caustic but heartwarming Valentine’s love story written by misanthropic genius #shalomauslander and costarring #kathrynhahn

The pilot is a moving reminder of Hoffman’s skill as an actor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trpnUbTKltI

It also opens with a surprisingly timely rant against Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. (Less timely, perhaps, is the presence of Louis C.K. in the pilot.) The pilot also features what can only be described as a transgressive scene involving the Keebler elves, so — there’s a lot to ponder here.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…