How ‘Happy Days’ Almost Got Cancelled – Until They Made This Change

It feels impossible to picture now, but one of the most iconic sitcoms in television history, Happy Days, very nearly got canceled before it ever hit its stride.

Early on, the show was struggling, and the network was seriously considering canceling it. However, the show was saved by changing something interesting. The producers decided to put Happy Days in front of a live studio audience. That one change turned everything around. When Happy Days premiered in January of 1974, it looked very different from the version fans came to know and love. The first two seasons were filmed as a single-camera comedy, meaning it was shot more like a movie than a sitcom. Creator Gary Marshall intentionally modeled it after classic shows like The Andy Griffith Show.