The gang fantasizes about being TV characters from famous ABC shows, such as Three's Company and Happy Days.
Shirley has decided to ask Rob for a raise and he is shocked but he also has a shock for her, he's decided to hire an additional waitress, Liz. However, her forever clumsiness gets on Shirley's nerves so much that she quits. Later, Shirley witnesses Liz skimming the till.
Dee's 14th birthday has Raj and the gang preparing a surprise birthday party. Dee quickly gets word of it but is not without a surprise thanks to Little Earl's birthday gift. The atrocious necklace he gave her turns out to be stolen and Dee is accused of shoplifting when she tries to exchange it.
Dee has her heart set on joining the cheerleading squad and while preparing she also helps out her friend Julie who also want to be on the squad. With Dee being better than her, Julie doesn't think she has a chance, however, everyone is in for a shock when Julie is picked and Dee isn't.
The Christmas spirit has touched everyone except for a burglar who has just robbed Rerun and Raj's apartment. As he's getting away, Raj and Rerun inadvertantly help him, leaving them with only a glimpse. Thus, when they're asked to pick the robber out of a line-up, Raj and Rerun just aren't positive if they identified the right guy.
Raj needs a job and gets one selling meat, but when he learns the company is a fraud and has been busted by the FBI, he begins searching for another one. He finally finds one that pays $35 an hour but involves him posing nude for an art class.
Rerun and Raj are arrested after Rerun unknowingly stores stolen goods. While, Dee and Earl combine their efforts to save the guys.
Raj is coerced into tutoring a basketball star and gets plenty of encouragement thanks to a generous salary for doing so. However, Raj finds himself in trouble with tutoring Dee and Dwayne as well, he has little time to do his own studying.
Raj, Rerun and Dwayne learn how lonely Shirley's life is and decide that the best thing for her is a blind date with Ed Roberts. Things start getting serious between Shirley and Ed but then Dee learns that Ed is married.
A dance contest has Rerun scrambling to get enough money for the entrance fee and ends up having people buying shares in his prospective winnings. However, he finds himself facing stiff competition from a notorious disco dancer and the prospect of two thugs breaking his hands if he doesn't win.
What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976 as a weekly series. It remained a regular show until 1979; ratings were modest. What's Happening!! was loosely based on the motion picture Cooley High, also written by Eric Monte.