The original "What's Happening" still holds up. The reboot, "What's Happening Now", with nearly the same cast, is painfully 1980s and nearly unwatchable.
The success of reairing the original (which only had 65 episodes) meant it could air once a week as a strip — the risk of a 65-episode show made it hard to sell reruns in the 1980’s because of the change from weekly strips to daily strips for NATPE.
Its success led to the weekly syndicated sequel from LBS Communications and Columbia Pictures, which acquired series creator Bud Yorkin’s TOY Productions in 1979, and What’s Happening Now ran another three seasons of 66 episodes in syndication produced by the joint venture of Coca-Cola (which acquired Columbia Pictures in 1984).
The revival allows Sony, which which acquired Coca-Cola’s studio in 1989, to sell to sell both What’s Happening! and What’s Happening Now as one single strip of 26.1 weeks (131 episodes). It takes three (33-39 episodes), four (25 episodes), or five (22 episodes) seasons to reach television’s important 100 episode list for strip sales.