What are the names of the shows? Grandfathered and The Grinder.
When do they premiere? Tuesday, 29 September, at 8pm and 8.30pm EDT, respectively.
What the heck are these shows? In Grandfathered, John Stamos stars as playboy restaurant owner, Jimmy, who finds out that he’s not only a father, but also a grandfather.
How old is John Stamos? Is he old enough to be a grandfather? He is 52.
What? Does that man have a battered painting sitting in his attic? He must. He looks very good. On the show, he and an old girlfriend, Sara (Paget Brewster), had a son, Gerald (Josh Peck) when they were 25, and now Gerald is 25 and has a daughter with his friend Vanessa (Christina Millian).
How does Jimmy not know about his son? Apparently, Sara kept the news from him and Gerald finally asked about his dad because he found out he was a ladies’ man and wanted to get some advice on how to get out of the friend zone with his baby momma.
They had a kid. How is he in the friend zone? Yes, the most unbelievable thing about this show is that Gerald can’t get Vanessa to see him as a sexual object when they very obviously had sex. He claims they only had sex the once and it’s because he helped her find her lost iPhone. I would have sex with anyone who found my lost iPhone too, so maybe it’s not that crazy.
Is the show funny? Yes. There are a lot of the very much expected “old man can’t change a diaper and wants to chase tail instead of putting baby down for a nap” jokes, which are met with mild amusement. But the show has a great arch tone, supplied by creator Daniel Chun (an alum of The Office, The Simpsons, and Happy Endings) that finds the sweet spot. Sara tells Jimmy at one point: “I’m cool. I watch Portlandia and I almost went to Coachella last year.” Gerald also admits that he decided to find his father after reading a BuzzFeed listicle about the “28 Reasons Why Having a Dad Is the Best”. The set up is as old as time (or at least as old as Three Men and a Baby) but the humor has a fresh and current edge to it. Deep down in its squishy insides, Grandfathered is really about finding a family, no matter how unconventional it may be, and that will get everyone right where they’re most vulnerable.
Any big problems with the show? The pilot is pretty much perfect, setting up each of the main characters, their dynamic, and what the show is all about. However, there doesn’t seem to be too much longevity in the premise. The idea that Jimmy can’t handle a kid or commitment is great and all, but the show is going to have to find other, more conventional sources of comedy if it wants to keep going for seasons on end.
What about The Grinder? Is that about the gay hookup app? No, silly, that’s Grindr.
Is it about a hoagie? They are indeed called grinders, but, no, this is not a show about a sandwich.
Then what the hell is The Grinder? The Grinder is a fictional law procedural starring Dean Sanderson Jr (Rob Lowe) as a lawyer who never settles and always wins his case in as flamboyant a manner as possible. When the show ends after nine successful seasons, Dean returns home to Idaho not knowing what to do with his life. While living with his brother Stewart (Fred Savage), an actual lawyer, Dean decides he wants to help run the family law firm. Even though he’s not a lawyer, he’s played one on TV, so he must have the skills.
Does he? No, of course he doesn’t. But, in that classic sitcom way, fumbling Stewart needs some of Dean’s charisma and narcissistic Dean needs some of Stewart’s groundedness. Together they’re an unstoppable team. Well, at least when it comes to petty disputes in the local courthouse.
Is this show any good? Just as he did in his recent Sundance movie The D Train, creator Jarrad Paul (with co-creator Andrew Mogel) really gets the frisson between big city life and rural American ideals. The funny here, of course, comes from these two worlds colliding and how much each brother really wants to be just like the other. Dean is also an excellent character, someone who is almost completely vacuous but still believes his own hype.
How is Rob Lowe? After his stint on Parks and Recreation, we all knew he could do comedy, but this honestly might be his best role ever. He plays Dean’s calculated smarm with such precise calibration that the audience loves him and finds him a complete buffoon in equal measure. It’s such a wonderful balancing act that is all done through facial expressions and intonations. He even pulls off one of the better hashtag jokes I’ve seen in some time. Seriously, this guy should win an Emmy.
Does he look better than Stamos? Lowe is 51 and actually does a shirtless scene in his show, but I think Stamos might win by a hair.
How is Fred Savage? We haven’t seen him in ages. His last role in front of the camera was in 2006’s forgettable sitcom Crumbs. He’s been working as a prolific sitcom director for ages. Maybe all that focus on other actors is why he’s so great as the irascible pushover Stewart. Lowe’s Dean is obviously the flashier character, but Savage still manages to land some solid laughs in what is presumably the straight man role.
So this show is good? It’s not just good, it’s pretty damn great. The situation seems more than a bit outlandish initially, but the characters and the comedy are so winning that you won’t really care. The pilot is near perfect, setting up the brothers’ relationship on just the right side of sentimental. You can see that the city mouse, country mouse routine could fuel a comedy like this for significantly longer than the nine seasons The Grinder got.
Are there any problems with it? It’s only one episode, but to be really successful, we’re going to have to see more from the secondary characters like the boys’ father Dean Sr (William Devane), Stewart’s wife Debbie (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) and his two kids (Hanna Hayes and Connor Kalopsis).
Should you watch this show? OMG, absolutely. There aren’t that many comedies this fall season, and so far these are clearly the best of the bunch. Between these two and The Last Man on Earth, Fox is suddenly the place for off-kilter comedy. Who ever would have thought that two veterans in their 50s would be doing the freshest material on television?
