Friday, March 02, 2007

FOX Mid-Season Pilot Review: The Winner - Premieres March 4; 'Cheers' Star Joins 'Dancing with the Stars'!

The Winner

The Winner - Sundays at 8:30PM and 9:30 PM ET/PT for three weeks on FOX
Premieres March 4th at 8:30PM ET/PT

The summer of 1994 was a magical one – O.J. Simpson was on the run, Snoop Dogg was climbing the charts, Olympic hopeful Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the knee and 32-year-old GLEN ABBOTT (Rob Corddry) was finally on his way to becoming a man.

Back in 1994, when the series begins, Glen is still living with his parents when the only girl he’d ever kissed, ALISON McKELLAR (Erinn Hayes), returns to town with her 13-year-old son JOSH (Keir Gilchrist). The recently divorced Alison inspires Glen to become a “grown-up” and win her heart. There may be hope for late-bloomers everywhere as Glen moves through his formative years a mere 20 years later than most. But, hey, some people’s “Wonder Years” just happen a little later.

Luckily, Glen doesn’t have to go through this awkward period alone. He becomes best friends with Josh – a fellow hypochondriac and the only person he can truly relate to – and receives parental advice from his enabling mother IRENE (Linda Hart) and quasi-rage-aholic dad RON (Lenny Clarke). As narrated by present-day Glen, this story proves that an unlikely underdog can eventually transform from fear-riddled underachiever to the richest man in Buffalo.

THE WINNER comes from 20th Century Fox Television and is executive-produced by Seth MacFarlane (FAMILY GUY, AMERICAN DAD) and Ricky Blitt (FAMILY GUY, “The Ringer”).

Cast: Rob Corddry as Glen Abbott, Erinn Hayes as Alison McKellar, Lenny Clarke as Rob Abbott, Keir Gilchrist as Josh McKellar, Linda Hart as Irene Abbott

Read our review of the pilot and other episodes here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Sunday on our message board.

Related Links:

  • FOX.com Official Site
  • TV.com
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • The Winner Photo Gallery

    Looks like I got my wish! A former sitcom star is joining Dancing with the Stars. Following the departure of Sopranos star Vincent Pastore, the producers of Dancing has chosen none other than John Ratzenberger, of Cheers fame. John of course played the mailman Cliff on the hit sitcom. Everybody knows his name and I'm sure fans are glad that he came! Show producers had previously extended an invitation to him to participate this season, but a scheduling conflict prevented him from accepting until now. He takes on the added challenge of having less time to train than his fellow competitors before the series premieres – two weeks versus four. The series' fourth season premieres March 19 on ABC.
    Read the details here.
    Posted by Todd -- SitcomsOnline.com at 9:20 AM

    • Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Tuesday, November 18

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    Complete TV Listings

    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 17)

    Tuesday, November 18

    • Rhea Seehorn (Whitney/I'm with Her) - Catch Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Josh Hutcherson (Future Man) - Josh is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Ted Danson (A Man on the Inside/Mr. Mayor/The Good Place/Bored to Death/Help Me Help You/Becker/Ink/Cheers) - Ted appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Greta is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
    • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
    • Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel talks about Every Brilliant Thing on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
    • Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica talks about The Christmas Campaign on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
    • Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - Ana drops by the studio to talk aboout her new album on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
    • Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom talks about This World of Tomorrow on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
    • Craig Robinson (Killing It/Ghosted/Mr. Robinson/The Office/Lucky) - Craig tells Sherri about his new animated Netflix film In Your Dreams and his upcoming appearance on FOX's Celebrity Name That Tune on Sherri, so check your local listings.
    • Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) and Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Oliver and Drew are hitting the headlines at the news desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.

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