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

    Wednesday, September 27

    Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Big Thanks Little Thanks" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
    Leah tasks Sandra with making the Thanksgiving turkey, but Sandra's got no clue how to cook and there are a lot of hangry residents ready to revolt. Anastasia struggles to cope when an old friend passes away.

    Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Super Senior" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
    Anastasia decides to go back to college, but quickly discovers how much things have changed since she was last on campus. The rival facility across the street challenges the Pleasant Days crew to a walk-a-thon for charity.

    Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "By Any Means Necessary" (BET, 10:00PM ET/PT)
    Chilecia becomes Jeremy's good luck charm in poker but it hinders Philip's relationship while voting differences cause an argument between all generations at the facility.

    The Ms. Pat Show - "Body Aches and Body Shakes" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
    Brandon's past comes back to haunt him when he decides to switch his career path; Terry gets a little too friendly with a colleague at work.

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    • Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Watch Howie on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
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    • Richard Kind (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Spin City/Mad About You) - Richard appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
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