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

    Monday, September 16

    English Teacher - "School Safety" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
    Evan tries to get a new school club to shut down.

    Complete TV Listings

    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 16)

    Monday, September 16

    • Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Watch Don on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - Ana appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Paul Feig (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Louie Show/The Jackie Thomas Show/Dirty Dancing) - Paul is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
    • Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - E! News has an interview with Demi at 11pm on E!.
    • Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) - Lily talks about Emily in Paris on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
    • Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer talks about An American Story: Everyone's Invited on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
    • Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street/The Tony Danza Show) - Tony about his brand-new show, Tony Danza: Sinatra & Stories on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • Eve (Eve) - Eve opens up in her new memoir, Who's That Girl?, on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
    • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke discusses the Thrive@50+ campaign on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
    • Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Justina, so check your local listings.

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