Friday, March 02, 2007
FOX Mid-Season Pilot Review: The Winner - Premieres March 4; 'Cheers' Star Joins 'Dancing with the Stars'!
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.
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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.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, October 16
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Tie Breaker and a Huge Mistake" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tensions rise in the tire store when new co-owners Georgie and Ruben realize they can’t agree on anything, and Jim struggles to find his purpose now that he’s retired.
Ghosts - "Soul Custody" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam, Jay and the ghosts attempt to extricate Jay from his deal with Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), the devil. Also, Isaac helps Patience (Mary Holland) through a crisis of confidence and Pete and Alberta navigate the fallout from their kiss.
English Teacher - "Lock In" (FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The teachers oversee the school's overnight lock-in.
English Teacher - "Graduation" (FX, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The teachers try to prevent a student prank from ruining graduation.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 13)
Thursday, October 16
- Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Catch Maya on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Roy Wood Jr. (Sullivan & Son) - Roy is a guest Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Nick appers on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. NBC's Today catches up with Nick in the 9am hour. He also talks about Little Woodchucks with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Billy Gardell (Bob Hearts Abishola/Mike & Molly/Yes, Dear) - Billy is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Bette Midler (Bette) - Andy Cohen interviews Bette on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Laurence Fishburne (black-ish) - Laurence talks about The Witcher with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) - Co-host Gayle King sits down with Jeremy on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Janet Hubert (Demascus/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Janet discusses her new Tubi series Demascus on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Lil Rel Howery (Rel/The Carmichael Show) - Lil Rel and Tabitha Brown discuss their film Unexpected Christmas on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Aziz Ansari (Master of None/Parks and Recreation) - Aziz tells Drew about his new movie Good Fortune on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
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