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
Monday, September 15
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Pickleball" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The new neighbors who moved into Miss Kim’s old house are keeping the Butlers and Johnsons up all night. Meanwhile, Courtney tells Marty she is going on a date.
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Pickle" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Johnsons and Butlers are curious about their new neighbors’ lifestyle and their interest raises some surprising questions. Also, Marty feels pressure to enroll Daphne in the best preschool.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 15)
Monday, September 15
- Frank Grillo (Battery Park) - Watch Frank on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Zach Cherry (Duncanville/I Feel Bad/Crashing) and Pete Holmes (How We Roll/Crashing) - Zach and Pete are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer and Reese Witherspoon talk about The Morning Show on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - NBC's Today catches up with Michelle in the 10am hour.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his latest movie Adulthood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Queen Latifah (Living Single) - Queen Latifah is getting real with Drew about women's health on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) - Sarah appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Lacey Chabert (Still the King/Baby Daddy/Family Guy) - Lacey is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
- Persia White (Girlfriends) - Persia appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.
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)
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