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.

  • Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Saturday, December 6

    none scheduled

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 1)

    Friday, December 5

    • Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This/Central Park/The Good Place) and Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Watch Kristen and Dax on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George talks about Jay Kelly on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
    • James Van Der Beek (Friends with Better Lives/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - James appears on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
    • Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie and Ed Burns talk about The Family McMullen on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
    • Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Mario is a guest on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
    • Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

    01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series (DVD)
    03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
    04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
    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 (DVD)
    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 (DVD)
    10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
    11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

    More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


    Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

    12/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair; Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery
    12/05 - FETV Acquires The Carol Burnett Show Uncut; Hey A.J.! Coming to Disney Jr.
    12/04 - COZI TV Acquires The Jeff Foxworthy Show; Hulu Renews Chad Powers for Season 2
    12/03 - MeTV January 2026 Schedule; Netflix's My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Season 6 Guests
    12/02 - MeTV Acquires Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart & Hawaii Five-O; Apple TV's The First Snow of Fraggle Rock Trailer
    12/01 - MeTV to Announce Four New Shows; Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Draws 25 Million Viewers on NBC
    11/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 1, 2025)
    11/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Scrubs Reboot; Mad Men Coming to HBO Max
    11/28 - Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Encores Tonight (11/28); Hulu's Smash Hit Renewed for Quick 4th Season
    11/27 - 2025 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
    11/26 - ABC's Scrubs First Teaser During Dancing with the Stars Finale; Eva Green Joins Wednesday Season 3
    11/25 - COZI TV Acquires Malcolm & Eddie and The Steve Harvey Show; 53rd International Emmy® Awards Winners
    11/24 - Antenna TV's All-You-Can Eat Wings for Thanksgiving Marathon; Rewind TV's Serving Up the Seavers with a Thanksgiving Day Growing Pains Marathon
    11/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 24, 2025)
    11/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Disney+ Offers New Simpsons Streaming Channel; Final Eight Unaired Episodes of Joey on YouTube
    11/21 - HBO Renews Comedies The Chair Company and I Love LA; Kelly and Mark to Host International Emmy® Awards
    11/20 - The CW Midseason 2026 Schedule; Sarah Sherman HBO Max Special
    11/19 - Tubi's Comedy Mo' Waffles Premieres December 19; 78th Emmy® Awards Set for September 14, 2026
    11/18 - CBS Midseason 2026 Schedule; SNL Closes Out 2025 with 3 Episodes in December
    11/17 - NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center Lineup; Prime Video Gets Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson for Sports Talk Show
    11/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 17, 2025)
    11/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Orders Pilot From Brooklyn Nine-Nine Team; FX Cancels English Teacher
    11/14 - Disney's Hulu's Family Guy's Hallmark Channel's Lifetime's Familiar Holiday Movie; Mad Men Coming to HBO Max in 4K
    11/13 - Antenna TV Re-Acquires One Day at a Time and Sanford and Son; Season 2 of the Wild Series It's Florida, Man
    11/12 - Fox Midseason 2026 Schedule; Hulu's Tell Me Lies Season 3 Premiere Date
    11/11 - Cast Announced for Netflix's A Different World Sequel; Hulu's Sebastian Maniscalco Special Trailer
    11/10 - ABC's New Game Show The Greatest Average American; Prime Video Christmas Movie
    11/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 10, 2025)
    11/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox and Sony Developing Reimagined Bewitched; Samsung TV Plus Launching AFV Channel
    11/07 - TBS and TNT Holiday Schedule; Hulu's Back 'Four' More Reasonable Doubt; Remembering Diane Ladd of Alice
    11/06 - Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas 2025 Schedule; Single Drunk Female Star Gets Hulu Film