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
Sunday, November 9
Universal Basic Guys - "Hoagie Jones" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark and Hank buy a horse together; Tammy invests in a painting.
The Simpsons - "Bart 'N' Frink" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Bart becomes Professor Frink's lab assistant, the Simpsons are thrown into a world of tech billionaires determined to live forever.
Krapopolis - "Plague and Fury" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Tyrannis gets a new girlfriend whose job becomes a problem for him; Deliria and Hippocampus deal with a plague.
Bob's Burgers - "Get Her to the Zeke" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tina tries to set up Zeke on a date; the rest of the Belchers contend with a super rat.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 3)
Friday, November 7
- Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This/Central Park/The Good Place) - Watch Kristen on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb) - Dave is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Janelle James (Abbott Elementary) - Janelle dishes on ABC's Abbott Elementary on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn chats about Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Modern Living with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere/Nightcap) - Jeff talks about Lost and Found in Cleveland and Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Taran Killam (Stumble/Single Parents) and Jenn Lyon (Stumble/Saint George) - Taran and Jenn talk about Stumble on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Lil Rel Howery (Rel/The Carmichael Show) - Lil Rel, Tabitha Brown and the cast of the new holiday movie Unexpected Christmas stop by Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Drew Drew sits down and chats with Laura on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sydney Sweeney (Everything Sucks!) - Sydney talks about her new movie Christy on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Rachel Sennott (I Love LA/Call Your Mother) - Rachel tells Drew about her upcoming show I Love LA on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listirngs.
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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