The Grinder

Please sign my petition to renew The Grinder for Season 2 on Netflix. Even Rob Lowe tweeted about this petition. Deb, Lizzie, Zadack and Kristen Schaal also liked the petition on Twitter. It's a very funny show that makes me laugh out loud. Some people think this show is cheesy but the cheesiness is why the show is funny. It's supposed to be cheesy the way William Devane always supports Dean over Stu. Todd is hilarious how he idolizes The Grinder. My favorite part was when Dean was interviewing to be The Grinder and he thought the full name of the character was Mitchard. The link is on my Twitter page that directs you to Change.org :

www.twitter.com/TheGrinderer

Dean Sanderson (Rob Lowe) leaves his TV show The Grinder portraying a lawyer to return home to Boise, Idaho and his family's law firm. His father (William Devane) is happy but his brother Stewart Sanderson (Fred Savage) is leery of the non-lawyer playing law expert. Stewart's family, wife Debbie (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), kids Lizzie (Hana Hayes), and Ethan Sanderson (Connor Kalopsis) are more accepting. Co-worker Claire Lacoste (Natalie Morales) is dismissive and Todd (Steve Little) is a sycophant.

This is better than the regular stuff from the networks. The Lowe Savage pairing is fun and endearing. Lowe gives the perfect delivery. Dean is a great character. It is a real disappointment that the show got canceled after one season.

For once! All of Rob Lowe's energetic support of this new show was more than backed up in the pilot. This was fun and fulfilling. I loved all the characters, especially Lowe, Savage, and Devane! Excellent storyline to start the series. The story and pace kept moving right along. The humor had perfect timing. Rob Lowe is like a "fine wine", he ages quite well! I liked him in "West Wing" but this is going to be fun. And it has a lot of heart. And Fred Savage was a real surprise for me. I like his brother role. When a show that moves along like this, cute, humorous moments, connectivity, and then you can feel a few tears well up in the end! Well, that really suits me! Thank you SO MUCH!!

"The Grinder" was a one-season series that starred Rob Lowe as a TV lawyer who comes home to his family and decides to practice law with his brother (Fred Savage) and father (William Devane).

Dean Sanderson worked for eight seasons on a hit TV show, "The Grinder," whose final words in court were "The Grinder rests." Back home in Idaho, his brother, Stewart, has his own law firm and practices with their dad. All is well until Dean, the fair-haired, can-do-no-wrong son, comes home, moves in with Stewart, his wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), father, and two children, and wants to practice law.

Very funny show that for some reason didn't make it. Rob Lowe is great as a delusional, over the top actor given to dramatic statements. Savage does a wonderful job as his hapless brother who has to put up with people befriending him to meet his brother, judges allowing Dean to talk in court, and his father encouraging Dean's legal fantasies. The office people - Natalie Morales and Steve Little -- are very funny, Morales who can't take Dean seriously, and Little, who loves him.

At one point, the network brings on Timothy Olyphant to play The Grinder's brother.

Each episode begins with a scene from "The Grinder."

Clever, excellent acting, entertaining, sorry this was only one season.

There seems to be a trend at the moment for comedy shows (particularly those from out cousins across the pond) to show situations that are painfully embarrassing for the protagonist, and then dragging those moments out far too long to remain interesting or even amusing - they're just painful and sad.

This show is different. Sure, there're similar moments, but they remain funny by not being overly laboured and they're mixed in with other types of humour - I have a smile on my face throughout, and genuinely laugh out loud frequently - that's not typical for me; I'm really enjoying this show.

The basic premise is, of course, utterly ridiculous, and is both ridiculed and legitimised by other characters in the show. It's predictable, but in the most delightful way, doesn't demand too much of the viewer, but still doesn't come across as dumb, or that it expects the viewer lacks the intelligence for more sophisticated humour. It just works, and after watching an episode I feel entertained, happier, more upbeat; it does everything a comedy show should, and I can't wait for the show's return in the new year.