Photo Credit: Ray Mickshaw/FOX
Starring Emmy Award nominee Rob Lowe (“Parks and Recreation,” “The West Wing”) and Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Fred Savage (“The Wonder Years”), THE GRINDER is a new comedy about two brothers: one a spotlight-grabbing actor who plays TV’s most popular lawyer and the other, a real-life, small-town attorney who has yet to find his spotlight.
DEAN SANDERSON, JR. (Lowe) spent eight seasons playing the title role on the hit legal drama “The Grinder.” When his series ends, he decides to move back to his hometown of Boise, Idaho, where his brother, STEWART (Savage), is poised to take over the family law firm.
Despite having no law degree, no license to practice and no experience in an actual courtroom, Dean’s charisma and flair for the dramatic make him absolutely certain he has something to contribute to the firm. As Dean puts it, “Let’s say you’re at a restaurant and Noah Wyle is two tables down. You go into cardiac arrest. You don’t think Noah Wyle could step in and help?”
It doesn’t take long for Dean to start inserting himself into every aspect of Stewart’s life, both in the courtroom and at home, and all to the amusement of Stewart’s wife, DEBBIE (Mary Elizabeth Ellis, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”); their two kids, 15-year-old LIZZIE (Hana Hayes, “Bucket and Skinner’s Epic Adventures”) and 13-year-old ETHAN (Connor Kalopsis, “Days Of Our Lives”); Dean and Stewart’s father, the law firm’s head, DEAN SR. (William Devane, “24: Live Another Day”) and the office’s tough-to-impress counselor, CLAIRE (Natalie Morales (“Parks and Recreation”), who remains unfazed by Dean’s celebrity.
Dean and Stewart don’t see to eye to eye, but when they stop arguing with each other and start arguing together in court…they make a formidable team. THE GRINDER is the story of two brothers, who took different paths, but meet again in the middle – for justice…sort of.
The Grinder is probably the most meta comedy you’ll catch all season. It almost feels like a satire of Hollywood and the relationship us regular folk have with Hollywood while also being a comedy about a family in the shadows of a celebrity. What makes this even more hysterical is that the person in the shadows is Dean’s brother, Stewart who is in fact a lawyer and not just one who plays a lawyer on TV like Dean.
This sounds and looks as amusing as it is, which is very much so! If you’re on the fence about checking this out, watch it. You will laugh. You will be taken aback by the ridiculousness that is Dean and feel for Stewart who must deal with his brother coming back to town after living the life in Hollywood. But most importantly, you will root for them both. You will want to see what becomes of the relationship between the brothers as well as what becomes of the town due to Dean or The Grinder’s longterm stay. How will Dean handle attempting to become a real life lawyer? How will those around him react because of it?
There is a playground of imagination with this concept here so I am very much anticipating seeing what happens next and especially wondering what the writers have planned for the long run. For now though, I’m all in and very much looking forward to the next episode with this amazing cast of characters! Don’t miss the premiere so that I won’t be alone in this excitement!