They’re gonna need a fuller house.
John Stamos is back on TV, and though the pilot of Grandfathered does include one big wink to his well-regarded time on Full House via a certain cameo, the new FOX series is clearly a way for the 52-year-old actor to show off a different set of skills.
In Grandfathered, Stamos’s Jimmy is a savvy restaurant owner who is trying to keep both his restaurant young and hip. It’s only when his go-to line — that the one thing he’s missing in his life is a family — comes to find him that his priorities start to shift.
It doesn’t take long in Grandfathered’s pilot for Jimmy’s dream of a family to become very, very real. After establishing Jimmy as a consummate, successful bachelor, his previously unknown son Gerald (Drake and Josh’s Josh Peck) arrives in his life with his own child, baby daughter Edie. Gerald is the son of Jimmy’s former flame from his 20s, Sara (Criminal Minds and Community’s Paget Brewster), and it’s clear Jimmy still holds a torch for her.
Christina Milian, Josh Peck, John Stamos, Paget Brewster, Ravi Patel and Kelly Jenrette in Grandfathered.
Jimmy’s dilemma is whether he should make space for his new family inside of his already full life – and the simple answer is “yes.” It’s a credit to Grandfathered creator Daniel Chun that the series doesn’t drag out whether Jimmy wants to know his son; he quickly realizes there has to be a place for Gerald and Edie in his life, and the comedy comes from him trying to set those boundaries.
And thus he finds himself in a similar situation to “Full House,” where he suddenly finds his life full of his son, his granddaughter, his ex from his 20s and the mother of Gerald’s baby who is keeping him friend-zoned, Vanessa (Christina Milian). Grandfathered sets up its heart right in the pilot, and the final scene of the episode rams home that this show is going to be about Jimmy growing with his modern family. Stamos is best in scenes where Jimmy spends time with Gerald and Edie during a day at the lake and where he babysits his young granddaughter so Gerald can go on a date. Jimmy might play like he’s as edgy as Jesse Katsopolis, but inside he’s a total softie.
While this is a great role for Stamos, it’s Brewster who is the standout in the pilot episode. She is fantastic as Sara, who is self-aware that she is “cool” but also isn’t afraid to be a stereotypical protective mom — but only if the audience and Jimmy acknowledges that she’s better than that. Her great chemistry with Stamos and fairly significant screen time seems to be the biggest tip off that Grandfathered will be as much about Jimmy developing a relationship with Gerald as it is him rekindling his romance with Sara. While that might seem like an easy route for the story to follow, it feels earned after the pilot and gives the series some romantic forward momentum to make it more than just a family comedy.
If there is a fault with the Grandfathered pilot, it’s that it doesn’t do enough to set itself apart from others of its kind. The unique quality of the series is in its title: Stamos plays a grandfather who discovers late in life he has a family he doesn’t know about. Beyond that the pilot feels fairly by-the-numbers, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Grandfathered definitely has room to grow, and a strong foundation from which to do so.
Grandfathered offers John Stamos a chance to do something new on TV and is an enjoyable take on the “modern family” storytelling device. Josh Peck and Paget Brewster round out a great cast, and both have great chemistry with the FOX series’ lead. What Grandfathered needs to do to set itself apart from others of its kind is lean into what makes it unique and not fall back into familiar family comedy tropes.
Grandfathered premieres Tuesday, September 29th on FOX.
