Lowe and Savage, back in the grind.
Debuting Tuesday, The Grinder might not be the flashiest new fall comedy in a year when The Muppets have made a return to primetime TV, but its pilot sets it up to be one of the most solid new shows premiering in 2015.
The Grinder was eye-catching from its conception when it cast Fred Savage (The Wonder Years, The Princess Bride) and Rob Lowe (Parks and Recreation, The West Wing) to play two brothers clashing in the courtroom. Savage portrays Stewart Sanderson, a small town lawyer who might need cue cards to help him rush through his defense but who spent years studying to be the most knowledgable attorney around. Lowe is his foil as Dean Sanderson, an actor known best for playing a lawyer on TV in the show The Grinder (yes, the same name as this series) who knows how to make law jargon sound awesome even if he doesn’t know how to accurately use it.
It’s only when Dean comes home to visit Stewart’s family after The Grinder wraps its nine-season run that he realizes his true post-Hollywood calling is to join his younger brother in running their family law firm. Stewart isn’t so keen on the idea; he’s obviously been jealous of his brother’s success as a TV lawyer for years, and is quick to point out that Dean doesn’t even have a law degree. Though they end up on the same side of the courtroom by the end of the pilot, it’s clear this conflict of knowledge bases is the backbone of the series.
Rob Lowe and Fred Savage in The Grinder.
The concept of The Grinder could quickly veer into cheesy territory if Savage and Lowe weren’t having such fun in the show. Lowe is right at home in this role after a successful run on Parks and Recreation — he even sneaks in a Chris Traeger-style “lit-erally” in The Grinder’s first episode — and he’s as charismatic to watch on screen opposite Savage as he is opposite newcomer Connor Kalopsis, who plays Stewart’s young son Ethan.
The same can be said for Savage, who knows when to loosen up with Stewart’s curmudgeonly act to allow him to remain likable. He splits his time on screen between scenes with Lowe and Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), who plays Stewart’s wife Debbie. The only two central characters who don’t get much time to shine in the pilot are William Devane as Stewart and Dean’s father Dean Sr. and Hana Hays as Stewart’s daughter Lizzie; presumably their characters will get a chance to come to the forefront soon.
There’s plenty of potential for growth established in The Grinder’s pilot, and I’m excited to see how the FOX series builds on its strengths moving forward. The set up for episodic cases-of-the-week where Stewart and Dean have to work together to solve small town conflicts is pretty funny, which is a total credit to Lowe and Savage. Lowe’s delivery of Stewart’s straight-out-of-TV dialogue is hilarious, and the concept that the town is so ready for excitement that they’re OK with bending the rules to spice up their courtroom proceedings allows the audience to go along for the ride. Savage lets Stewart get in on the fun when he pulls a last minute resolution of their joint case in the pilot, allowing him to be The Grinder, if only for a minute.
Though The Grinder is laugh-out-loud funny at moments in its pilot and its writing is sharp, the biggest problem is its first episode moves too quickly in its 24-minute runtime. The series hits its plot bullet points with a punch and then zips on to the next one without letting the comedy beats resonate. Case in point, Dean is barely done watching The Grinder series finale with Stewart’s family in the series’ opening scene before he’s decided he envies his brother’s life, and four minutes later he’s already inserting himself into Stewart’s real-life cases. While this is much better than the alternative, a comedy pilot that drags, hopefully the show takes time to slow down in future episodes now that the heavy lifting is out of the way. These characters are fun to hang out with – now it’s time to get to know them.
Thanks to fun characters and funny performances from its leads, The Grinder successfully navigates the obstacles presented by comedy pilots. It has set up a solid foundation with a likable family and an engaging case-of-the-week premise. Now it just needs to take a breath and have some fun introducing viewers to the Sandersons. If The Grinder maintains its quality writing and Savage and Lowe keep having this much fun in their roles, FOX’s new series could become appointment comedy TV viewing.
The Grinder premieres Tuesday, September 29th on FOX.
