The Grinder is an American legal sitcom television series created by Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel for Fox. The show was picked up to series on May 8, 2015, and aired from September 29, 2015 to May 10, 2016. On October 15, 2015, Fox ordered six additional scripts for the first season, potentially increasing the season order to 19 episodes. On October 27, 2015, Fox ordered a full season of 22 episodes for the first season.
Despite being acclaimed by critics and viewers, the show never achieved high ratings. On May 16, 2016, Fox canceled the series after one season.
Contents
Plot
The series follows television actor Dean Sanderson Jr., who returns to his hometown of Boise, Idaho, after his long-running fictional television series, The Grinder, ends after eight seasons. Though Dean is not a lawyer, he believes that his experience playing one on television makes him qualified to practice law. He decides to join his family's law firm, Sanderson & Yao, much to the chagrin of his younger brother Stewart, who is an actual lawyer. Stewart and a new hire named Claire are the only people who seem to comprehend that Dean's television experience does not qualify him for a job at a real law firm.
Cast
Main
Rob Lowe as Dean Sanderson Jr., an actor who played the role of attorney Mitch Grinder on the long-running fictional legal drama series The Grinder
Fred Savage as Stewart Sanderson, Dean's younger brother who is a real life attorney
Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Debbie Sanderson, Stewart's wife and Dean's sister-in-law
William Devane as Dean Sanderson Sr., the patriarch of the Sanderson family, Dean and Stewart's father and head of the law firm
Natalie Morales as Claire Lacoste, a new associate in the Jefferson, Sanderson, & Holt law firm who is resistant to Dean's romantic advances
Hana Hayes as Lizzie Sanderson, Stewart and Debbie's 15-year-old daughter
Connor Kalopsis as Ethan Sanderson, Stewart and Debbie's 12-year-old son
Recurring
Steve Little as Todd, an attorney of questionable skill who works at Jefferson, Sanderson, & Holt, and is also a huge fan of Dean's
John Owen Lowe as Joel Zadack, Lizzie's boyfriend, they eventually break up after becoming more comfortable hanging out with her family
Jason Alexander as Cliff Bemis, the creator and head writer for The Grinder TV show, whose constant disagreements with Dean led to Dean leaving the show
Kumail Nanjiani as Leonard, a prosecuting attorney who gets humiliated by Dean in the courtroom
Timothy Olyphant as a fictionalized version of himself who becomes Dean's nemesis; he assumes the starring role of Rake Grinder on The Grinder: New Orleans after convincing Dean to quit the show, and then begins dating Claire
Maya Rudolph as Jillian, Stewart and Dean's therapist, who later becomes Dean's girlfriend, much to Stewart's chagrin
Matt Hobby as Pat Landy
Kenny Lucas as Cory Manler, a former Sanderson & Yao client who sues the firm for malpractice
Keith Lucas as Rory Manler, twin brother of Cory Manler
Reception
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the season has a rating of 93%, based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Grinder's humor is buoyed by Rob Lowe and Fred Savage's chemistry as a hilarious new odd couple." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 71 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".