# Grounded for Life (2001)

> A 32-year-old Staten Island father of three, with a teenage daughter, struggles to balance responsibility against his urge to stay irresponsible while his judgmental father and carefree brother add chaos.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4500

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 91
- Episode runtime: 22 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, family
- Created by: Mike Schiff, Bill Martin
- Network: FOX, The WB
- Cast: Donal Logue, Megyn Price, Kevin Corrigan, Lynsey Bartilson, Griffin Frazen, Jake Burbage, Bret Harrison, Richard Riehle
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255734/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: breezy, wry, warm, chaotic, comforting

## What critics say

Audiences rated the family sitcom positively for its chaotic, interrupting family banter and warm ensemble chemistry.

## Synopsis

Grounded for Life (2001-2005) is a US network family sitcom created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin for FOX and The WB. Donal Logue plays Sean Finnerty, a Staten Island man who got his high school girlfriend pregnant and now, at 32, is raising a 14-year-old daughter and two young sons with his wife Claudia, played by Megyn Price. His judgmental father Walt (Richard Riehle) and devil-may-care brother Eddie (Kevin Corrigan) are no help at all, and Kevin Corrigan's Eddie in particular keeps the household off balance. The engine of the show is Sean's constant tug of war between the need to be responsible and his desperate wish to be irresponsible, played out in everyday family flashpoints, money worries and cramped rooms where any conversation turns into a dispute. Each episode is a self-contained family comedy built from these gatherings, where stories start to fly and never finish. Shot in a brisk multi-camera style, the series runs for five seasons and ninety-one episodes, mixing warm, wry and sharp tones with a working class Irish American texture. Fans of Everybody Loves Raymond, Married... with Children and The Wonder Years will find the same blend of bickering affection and blue collar parenting comedy.

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- ['Til Death (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/1478)
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- [Lucky Louie (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/4319)
- [Surviving Jack (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54224)
- [Everybody Loves Raymond (1996)](https://ember.film/tv/2029)
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- [Man with a Plan (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/59115)
- [8 Simple Rules (2002)](https://ember.film/tv/4029)

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