# The Grinder (2015)

> A canceled TV lawyer star moves home to run his family's small-town law firm, certain his screen fame qualifies him for the job.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/56375

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 22
- Episode runtime: 21 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel
- Network: FOX
- Cast: Rob Lowe, Fred Savage, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, William Devane, Hana Hayes, Connor Kalopsis, Steve Little, Natalie Morales
- TMDB rating: 7.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4481322/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: breezy, self mocking, satirical, light

## What critics say

Audiences rated the single season positively, appreciating its comedic take on a washed-up television lawyer returning home to a family law firm.

## Synopsis

The Grinder (2015-2016) is an American single-camera workplace sitcom created by Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel for FOX. Rob Lowe plays Dean Sanderson, a television lawyer whose hit legal series has just been canceled, and who returns to his small hometown convinced that playing a lawyer on screen has prepared him to run his family's law firm. His brother Stewart Sanderson, played by Fred Savage, has spent years keeping the practice running, and their rivalry drives most episodes as Dean brings celebrity swagger into real courtroom and office routines. The family's parents and the firm's staff, including Debbie Sanderson played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis, widen the household chaos. Each brisk twenty-two-minute episode is built around a small client problem or local dispute that Dean mishandles with confidence. The series is a single season of 22 episodes that ends on an unresolved note. Its tone is breezy and self-mocking, with a satirical eye on television vanity and sibling bickering. Fans of 30 Rock, Suits and The Good Wife will find resonance in its blend of showbiz satire and legal workplace comedy.

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