Grandfathered and Grinder premier on FOX

Having a lead-in did not boost Scream Queens (1.4), which slipped -18% from its two-hour premiere. All of a sudden, my son has shown up, and it’s like Fred disappears. It was all going great. 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. “Everybody on this is a killer with tremendous knowledge and taste”, says Lowe.

Rob Lowe and John Stamos inject the Fox schedule with a few much-needed razzle-dazzle.

SAVAGE: Honestly, I didn’t.

The new Fall TV season is upon us! I couldn’t be more thrilled.

“After reading the script and meeting with the guys, it seemed like a really fun way to spend a week”. Making a comedy is one thing. “He wants what the people in this town have – or at least THINKS he does”. I really liked the character. It’s about these two brothers, and fathers and sons, and husbands and wives. He goes, “Oh no, no, this is for you to act”. I was obsessed with Wayne’s World in Junior High. We’re really happy with the show, so far.

“Written by series creators Andrew Mogel (“Allen Gregory“) and Jarrad Paul (“Living with Fran”)”, The Grinder” (8:30 tonight, WPGH) sets up a decent one-joke premise – actors, they’re so vain! – but it remains to be seen whether there’s more comedy to wring out of that joke in subsequent episodes.

Harden explains that a “code black” is the situation in the emergency room when there are more patients than there are doctors and beds to take care of them. Stewart sees Dean as a guy who is respected and admired and fawned over and listened to.

Though he’s playing the stereotypical actor type, Lowe says what attracted him to the project was the exact opposite sentiment. Will Dean just recycle old TV plots to win in court every week? Is that a good thing? It’s law, but it’s not made for TV law. (William Devane). Asked his opinion of the episode, Stewart tells Dean, “It felt as real as all the other ones”.

SAVAGE: Oh, no, not at all. So I read it, and I’m like “Oh, my God, this is fantastic, it’s hysterical”. He’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I feel we all have our favorite media moments growing up, as viewed from shows that we are nostalgic for and love. Dean has it all: fame, money, fans and success. Despite the fact that Dean isn’t a real attorney, he’s familiar with legal jargon and knows how to work a crowd.

Brothers played by Fred Savage (left), as a lawyer, and Rob Lowe, …

SAVAGE: There is absolutely no similarity.

The new FOX show The Grinder has a lot of on-camera chemistry and star power.

Even if the writing weren’t as sharp as it is, The Grinder would probably work – thanks to the strengths of its talented leads.

Rob Lowe’s smartest career move occurred the day he stopped taking himself seriously.

The aforementioned show within the show is also called “The Grinder“.

“I’ve been in recovery, I’m sober now for 25 years”. You want to find different approaches. You try and kind of lose yourself in it a little bit. There’s a lot of lee-way.

Now that the show has ended, Dean is at loose ends.

Is there a chance Danica McKellar might guest star on the show, and would you be into that? That’s incredibly encouraging and really validating. On The Grinder, though, he proves that his comic timing – honed by six seasons on The Wonder Years – is as keen onscreen as it is behind the camera.

“Your honor, this is insanity”, he says at one point.

Yeah I mean, sure…

SAVAGE: I certainly hope to.

The biggest hitch, they agree, to their burgeoning relationship: Rob Lowe’s legendary, age-defying, extreme good looks.

But the network has wisely paired the ’80s-spawned heartthrobs in a winning comedy block that begins Tuesday at 8 p.m.