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The Winner (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Winner, stylized on the title card as the winner, is an American
television series that premiered on Fox
on March 4, 2007. It is a comedy about a successful man named Glen Abbott (played by Rob Corddry
) looking back to the time when he was in his thirties and living with his parents in 1994 Buffalo, New York
.
Other cast members include Erinn Hayes
as Alison, Keir Gilchrist
as Alison's son, Josh, Lenny Clarke
as Glen's father, Ron, and Linda Hart
as Glen's mother, Irene. The show is produced by Ricky Blitt
and Seth MacFarlane
, who are also producers of Family Guy
.
The working title of this series was Becoming Glen. A pilot
was made for Fox in 2002 starring Johnny Galecki
as Glen. It also starred Samantha Mathis
, Gerald McRaney
and Sally Struthers
. The pilot was not picked up. However, the resurgence of Family Guy and the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin
in 2005 helped Blitt get a chance at making another pilot.
At Family Guy Live in Montreal on July 21, 2007, Seth MacFarlane said "It is looking like there could be a future life for The Winner". However, the series was officially cancelled on May 16, 2007.
Ron Abbott: The disappointed father of Glen Abbott and unhappy husband of Irene Abbott. His personality is comparable to Frank Barone of Everybody Loves Raymond
or Frank Costanza of Seinfeld, although to a lesser degree.
Josh McKeller: The son of Alison McKeller and friend of Glen Abbott. Glen and Josh are friends separated by several years of age leading to an unexepected friendship. Glen usually helps Josh with his relationship problems.
Irene Abbott: The loving mother of Glen. She appears to be much more supportive of Glen than her husband and is usually willing to help with dilemmas.
Alison McKeller: The mother of Josh and friend of Glen. Glen's exploits usually involve to maintain a relationship with her sometimes with Josh's help.
rating of 44 (out of 100), critical reaction was mostly negative. Labeled "dreadful" by The Miami Herald
, and "abrasive" by the New York Times, the show was widely criticized in the media and by audiences for its overuse of an overly-loud, "onerous" laugh track
. Some reviewers, however, responded to the show's quirks; the New York Post
described it as "the funniest new show this season." Ratings were dismal from the outset and only fell with each episode, and Fox canceled the show after only three weeks on the air.
* Represents the average rating for Fox in the 9pm hour (which The Winner shared with Family Guy
)
Key: Rating is the estimated percentage of all TVs tuned to the show, share is the percentage of all TVs in use that are tuned in. Viewers is the estimated number of actual people watching, in millions, while ranking is the approximate ranking of the show against all prime-time TV shows for the week (Monday through the following Sunday).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series that premiered on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on March 4, 2007. It is a comedy about a successful man named Glen Abbott (played by Rob Corddry
Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
) looking back to the time when he was in his thirties and living with his parents in 1994 Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
Other cast members include Erinn Hayes
Erinn Hayes
Erinn Hayes is an American actress from San Francisco, California, known for her role as Melanie Clayton on the CBS comedy series Worst Week...
as Alison, Keir Gilchrist
Keir Gilchrist
Keir David Peters Gilchrist is a Canadian actor. Gilchrist is known for playing teen Marshall Gregson on Showtime's original series United States of Tara, and for starring in the 2010 drama-comedy It's Kind of a Funny Story....
as Alison's son, Josh, Lenny Clarke
Lenny Clarke
Lenny Clarke is an American comedian and actor, famous for his thick Boston accent and role as Uncle Teddy on the series Rescue Me. During the 1970s, as related in the Comedy Central roast of Clarke's friend Denis Leary, Clarke ran for mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. When asked by Leary what...
as Glen's father, Ron, and Linda Hart
Linda Hart
Linda Hart is an American singer, musician, and actress, mainly appearing in musical theatre.- Biography :As a child, Hart sang in her church choir; at age seven, she joined her father and the rest of the family in The Harts, a weekly gospel television series. Hart attended Los Angeles City...
as Glen's mother, Irene. The show is produced by Ricky Blitt
Ricky Blitt
Ricky Blitt is a screenwriter, executive producer, show creator, and voice actor based in West Hollywood, California. Early in his career, Blitt was a writer on The Parent Hood, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, The Jon Stewart Show, On the Record with Bob Costas, Costas Now, and Brotherly Love...
and Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
, who are also producers of Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
.
The working title of this series was Becoming Glen. A pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
was made for Fox in 2002 starring Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki
John Mark "Johnny" Galecki is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, of...
as Glen. It also starred Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis is an American actress. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume , opposite Christian Slater...
, Gerald McRaney
Gerald McRaney
Gerald Lee "Mac" McRaney is an American television and movie actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows Simon & Simon, Major Dad, and Promised Land. He was a series regular for the first season of Jericho.-Early life:McRaney was born in Collins, Mississippi, the son...
and Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers
Sally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
. The pilot was not picked up. However, the resurgence of Family Guy and the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue...
in 2005 helped Blitt get a chance at making another pilot.
At Family Guy Live in Montreal on July 21, 2007, Seth MacFarlane said "It is looking like there could be a future life for The Winner". However, the series was officially cancelled on May 16, 2007.
Characters
Glen Abbott: A successful man who looks back at when he was 31 and living with his parents. He had only just lost his virginity at 31 to his former English teacher. He also was trying to date his neighbor, Alison McKeller, and made friends with her son, Josh McKeller.Ron Abbott: The disappointed father of Glen Abbott and unhappy husband of Irene Abbott. His personality is comparable to Frank Barone of Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
or Frank Costanza of Seinfeld, although to a lesser degree.
Josh McKeller: The son of Alison McKeller and friend of Glen Abbott. Glen and Josh are friends separated by several years of age leading to an unexepected friendship. Glen usually helps Josh with his relationship problems.
Irene Abbott: The loving mother of Glen. She appears to be much more supportive of Glen than her husband and is usually willing to help with dilemmas.
Alison McKeller: The mother of Josh and friend of Glen. Glen's exploits usually involve to maintain a relationship with her sometimes with Josh's help.
Reception
With a MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
rating of 44 (out of 100), critical reaction was mostly negative. Labeled "dreadful" by The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
, and "abrasive" by the New York Times, the show was widely criticized in the media and by audiences for its overuse of an overly-loud, "onerous" laugh track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
. Some reviewers, however, responded to the show's quirks; the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
described it as "the funniest new show this season." Ratings were dismal from the outset and only fell with each episode, and Fox canceled the show after only three weeks on the air.
Standard ratings
Weekly rankings based on Fast National ratings.| # | Episode | Air Date | Timeslot (EST) | Season | Rating | Share | 18–49 | Viewers | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | March 4, 2007 | Sunday 8:30PM | 2006–2007 | 4.3 | 7 | 3.5 | 6.39 | # 51 |
| 2 | "The Single Dates" | March 4, 2007 | Sunday 9:30PM | 2006–2007 | 4.8 * | 7 | 3.1 | 5.56 | # 71 |
| 3 | "Broken Home" | March 11, 2007 | Sunday 8:30PM | 2006–2007 | 4.1 | 6 | 3.4 | 6.81 | # 74 |
| 4 | "What Happens in Albany, Stays in Albany" | March 11, 2007 | Sunday 9:30PM | 2006–2007 | 3.6 | 6 | 2.9 | 5.64 | # 77 |
| 5 | "Glen's New Friend" | March 18, 2007 | Sunday 8:30PM | 2006–2007 | 3.6 | 6 | 2.7 | 5.55 | # 72 |
| 6 | "Hot for Teacher" | March 18, 2007 | Sunday 9:30PM | 2006–2007 | 3.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 5.14 | # 79 |
* Represents the average rating for Fox in the 9pm hour (which The Winner shared with Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
)
Key: Rating is the estimated percentage of all TVs tuned to the show, share is the percentage of all TVs in use that are tuned in. Viewers is the estimated number of actual people watching, in millions, while ranking is the approximate ranking of the show against all prime-time TV shows for the week (Monday through the following Sunday).
Episodes
| # | Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
|---|