The Grinder Review: A System on Trial (Season 1 Episode 19)
Pssst, Fox. Please Renew The Grinder. Please.
We’re not asking as a TV critics, we’re begging …as fans. Because this is what this show has reduced us to. Every week we try to approach this as a job, to note the minutiae so we can later write about it, and yet, every week The Grinder pulls us in, makes my focus waver. We don’t watch as critics. We can’t. And that’s the best thing someone like us can say about a TV show.
When we first started watching, all those months ago, we thought, wow, this has a chance to be not just a good family comedy, but a very smart show. Nineteen episodes later, the promise has been realized. Sure, the feels are strong with this one, and yes, most of the time we care about what happens because these actors have made us care. But underneath that, there is something bigger, something even more important, something that needs to be said: The Grinder is, quite possibly, the smartest comedy on TV.
Take this episode, for example. Underneath the focus group idea, there’s a great message about being yourself and not taking what the rest of the world says as law. Lizzie let herself get swept up by the idea that you have to change who you are if you want people to like you. Ethan did too. Even Stewart, our voice of reason, was guilty of this. And in one way or another, that’s understandable, because in one way or another, we have all been where they are.
Not exactly a dumb comedy, is it?
“We should be able to make mistakes. We shouldn’t have to be flawless all the time,” Dean says at one point, and this is such a deep message from what is supposed to be just a filler show. And you think that’s the best thing about The Grinder? Well, it’s not. The best thing about this show is that it doesn’t cater to the happy ending, doesn’t fall into the trap of giving viewers exactly what they want. The message is out there, and it’s important, but it’s not an easy message to grasp, much less to internalize.
So the characters don’t. Not really. That’s what makes them real – what makes them relatable. And what proves that the writers for this show get it. They really, really do.
The Grinder deserves another shot, Fox. We want to see more of what Dean and Stewart Sanderson can teach us, even if they don’t learn it themselves.
We deserve to.
Other things to note:
- Debbie in the office really works, mostly because it gives Mary Elizabeth Ellis more screen-time, and that’s always welcome.
- This episode was very well balanced, we got a lot from the office, a lot from the family and Ethan and Lizzie felt like more than props. We loved it.
- We all wish we could summon up our inner Claire, from time to time.
What did you think of this week’s episode of The Grinder? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Grinder airs Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c on Fox.
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz
Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Falls in madly in love with fictional characters. Hates the color yellow, misogyny, and people who are late. Can always be found with a book. Watches an absurd amount of TV every week, often, while eating coffee ice cream. She has no regrets. You can check out her blog here: Absurday. Lissete is a senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. Follow @lizziethat