The Grinder

2015 - 2016

Dean Sanderson is famous for playing "The Grinder" in a TV legal drama, and when his show ends, he decides to move move back to his hometown, Boise, Idaho, where his brother and father run a real law firm, and try to help out with real cases, despite not being a real lawyer. Everyone embraces Dean with open arms except his brother, Stewart, who is continually frustrated by Dean's courtroom antics.

• Stars: Rob Lowe, Fred Savage, William Devane, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Connor Kalopsis, Hana Hayes, Natalie Morales, Steve Little
• Created by: Andrew Mogel, Jarrad Paul
• Tags: family

Episode Tropes

• Worthless Worker: Episode 7, "Buckingham Malice" (2015). Debbie's new assistant, Laura, is taking advantage of her, manipulating her into getting her coffee, complaining when it's not right, and even taking over her office, but Debbie is reluctant to fire her due to her poor track record with assistants. The last straw is when Stewart calls Debbie from jail and Laura "forgets" to tell her.
• Mock Trial: Episode 13, "Grinder v Grinder" (2015). Timothy Olyphant has been spending more time at the office, visiting Claire, and Dean feels threatened, so they decide to hold a mock trial to determine who is closer to being a real lawyer, and whoever loses can't come to the office anymore.
• Focus Group: Episode 19, "A System on Trial" (2016). In a flashback, the producers of "The Grinder" hold a focus group to see how people react to the show. Only one woman doesn't like it, and the others convince her she's wrong.
• Focus Group: Episode 19, "A System on Trial" (2016). Stewart is nervous about his father taking the stand in his malpractice suit, so Dean suggests they have him testify in front of a focus group. While Stewart questions him, Dean Sr. blow ups and storms out of the room, and it doesn't test well.
• Lie for Me: Episode 20, "For the People" (2016). Dean and Stewart's mother, Lenore, comes to town, and to impress her, Dean tells her he's engaged to Claire, but Claire refuses to go along with the lie, so Dean convinces Debbie to tell her that she's afraid to tell anyone about their engagement because of her dangerous, jealous ex-boyfriend, Todd.
• Pretend We're a Couple: Episode 20, "For the People" (2016). Dean asks Claire to pretend to be his fiance to impress his mother, Lenore, but she refuses. Unfortunately, Claire walks into the room while Debbie is telling Lenore Dean's fake story about Claire's scary ex-boyfriend, and since she's put on the spot, she just goes along with it.