Best. Month. ever.
Rob Lowe’s excellent January adventure
Well, this is awkward.
Or, as a millennial might say, awkweird. Rob lowe, who returned to prime time this fall on Fox’s “The
Grinder,” will be competing against himself when NBC launches its new sitcom “You, Me and the
Apocalypse” — starring, among others, Rob lowe — in late January.
“The Grinder” returns Jan. 5; “You, Me and the Apocalypse,” a 10-episode series shot and produced in Britain — where it’s already aired on Sky 1 — drops Jan. 28.
Call it The Mother of All Network Quandaries: Does NBC de-emphasize lowe’s role in “You, Me . . .” in order not to call attention to “The Grinder”? Or does it play up the fact that he’s appearing on a rival’s airwaves?
And Fox’s promos often have a humorous slant, so perhaps it can have some fun. It had lowe first, after all, and he’s the star of “The Grinder” (along with Fred Savage); in “You, Me . . .” he’s part of an ensemble — including Jenna Fischer (NBC’s “The Office”), Megan Mullally, Pauline Quirke (creepy beach lady Susan Wright on “Broadchurch”) and Diana Rigg (currently on “Game of Thrones”). Or maybe NBC calls attention to lowe’s return to its airwaves (he played Sam Seaborn on “The West
Wing” for four seasons.) Actually, for both networks, it’s like one of those “good problems” that you often hear about in Major league Baseball: The manager has a hot-hitting left fielder subbing for an injured star — then needs to find a place for the still-hot-hitting sub once the star returns. A headache to be sure, but (repeat after me) a good problem
to have.
On “The Grinder,” lowe stars as Dean Sanderson Jr., who, for eight seasons, played top-notch lawyer Mitch Grinder on a TV show called “The Grinder.” After the show ends, Dean — all washed up — returns to his hometown convinced he can practice law in real life, much to the chagrin of his brother, struggling lawyer Stewart (Savage).
“You, Me and the Apocalypse,” a British-American co-production, follows a diverse group of people — some in different countries — as a meteor hurtles toward earth,, ready to obliterate the planet. lowe plays Father Jude, a foulmouthed, chain-smoking Vatican priest working in the office of Devil’s Advocate. Somehow, he ends up in a bunker in Slough (england), watching the apocalypse on TV with a group of others.
(Slough was also the setting for “The Office,” Ricky Gervais’ brilliant BBC series later adapted by NBC — another link to “You, Me . . .” co-star Fischer.)
And how great for lowe is this network doubledipping? It’s something that rarely (if ever) occurs on nighttime television: A star in his prime (pun intended) appearing on two different networks in shows encompassing the same genre.
If only “The Grinder” (Tuesdays) and “You, Me . . .” (Thursdays) were airing on the same night.
Sounds like the blueprint for a sitcom.