Tagline: Theres nobody he cant get off.
And yet, as I write these words,The Grinderis on the bubble.
The penultimate episode was watched by less than 2 million.
Credit: Patrick McElhenney/Fox
You cant fault the cast.
Savage was a match.
He shredded the child narrative that has defined his career until now by playing to and against his affability.
Stewart was an elastic modern family sitcom paterfamilias, straight man or screw-up, silly prig or silly rebel.
He was funny when suffering Dean, he was even funnier trying to subvert his brothers chaos-causing subversions.
He and Lowe had amazing bromantic chemistry and spoke the shows high concept, fast-paced banter language very well.
If TV loses their relationship, Id feel their absence: Theyre a terrific team.
She executed the function with delightful dry wit.
As the star-struck fanboy and Deans enabler, Steve Little rocked the goofiness.
William Devane had a difficult chore as the Sanderson paterfamilias, Dean Sr.
Somehow, Devane made it work.
He showered Stewarts kids with his attention, wisdom, and Hollywood awesomeness.
It was here that the show crawled completely up its own butt and proudly planted a flag.
People were walking out, hes told.
Would it kill us to simplify it a little bit?
It culminated, per convention, with each character confessing deception and being honest with one another.
I like complicated, she said.
I like simple, he replied.
They kissed, and later had sex, but ultimately, Mom left with nothing resolved.
Dean pestered his mom for affirmation.
Wasnt his mom proud of him?
Stewart directed mom to throw him a bone.
She sighed and said, Sure, Dean.
I knew it, he said, and then looked to the camera, i.e., us.
The episode, For The People, earnedThe Grinderits worst numbers of the season.
The Grinderspredicament isnt unusual.
Show improvement doesnt always lead to audience enlargement.
See:Arrested Development, Fringe,andCommunity.
Robot, which use the devices to direct us outward, toward political, real-world concerns.
The satire ofThe Grinderpretty much stops at the surface of your TV screen.
ButThe Grindermight have been undermined by other factors.
Its also possible that the shows kind of cleverness just didnt mean that much to people.
Is it really all that impressive to be so smart-alecky about TV?
Its a fair point.
For a comedy about spoofing TV formulas,The Grindercould be formulaic itself.
Fear might have been a factor, too.
you’re free to even pick on Dean.
Dean: Im a big personality.
I suck a lot of air out the room.
Dean Sr.: I think you suck the perfect amount of air, son.
The episode, entitled Full Circle, was a spoof of vengeance plots and full-circle saga-making.
(He got his ideas, of course, from bingeingThe Grinder.)
Dean: Its the only thing that makes sense!
Claire: Does it make sense?
It didnt, but it was fun all the same.
The opening act checked down on some TV metanarratives about diversity and representation.
Yay Claire and Natalie Morales!
Getting more to do than just role eyes!
But Dean had mixed feelings about Stewarts choice.
I love seeing a diverse woman have a shot in the workplace.
I feel good about that.
I think a lot of people do.
And on the other hand?
Defending my father with my brother.
Surrounded by my extended family while I He turns to see Claire has long left the room.
He finished the thought, deflated: fight for justice.
Full Circle lightly mocked Great (White) Man narrative and legacy anxiety.
But it was more about celebrating the creative instinct that got the show through a winning season.
Dean Sr. vetoed Stewart and appointed his favorite son to represent him, punting Claire back to the margins.
(Among others: Jason Alexander as the creator ofThe Grinderand Maya Rudolph as Deans therapist/lover.)
Stewart got a little rehab.
Dean was proud of his little bro, as well as their year together.
How are they going to make this work?
How are they going to keep that up?
Dean was speaking to the critics that wondered ifThe Grinderwas sustainable (present company included).
With his closing comment, though, Dean spoke to the shows uncertain future.
And thats just the beginning, he said.
Because now we know that this works.
This has legs.For as long as we want it to.
Its not up to them, of course.
The shows fate is now in the hands of the Fox jury.
If not,The Grinderwill rest having proven anew that meta has its limits.
We love TV that makes us laugh.
TV laughing at itself?
Thats a tougher grind.
