Page 2 - 2015 TVTimes

2 September 27 - October 3, 2015 cover story
El Dorado News-Times
By Kyla Brewer
TV Media
The fall season is ripe with fresh facesonTV,butthere’ssomething so comforting about a familiar face.
An old familiar friend is heading back to television, and his arrival is just around the bend. In the ‘80s and ‘90s,TV audiences got to know John Stamos as Uncle Jesse in “Full House.” Now, a whole new generation will
get to know him as Jimmy Martino,
a restaurateur who discovers he not only has a son, but a granddaughter as well, in “Grandfathered,” which pre- mieres Tuesday, Sept. 29, on Fox.
Created by Daniel Chun, one of Variety’s 10 TV Scribes to Watch in 2015, the series introduces Jimmy
as the consummate bachelor. He’s charming, he’s stylish, he’s successful, but he’s completely frazzled when Gerald (Josh Peck, “Drake & Josh”) shows up announcing that he’s his son and introduces his own daughter, Edie, Jimmy’s granddaughter. Paget Brewster (“Criminal Minds”) plays Jimmy’s ex-girlfriend and Gerald’s mother, Sara, who seems less than impressed to have Jimmy back in her life.While Jimmy may not be well versed in taking care of a baby, he can help his son with one thing: Gerald wants desperately to win the affection of Edie’s mother,Vanessa (Christina Milian, “Baggage Claim,” 2013). Kelly Jenrette (“Audrey,” 2014) and Ravi Patel (“Scrubs”) round out the cast as Jimmy’s assistant manager and chef.
Fox has billed the series as “an unconventional, sophisticated comedy about coming of age — at any age.” It’s created quite a buzz in the industry, in no small part because of its seem- ingly ageless star, who also serves as an executive producer on the series.
“Stamos has just been on our TV for the past 25 years,” said execu- tive producer Dan Fogelman in fox. com’s sneak peek at the series. “He’s a gigantic, gigantic star who’s been kind of in people’s living rooms and bedrooms. He finds out overnight that he not only has a son he never knew about, but also a granddaughter, turning him from George Clooney to Grandpa. ... He’s trying to be a better man, and often failing.”
In the network’s official trailer, Sta- mos’s Jimmy is a delightfully charm- ing fish out of water as he cares for his newfound granddaughter, even
though he obviously has no idea what he’s doing. Luckily, Stamos does. After all, this isn’t the first time he’s worked with children. At this season’s Televi- sionCriticsAssociationfallpreview event, he explained that the secret to his success in working with children
is whispering into their ears. “I made a couple of twins a lot of money,” he joked, referring to his “Full House” co- stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
motorcycle-riding, Elvis-loving, drum- playing uncle, he hardly seemed equipped to care for three young girls. But the role transcended the “pull-my- finger”TVunclecliché,challenging the definition of contemporary family life in the same way “Grandfathered” is poised to do for modern-day grand- fatherhood.
Incidentally, for those who just can’t get enough of Uncle Jesse, Stamos is scheduled to reprise the role in the up- coming Netflix series “Fuller House,” a spinoff of the original centering on
spokesman for Project Cuddle, an organization dedicated to preventing baby abandonment.
Stamos may be a suave Renais- sanceman,butPeckisequallylikeable as Gerald in “Grandfathered.” Though a hands-on father with Edie, he still exudes a boyish charm that beautifully contrasts Jimmy’s man-about-town persona. Interestingly, much like his character in “Grandfathered,” Peck reportedly grew up not knowing his own biological father. As a child, he at- tended a professional performing arts school in New York and made the tran- sition to professional child actor when he landed a role in Nickelodeon’s “The
Amanda Show” in the early 2000s. By 2004, he was a bona fide star with his own Nickelodeon show “Drake
& Josh” opposite Drake Bell. He’s sinceguestedinseveralTVseriesand starred in a number of films, includ- ing the popular animated Ice Age franchise.
Brewster is clearly on the defensive as Sara, who sees right through Jimmy. The actress first came to the attention of TV audiences when she appeared as Kathy, a woman who causes a rift be- tween Chandler (Matthew Perry, “The Odd Couple”) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”) in the iconic comedy “Friends.” She went on to star as Emily Prentiss in CBS’s “Criminal Minds,” and she currently appears in Comedy Central’s“AnotherPeriod.”
The talented cast makes for a prom- ising comedy with a lot of heart. Feel the love when Stamos returns to prime time in “Grandfathered,” Tuesday, Sept. 29, on Fox.
John Stamos and Josh Peck as seen in “Grandfathered”
He’s back
Stamos set to charm a new generation in Fox’s ‘Grandfathered’
Though his TV credits include prime-
time juggernauts such as “ER,” “Glee”
and “Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit,” Stamos got his start in the day-
time drama “General Hospital” before
landing the role of Uncle Jesse
in the hit ABC sitcom “Full
House,” which ran from
1987to1995.Inthe Bure,“DancingWiththe
“I think this is a new twist on a twisted family life,” said Stamos in Fox’s sneak peek presentation.
recently widowed D.J.Tanner- Fuller (Candace Cameron
“Full House” pilot, Jesse moved in with his brother-in-law, Danny (Bob Saget, “Entourage”), and Danny’s best friend, Joey (Dave Coulier, “America’s Funniest People”), to help raise his late sister’s three daughters.As a
Stars”) and her three sons. It’s set to premiere on the popular streaming service in 2016. A talented drum- mer, Stamos also frequently performs with the legend- ary American band The
Beach Boys, and serves as a