''The Grubbs'' was an unaired American sitcom television series. Based on the British sitcom ''

the Grimleys ''The Grimleys'' is a comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after thre ...

'', it starred Michael Cera as Mitchell Grubb, Randy Quaid as his father, and

Carol Kane Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as '' Hester Street'' (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), ''Dog Day Afternoon'', ''Annie ...

as his mother. It would have premiered on November 3, 2002, but was cancelled two days before its planned premiere.

History

''The Grubbs'' was announced by

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

in May 2002, and was intended to premiere on November 3 of that year in Fox's 9:30 PM Sunday time slot, right after ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

''. The series was co-produced by Granada Entertainment USA and

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

, in a partnership with Universal Television. In a statement when the series was originally announced, Granada Entertainment USA president

Antony Root Antony Root is a British television executive and producer. He has worked in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. He is currently the executive vice-president of HBO Europe and head of original production for WarnerMedia EMEA. Edu ...

said, "With vivid characters, sharp writing and irreverent humour, ''The Grubbs'' has all the makings of a great success for Fox." But although Fox had originally ordered thirteen episodes of the series, in September 2002 they announced this would be reduced to eight, and the series ended up being cancelled in November 2002, two days before the show would have premiered. As of now, there are no plans for the series to ever air at all. Although no episodes of ''the Grubbs'' were ever aired, the series did help Cera land an audition for the sitcom '' Arrested Development'', in which he played George Michael Bluth. ''The Grubbs'' also served as Cera's debut playing a role on American network television.

Plot

Like ''The Grimleys'', ''The Grubbs'' revolved around an underachieving, blue-collar family. But while ''The Grimleys'' was set in Dudley,

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, England in the 1970s, ''The Grubbs'' was set in the present day in the fictitious American town of Hackville. Joshua Sternin, ''the Grubbs''

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, said that Hackville is located in America's " Steel Belt". He also said that Hackville was inspired by the western part of Pennsylvania and by the state's city of Allentown.

Cast

Critical response

Critical response to ''the Grubbs'' was highly negative. David Bianculli, writing for the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'', described it as "live-action "

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

," but without the wit and warmth". It was ranked the worst new fall series of 2002 in a ''

Daily Variety ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

'' poll of television critics. In a July 29, 2002 '' San Francisco Chronicle'' column, Tim Goodman wrote that the series "...did unite critical consensus: It's probably the worst show of the season. Maybe several seasons." Similarly, Scott D. Pierce of ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'' described the series as "incredibly awful" and "painfully unfunny".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grubbs, The Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Universal Television 2000s American sitcoms Unaired television shows American television series based on British television series Television shows set in Pennsylvania