You know that old saying, “You can’t keep a good Rob Lowe off TV?” Well okay, maybe it’s not an old saying, but it’s still a universal truth. While he currently has an awesome sounding British series in the cards to air on NBC, Lowe has landed a lead role on the Fox pilot The Grinder. Luckily, it isn’t about him as a professional club dancer or an adaptation of the mobile app.
In The Grinder, Lowe will play Dean Sanderson, an actor who plays a lawyer in a long-running TV series. When the show ends its run, instead of getting another job or something that an actor normally does, Sanderson makes the wacky TV comedy choice to move back to his hometown, where his family’s law firm is set. You see, Sanderson thinks that his TV career has given him the know-how he needs to do the lawyer thing in real life, and his brother will be there to show him the reality of the situation.
According to THR, the pilot’s screenplay was written by Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel, and they’ll be executive producing alongside their Yes Man co-writer Nicholas Stoller. Jake Kasdan, who directed Stoller’s Sex Tape script, will lend his comedic chops in directing the pilot and executive producing.
Lowe recently signed on for Apocalypse Slough, a cataclysmic comedy with Jenna Fischer and Megan Mullally. He’s set to reprise his role of Chris Traeger for the final season of Parks and Recreation. He’s also set to hit the big screen for the live-action/CGI mash-up Monster Trucks, although we’re probably more excited about his DirecTV commercials than that movie. Let’s not forget his awkward cameo was also one of the best parts of The Interview.
Fox has a few high-profile pilots in various stages of production right now, though more dramas than comedies. There’s the Minority Report adaptation, as well as the new take on Frankenstein, and they’re trying to turn the comic series Lucifer and the British detective drama Luther into series as well. For comedies, they have DeTour from Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and ones based around John Stamos, Andre Hyland and Dana Klein.
Here’s hoping Fox is Lowe’s lucky charm. His past two pilots for NBC, including the tennis-themed series The Pro, failed to make it to series. For The Grinder, we have no objections.
