Hidden Remote
Fansided

Ranking The WB’s 25 best legacy-making shows

By Reed Gaudens

GILMORE GIRLS - Credit: Robert Voets/Netflix
GILMORE GIRLS - Credit: Robert Voets/Netflix /
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HOLLYWOOD – JULY 13: Actress Megyn Price attends the WB Television Network’s 2003 All Star Party at the White Lotus Restaurant on July 13, 2003 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD – JULY 13: Actress Megyn Price attends the WB Television Network’s 2003 All Star Party at the White Lotus Restaurant on July 13, 2003 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) /

24. Grounded for Life

Seasons: 5

Created By: Bill Martin and Mike Schiff

Starring: Donal Logue, Megyn Price, Kevin Corrigan, Lynsey Bartilson, Griffin Frazen, Jake Burbage, Bret Harrison, Richard Riehle

The WB may have struggled to find a solid comedy voice in its lifetime, but it did, however, gain quite the reputation as a sitcom savior. A small sampling of axed sitcoms were saved from dismal fates and brought into the frog fold. From Sabrina the Teenage Witch to Sister, Sister, series were given a second chance to shine and find their place on more adaptable network. Grounded for Life bounced back from its own grounding at FOX and scored a second fruitful life on The WB.

The sitcom followed the crazy lives of the Finnerty family, an Irish-Catholic crew living in an Irish neighborhood in Staten Island, New York. Sean (Donal Logue) and Claudia (Megyn Price) married and had their first child at 18 years old, meaning they still haven’t fully grown up themselves, even though they have three rowdy children. Grounded for Life frequently employed unconventional storytelling techniques that perfectly colored in the wild lives of the Finnerty family.

Like most of the sitcoms celebrated on this ranking, Grounded for Life was probably best known for its exposure in syndication. While it was a fine Friday night player for the frog, its second run on stations like ABC Family and MTV brought it to a broader, younger audience catching episodes after school.

The current television landscape is in no shortage of family sitcoms (thank you, ABC), but it’s hard to come by a family sitcom as unique and completely itself as Grounded for Life. You’ve never met a TV family as hilariously out of control as the Finnertys.

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