The Winner is an American period sitcom created by Ricky Blitt that premiered on Fox on March 4, 2007. It is about a successful 43½-year-old man named Glen Abbott (portrayed by Rob Corddry) looking back to the time when he was in his 30s and living with his parents in 1994 Buffalo, New York.
Other cast members include Erinn Hayes as Alison, Keir Gilchrist as Alison's son, Josh, Lenny Clarke as Glen's father, Ron and Linda Hart as Glen's mother, Irene. The sitcom is produced by Ricky Blitt and Seth MacFarlane, who are also producers of Family Guy.
The working title of this series was Becoming Glen. A pilot was made for Fox in 2002 starring Johnny Galecki as Glen.[1] It also starred Samantha Mathis, Gerald McRaney and Sally Struthers. The pilot was not picked up. However, the resurgence of Family Guy and the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin in 2005 helped Blitt get a chance at making another pilot.[2]
At Family Guy Live in Montreal on July 21, 2007, Seth MacFarlane said "It is looking like there could be a future life for The Winner."[3] However, the series was officially cancelled on May 16, 2007.[4]
With a Metacritic rating of 44/100, critical reaction was mostly negative. Labeled "dreadful" by the Miami Herald[5] and "abrasive" by The New York Times,[5] the show was widely criticized in the media and by audiences for its overuse of an overly-loud, "onerous" laugh track.[5] Some reviewers, however, responded to the show's quirks; the New York Post described it as "the funniest new show this season." Ratings were dismal from the outset and only fell with each episode and Fox cancelled the show after only three weeks on the air.
Every episode of the series was written by Ricky Blitt, who is also the showrunner of the show. Additionally, Mark Cendrowski directed every episode with the exception of the pilot episode, which was directed by Terry Hughes instead.
Weekly rankings based on The Winner ratings.[6][7][8]
* Represents the average rating for Fox in the 9pm hour (which The Winner shared with Family Guy)
Key: Rating is the estimated percentage of all TVs tuned to the show, share is the percentage of all TVs in use that are tuned in. Viewers is the estimated number of actual people watching, in millions, while ranking is the approximate ranking of the show against all prime-time TV shows for the week (Monday through the following Sunday).