"Let's Rob..." (half-hour, Tuesday, 9:00 p.m., ET) - For almost 20 years, Eugene Gurkin has dreamt of opening a bar, but his dead end job on the late, late janitorial shift won't even fund a bottle of premium booze. In the wake of a co-worker's death, he catches an episode of television. Call it divine intervention, call it a dumb idea, but whatever it is takes hold of Eugene and soon he recruits a group of misfits into his "gang" for a heist to finance their dreams. The target: Rock icon Mick Jagger's super-luxe Central Park West apartment. Working together, this band of affable, new age Robin Hoods, who have never even shoplifted a candy bar, are soon casing the joint and prepping for their crime. What they don't know is that there's a much richer target for them... the chance to find hope, self-esteem and confidence within themselves.
From Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett, producers of "Late Show with David Letterman" and creators of "Ed," comes a hilarious tale of haves and have-nots. Donal Logue ("Grounded for Life") stars. Mick Jagger appears in a cameo (he is not a series regular).
Cast:
Donal Logue ("Grounded for Life"): Eugene Gurkin
Maz Jobrani ("Life on a Stick"): Gary
Sofia Vergara ("Four Brothers"): Esperanza Villalobos
Kevin Michael Richardson ("The Boondocks"): Rockefeller Butts
Lenny Venito ("NYPD Blue"): Francis "Squatch" Scuacieri
Josh Grisetti: Louis Plunk
Credits:
EP/Writer/Director: Rob Burnett ("Ed")
EP/Writer: Jon Beckerman ("Ed")
EP: Mick Jagger
EP: Victoria Pearman
Production Company: Touchstone Television
"Help Me Help You" (half-hour, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m., ET) - Whoever came up with the idea of group therapy? Take a bunch of people who are all really messed up in different ways and put them in a room together to try to help each other out. The group leader, Dr. Bill Hoffman, is probably the craziest and most self-obsessed of all, but his patients would never know it because he hides behind his very respectable celebrity image as a bestselling author of phenomenally successful self-help books.
Directed by Brian Dannelly ("Saved," "Weeds"), the series explores the comical side of group therapy as members of the group apply the good doctor's advice to the real world with enthusiastic effort, until they begin to realize maybe Dr. Bill should be doing the heavy lifting along with them. Ted Danson ("Cheers") stars.
Cast:
Ted Danson ("Cheers"): Dr. Bill Hoffman
Charlie Finn ("The Dukes of Hazzard"): Dave
Jim Rash ("That '70s Show"): Jonathan
Suzy Nakamura ("Dodgeball"): Inger
Darlene Hunt ("I Heart Huckabees"): Darlene
Jere Burns ("Good Morning Miami"): Michael
Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle"): Guest Star/Anne
Credits:
EP/Writer: Jennifer Konner ("Undeclared")
EP/Writer: Alexandra Rushfield ("Undeclared")
Director: Brian Dannelly ("Weeds")
Production Company: Regency Television
My Thoughts: This is an interesting mix of shows. ABC must be pretty confident in Dancing With The Stars to bring it back in the fall. The key to that show remaining popular is finding the right mix of semi-well-known stars, obscure stars, and has-beens. Set For The Rest Of Your Life, which will likely premiere once Dancing With The Stars ends, probably won't be the second coming of Millionaire but it might be fun to watch. Let's Rob… probably got made because of the success of My Name Is Earl. The premise doesn't seem as series-ready as Earl, but I like the cast. Help Me Help You could be fun as long as Ted Danson doesn't play his new character like "Becker As A Self-Help Guru."
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