The Goodwin Games stars Scott Foley (“Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), Becki Newton (“Ugly Betty”) and T.J. Miller (“Our Idiot Brother,” “She’s Out Of My League”), as three estranged siblings who return home after their father (guest star Beau Bridges) dies and find themselves in line to inherit a lot of money – if, and only if, they can adhere to their late father’s wishes.
Henry (Scott Foley) is a successful surgeon engaged to a woman who is as successful as he is; Chloe (Becki Newton) is a struggling actress, and Jimmy (T.J. Miller) is a semi-successful career criminal. When their father, Benjamin (Beau Bridges) dies, they return home to Granby, New Hampshire, for the funeral and the reading of the will – where they are astounded to learn that he was worth $23 million.
They are further astounded by the conditions of his will – revealed in a series of VHS tapes by the late Benjamin Goodwin – that there will be one heir: the winner of a unique game of Trivial Pursuit. Even worse, there is a forth contestant none of them has ever seen before!
Benjamin’s lawyer, April Cho (Melissa Tang), gets to oversee the competition and Henry’s ex-girlfriend Lucinda Hobbes (Felisha Terrell) is the town’s pastor and administering the funeral. To say the situation is a bit weird is an understatement.
The premiere was written by series creators Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and Chris Harris (two of whom created How I Met Your Mother and the third of whom you’ve never heard – as the accompanying press release so subtly notes). In a short 22 minutes, ably abetted by a truly unique (there’s that word again) script, director Peyton Reed creates a world and characters you will want to see again.
There are mysteries (how did Benjamin become a multi-millionaire; what other games will the competition entail; who the heck is Elijah, anyway?!?), unexpected cool and touching character beats and more laughs than most network comedies not called 30 Rock or HIMYM.
The premiere is fast paced; the characters are engaging (Foley, Newton and Miller really feel like siblings) and there are hints that Granby just might become one of the niftiest sitcom settings on network TV.
The series’ creators say that the show is basically about how our family’s why we’re all messed up as adults – but family can also be the thing that fixes us. Judging from the premiere, they have done a masterful job of developing that theme.
I have no idea why Fox kept The Goodwin Games off its schedule until so late in the season, but it’s better than any of their other live-action comedies (and at least half of their animated ones). If you miss it, you’re missing the best network sitcom of the year.
Final Grade: A
Photo by Jill Greenberg/Courtesy of Fox Television