The Winner

:

Season 1
  • Network: Fox
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 4, 2007
Metascore
44

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 24
  3. Negative: 11 out of 24

Critic Reviews

  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    100
    Not only the funniest new show this season, but the strangest one since "Get A Life."
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Gillian Flynn
    83
    Even at its yuk-yuk-kiest, the show is elevated by Corddry. [9 Mar 2007, p.96]
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  3. Detroit Free Press
    Reviewed by: Mike Duffy
    75
    Thanks to Corddry's social misfit charisma, Ricky Blitt's affable lowbrow lunacy flashes with a sharp, dizzy wit.
  5. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    75
    Funnier and unexpectedly sweeter than the current norm.
  6. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Aaron Barnhart
    70
    It’s a hoot.
  7. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Diane Werts
    70
    The emotional reality is so true here that not only do they get away with an assortment of gags about condoms, massage parlors and other juvenile fixations, but they make them resonate endearingly.
  8. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    70
    Deeply silly, endearingly sweet, a little creepy and undeniably weird.
  9. Philadelphia Daily News
    Reviewed by: Ellen Gray
    70
    It's surprisingly charming, not to mention funny.
  10. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    60
    "The Winner" may not be able to go the distance, but it's a fun little show in the here and now.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    60
    Overall, the new Fox sitcom is surprisingly winning, and the skilled Corddry is the main reason.
  12. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Doug Elfman
    50
    "The Winner" quickly metastasizes into a routine sitcom with laugh tracks and Ye Olde Storylines.
  13. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Charlie McCollum
    40
    Corddry manages to make scenes work that otherwise would have viewers reaching for the remote.
  14. The Hollywood Reporter
    40
    There's something ominous about running out of fresh ideas in the second or third episode.
  15. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    30
    The overall feeling is, "How did Rob Corddry wander onto the set of a shitty sitcom? Quick, someone get him back to 'The Daily Show' before they replace him!"
  16. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    30
    The more you see of it, the less there is to like.
  17. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Virginia Heffernan
    30
    So far, it’s only abrasive.
  18. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    25
    It's like watching a marionette with one set of strings operated by John Lithgow and the other by Pee-wee Herman. [12 Mar 2007, p.39]
    All this critic's reviews
  19. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    25
    It would be obvious and unfunny to dismiss Rob Corddry's new Fox sitcom, "The Winner," by saying it's a loser. But since the alleged humor in this new series is even more lazy and less amusing than that, it seems only fair.
  20. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Storm
    20
    You can only hope that Blitt, a first-time executive producer, will tire of middle-school humor and move to something a little more satisfying for grown-ups.
  21. Slate
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    20
    Consider it proof of Corddry's superb resourcefulness that he somehow manages to wring the occasional drop of comedy from these dreary situations.
  22. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    10
    "The Winner" isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, and it's sad to see Corddry pour his likable comic style -- a form of ironic cluelessness -- into such a feeble and misguided project.
  23. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    0
    Insipid, poorly written and saddled with an onerous laugh track, "The Winner" is lame even by Fox's standards.
  24. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    0
    Smutty at its best, downright creepy at its worst, this dreadful attempt to mock the coming-of-age genre could well be the first TV show to get an entire day of the week canceled.
  25. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Tom Shales
    0
    Probably the most mistitled sitcom of the decade.

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Best TV Season of 2007
42
#42 Most Discussed TV Season of 2007
51
#51 Most Shared TV Season of 2007

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
3.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 60
  3. Negative: 35 out of 60
  1. Blake
    Apr 9, 2007
    0
    Literally the worst sit com in years. It was not clever. It was not funny. It was not imaginitive. I'd guess they thought they could Literally the worst sit com in years. It was not clever. It was not funny. It was not imaginitive. I'd guess they thought they could take another great Daily Show person and have automatic sucess. But the writing was just terrible. I'm guessing some demographic found this funny. But not me. I really expected better out of Cordry than this junk.… Full Review »
  2. elenaa
    Mar 26, 2007
    10
    Loved it, howled with laughter..
  3. EricC
    Mar 23, 2007
    0
    Another Daily Show anchor goes on to star in a show. Cordry now joins the likes of Colbert and Carell. The only difference is that The Office Another Daily Show anchor goes on to star in a show. Cordry now joins the likes of Colbert and Carell. The only difference is that The Office and Colbert Report are easily the most hilarious shows you'll find. The Winner is all out crap. The most unfunny sitcom I have seen since The War At Home. And that is very unfunny. I can't wait to see this show fail, and oh, it will fail. The only thing I enjoyed was seeing Cordry, my least favorite Daily Show correspondent, end up in a pile of vile smelling burning trash like this. Atleast with a laugh track, guys like Jeff H and Dave M won't feel so alone in their laughter, even though they desperately and hopelessly are. I avoid watching Fox now because I might see a comercial for this offensively bad show, a comercial which would only promise another 30 minutes in television hell.… Full Review »
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