Nitrate

Grounded for Life

  • TV-PG
  • 2001–2005
  • 5 seasons
  • Family, Comedy
  • 6.8

Right out of high school, Sean Finnerty got his girlfriend Claudia pregnant. Now she’s his wife, and at just 32, he’s somehow found himself with 14-year-old daughter Lily, two little boys, and a constant struggle between his need to be responsible and his desperate desire to be irresponsible. His judgmental father Walt and devil-may-care brother Eddie are no help at all. When they all get together, stories always start to fly. Of course, Sean’s family will never let him finish a story; they interrupt, they debate, they derail, they defend themselves; just like any good family would.

Episodes

13 episodes
  1. 1The Policy of Truth

    30 minSep 17, 2004

    Brad, after admitting he hooked up with his space camp buddy, Lana (guest star Mila Kunis), begs for forgiveness from Lily until he learns of her infidelity.

  2. 2Man, I Feel Like a Woman

    30 minSep 24, 2004

    Sean's feeling sick, and Eddie convinces him that he has sympathetic pregnancy syndrome. Brad and Lily decide to just be friends but their hormones get the best of them. Jimmy tries to impress the new neighbor girl by pretending to be a sports fanatic. Eddie resumes his relationship with his ex, Faye, who's become more bitter and angry than ever.

  3. 3One Is the Loneliest Number

    Oct 1, 2004

    Now that Eddie is spending all of his free time with Faye, lonely Sean finds every possible thing wrong with her, including the way she parks her car, which he ""accidentally"" smashes into. Meanwhile, Lily's attempt to make Brad jealous by dating Mocha Joey backfires when Brad points out that Lily and Mocha Joey have nothing in common; and Claudia gets upset when she finds out that Sean has told everyone that she is pregnant.

  4. 4Day Tripper

    30 minOct 8, 2004

    Eddie moves into the Finnerty basement after being evicted from his apartment. Claudia is not happy and tells him if he screws up he's out. Lily is jealous of Taya, Brad's new girlfriend, after she becomes the first girl on the Football team at school. Claudia's pregnancy interferes with her motherly duties.

  5. 5You Better You Bet

    Oct 15, 2004

    Claudia is upset with Sean when she finds out he gambled the money for the baby's crib and used the winnings to buy a new TV. When Claudia accidentally breaks the TV, she convinces Eddie to bring her to the track so she can win money to repair the set. Meanwhile, Jimmy must endure a painfully long day of father-son bonding to keep Sean from finding out about the broken TV, and Lily enrolls in a Big/Little Sister program, but is dumped by her Little Sister.

  6. 6Psycho Therapy

    Oct 22, 2004

    Brad and Lily fight it out in a race for student body president...but it seems all the sniping and mudslinging is a mask to hide the former lovers' true feelings about each other. Meanwhile, Eddie is depressed and seeks the help of a quack psychiatrist...and Claudia tries not to learn the baby's sex, wanting to be surprised.

  7. 7I'm Looking Through You

    30 minNov 5, 2004

    Sean's old friend Dave is in town, a children's performer who goes under the name ""J.J. Bodybuddy"". He lets Dave stay at his house...but it isn't entirely altruistic. He's promised the school that he can get J.J. Bodybuddy to do a show for the kids. The problem is, Dave--a recovered alcoholic who hasn't touched the stuff in ten years--gets too drunk to do the gig, and Sean has to put on the Bodybuddy leotard hismelf. Meanwhile, Lily is jealous of the new baby, and is letting her feelings be known vociferously.

  8. 8Mystery Dance

    Nov 12, 2004

    With the bar in financial trouble, Sean and Claudia are having difficulty paying their bills, so Sean applies for a manager position with T.J. Shenanigans, while Claudia works from home collecting unpaid medical bills. Sean and Eddie contemplate selling the bar after finding out that they are competing for the same job. Meanwhile, Brad and Lily get back together, to the dismay of broken-hearted Taya. On the rebound, Taya starts dating Jimmy to help win Brad back.

  9. 9Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

    30 minNov 19, 2004

    Depressed that she doesn't feel sexy while pregnant, Claudia gets a boost when her cute study buddy, Steve, flirts with her. But her bubble is burst when she finds out that Sean paid him to do it. Meanwhile, Lily helps Eddie write material for his stand-up routine, but it backfires when another comic steals Eddie's jokes. Brad gets a reluctant Jimmy into Sciencenauts and his attitude changes when he finds out that the ""secret"" of every meeting involves porn.

  10. 10Tom Sawyer

    30 minJan 7, 2005

    Lily becomes insecure when she learns that she's ""not school smart."" So when Brad snags an interview at Yale, she becomes jealous and connives to land her own interview. Sean takes a second job as a limo driver, to avoid doing work at home. Claudia tries to convince her neighbor, Arianna, that the Finnerty clan is not trash. Jimmy seeks advice from his uncle Eddie for his debut in the school production of Tom Sawyer.

  11. 11The Letter(s)

    30 minJan 14, 2005

    Sean becomes infuriated after receiving letters from the Home Owner's Association telling him to clean up his house, while Claudia is happy about the positive changes to the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Lily insists that Brad buys her an anniversary gift from a list that she's made... but he defies her wishes and gets her a sexy nighty... that he can't enjoy because he's busy picturing Sister Helen, who he ran into at the lingerie store. And Jimmy shocks the family by making an unusual lifestyle choice -- he announces that he's a vegetarian.

  12. 12Crazy

    30 minJan 21, 2005

    Eddie's ex, Amy, displays naked photos of him in an art gallery, but he's too afraid to ask her to remove them... because she's crazy! Meanwhile, Sean is having problems trying to sell the Red Boot; Claudia has a baby shower; and Jimmy fills in on the cheerleading squad to get close to the girls.

  13. 13Hello, Goodbye

    30 minJan 28, 2005

    In the series finale, Claudia and Sean miss Lily's graduation (thus spoiling Lily's senior-prank plan) when Claudia goes into labor. Meanwhile, the Finnerty boys learn that Walt has a girlfriend... his cleaning lady!

Where to watch Grounded for Life

Stream

Included with a subscription

Buy

Pay once, keep it in your library

Availability from JustWatch, via TMDB. Full listing for United States

Series cast

Donal LogueSean Finnerty91 episodes
Megyn PriceClaudia Finnerty91 episodes
Kevin CorriganEddie Finnerty91 episodes
Lynsey BartilsonLily Finnerty91 episodes
Griffin FrazenJimmy Finnerty91 episodes
Jake BurbageHenry Finnerty78 episodes
Bret HarrisonBrad O'Keefe67 episodes
Richard RiehleWalt Finnerty45 episodes
Miriam FlynnSister Helen22 episodes
Mike VogelDean Piramatti15 episodes
Gregory JbaraDan O'Keefe9 episodes
J.B. GaynorYoung Eddie9 episodes
Autumn ReeserAlison6 episodes
Eddie KarrYoung Sean6 episodes
Karri BowmanFaye6 episodes
Chris HoganMr. Kersey6 episodes
Steve LarsonReggie6 episodes
Carol KiernanNun5 episodes

More like thisShows TMDB viewers also watched