As one of the most charismatic entertainers on TV, Rob Lowe makes every project he joins that much better — even Austin Powers reunion Super Bowl commercials — which makes it a shame that there's only one of him when there are so many hundreds of series out there. Thankfully, his current gig on Fox's 9-1-1: Lone Star apparently isn't stopping him from signing on for other shows. The actor is officially reteaming onscreen with his son and former The Grinder co-star John Owen Lowe for a new Netflix comedy that hopefully won't have a need for either firefighters or courtrooms.
Netflix put in the order for the new scripted series Unstable, which Rob and John Owen Lowe co-created alongside Santa Clarita Diet mastermind Victor Fresco. The series is inspired by the Lowes’ father-son relationship, particularly in the way the younger one enjoys roasting his famed father on social media. In the show, the duo will reflect their real-world relationship as two generations who begin working together, though the details are obviously going to be a little different than their time together on the cancelled-too-soon The Grinder.
Here’s the official logline for the show (via TVLine):
The series is set in a cutting-edge biotech research company, following an introverted, socially challenged son who goes to work for his very successful, wildly eccentric father in order to save him from disaster.
The idea of Rob Lowe as a higher-up exec within a biotech research company is extremely exciting within this specific context, since co-creator Victor Fresco was also the brains behind the brilliant and also-cancelled-too-soon comedy Better Off Ted, which delivered some of TV’s funniest and most surreal workplace comedy. And as anyone who also obsessed over Santa Clarita Diet (and Andy Richter Controls the Universe, to a slightly lesser extent) can tell you, Fresco’s shows are entirely unique across the board, and work best when fronted by stars who dive whole-heartedly into the performances. I don’t think we have any problems on that latter front.
As far as the Lowes’ work outside of Unstable goes, it’s reported that the Netflix series is not expected to infringe upon their work on 9-1-1: Lone Star if and when it gets renewed for Season 4. While his father stars as Capt. Owen Strand, John Owen Lowe serves as a story editor and staff writer for the Fox drama, and has penned a handful of episodes over the years.
And while nothing is guaranteed on TV these days, it does seem as if 9-1-1: Lone Star is destined to continue its run on Fox. Even though the spinoff recently hit a series low regarding viewership, it was going up against NCIS’ Hawaii crossover and American Idol’s Hollywood week, so the competition was pretty stiff. Outside of that, Rob Lowe will continue to host his podcasts Parks and Recollection and Literally.
While we probably won’t see him popping up on Grey’s Anatomy anytime soon, despite his excellent idea for how to make it work, Rob Lowe can be seen in 9-1-1: Lone Star every Monday night on Fox at 9:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for more info about Unstable, and check out all the shows hitting the small screen soon with our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
