Sons Of Tucson
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''Sons of Tucson'' is an American sitcom starring
Tyler Labine Tyler Labine (born April 29, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for starring in the film ''Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,'' the television series ''Breaker High'', ''Invasion (2005 TV series), Invasion'', ''Reaper (TV series), Reaper'', ...
, Frank Dolce, Matthew Levy and Benjamin Stockham. It premiered on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
on March 14, 2010. The show was announced as a midseason show to air on Sunday nights at 8:30 pm ET/PT in between animated hits, ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' and ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'', although it was changed to 9:30 ET/PT, replacing ''
American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...
''. On April 5, 2010, it was announced that Fox had canceled ''Sons of Tucson'' after only four episodes; the remaining nine episodes that were ordered were burned off beginning June 6, and ending on August 1, 2010.


Premise

The series is about the Gunderson brothers. They own a house in
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, but since their mother left and their father is in prison, they hire Ron (
Tyler Labine Tyler Labine (born April 29, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for starring in the film ''Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,'' the television series ''Breaker High'', ''Invasion (2005 TV series), Invasion'', ''Reaper (TV series), Reaper'', ...
) to be their father. At first, the boys just need a father in specific situations, but then they find they have to keep Ron around because he is needed to shake off suspicions.


Characters


Main

* Ronald "Ron" Snuffkin (
Tyler Labine Tyler Labine (born April 29, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for starring in the film ''Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,'' the television series ''Breaker High'', ''Invasion (2005 TV series), Invasion'', ''Reaper (TV series), Reaper'', ...
) is a thirty-something sporting goods employee who is hired by the Gunderson brothers to substitute for their imprisoned father in order to shake away any suspicions from teachers and neighbors, who suspect that the boys are fending for themselves. He is a slacker who is always ready to take the easy way out of situations. * Gary Gunderson ( Frank Dolce) (age 11) is the middle child of the Gunderson brothers and is the one who comes up with the idea to hire Ron as their fake father. Although he is very intellectual, he can get easily stressed by certain situations. His stress causes him to take blood pressure medication and his serious attitude bothers those around him. * Brandon Gunderson (Matthew Levy) (age 13) is the oldest of the brothers. Of the three brothers, he is most confused about life, but is always ready to speak his mind when something needs to be said. He is considered a free-spirit. * Robert "Robby" Gunderson ( Benjamin Stockham) (age 8) is the youngest and most troublesome of the brothers. He enjoys junk food and watching television for many hours.


Supporting

* Glenn (
Joe Lo Truglio Joe Lo Truglio (; born December 2, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Best known for his role as Charles Boyle on the Fox/ NBC sitcom ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', he also was a cast member on the television series '' The State'' and '' Reno 91 ...
) is Ron's childhood friend. He is very impressionable and is always willing to follow Ron's schemes. He is frequently pushed around by his wife, Angela. * Angela ( Sarayu Rao) is Glenn's wife. She is very bossy (especially towards Glenn) and does not like the fact that her husband is friends with Ron. She is very suspicious of Ron's "fatherly care" for his "sons" and frequently pesters Glenn about wanting to have children. * Maggie Morales ( Natalie Martinez) is Robbie's third grade teacher. She is very serious about her job and sometimes worried about the environment Robbie is being raised in. It is assumed that Ron has a crush on her, after a failed attempt at getting a kiss, unbeknownst to her. * Michael "Mike" Proudfoot ( Michael Horse) is one of the employees at Ron's job, Sport Space. He is a Native American, who Ron always asks for advice on what a Native American would know about. Their conversations usually consist of Mike denouncing that he knows more about life than what he already knows about his heritage. * Joker (Edwin H. Bravo, as Edwin Habacon) is one of Ron's friends who is always ready to let him in on his illegal but profitable activities.


Guest stars

Guest stars during the show's run included Allen Alvarado,
Alexandra Breckenridge Alexandra Breckenridge (born May 15, 1982) is an American actress. She began her career with supporting roles in the teen comedy films '' Big Fat Liar'' (2002) and ''She's the Man'' (2006). She later played reporter Willa McPherson in the FX ...
,
Jake Busey William Jacob Busey (; born June 15, 1971) is an American actor. Among his most prominent roles have been serial killer Johnny Bartlett in 1996's ''The Frighteners'', Ace Levy in 1997's ''Starship Troopers'', Kyle Brenner in 2001's '' Tomcats'', ...
,
Stephanie Courtney Stephanie Courtney (born February 8, 1970) is an American actress and comedian, best known for playing the advertising character Flo (Progressive Insurance), Flo in television and radio commercials for Progressive Corporation beginning in 2008. ...
,
Kurt Fuller Kurt Fuller (born September 16, 1953) is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He is known for his roles in the films ''No Holds Barred'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' (both 1989), ''Wayne' ...
, Jamie Gray Hyder, David Lambert,
Keegan-Michael Key Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He and Jordan Peele co-created and co-starred in the sketch series '' Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) for which he received one Primetime Emmy Award from ...
, Michael Kostroff, Sydney Park, Stefanie Scott,
Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...
,
Stacey Travis Stacey Elaine Travis (born August 29, 1964) is an American actress. She has appeared in films ''Hardware (film), Hardware'' (1990), ''The Super (1991 film), The Super'' (1991), ''Only the Strong (film), Only the Strong'' (1993), ''Traffic (2000 fi ...
, Andrew Walker, Nikki Ziering, Buddy Handleson and series producer
Justin Berfield Justin Tyler Berfield (born February 25, 1986) is an American writer, producer and actor. He is known for his portrayals of Reese on the family sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' and Ross Malloy on The WB sitcom '' Unhappily Ever After''. As of ...
.


Episodes


Production

The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television, WalkingBud Productions and J2TV (Justin Berfield's production company). Executive producer Todd Holland said Tyler Labine is "an actor who is funny" rather than a comedian. Labine needs to know the appropriate emotional response for his character. Frank Dolce, who plays 11-year-old Gary, said Gary is in charge because his 13-year-old brother just does what makes him feel good and goes along with what others want. His 8-year-old brother couldn't be in charge because he is "anti-authority". Co-creator Tommy Dewey said having an 11-year-old in charge was "more interesting".Candace Havens, "New Fox Comedy Brings Together Old Friends," ''Stanly News and Press'' (FYI Television, Inc.), March 18, 2010.


Recasting

In July 2009, Fox announced they were recasting the two principal roles of Robby and Brandon. Producer
Justin Berfield Justin Tyler Berfield (born February 25, 1986) is an American writer, producer and actor. He is known for his portrayals of Reese on the family sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' and Ross Malloy on The WB sitcom '' Unhappily Ever After''. As of ...
states this was due to scheduling issues. Robby Gunderson was originally played by Davis Cleveland and Brandon Gunderson was originally played by Troy Gentile.


Reception

In its original American broadcast, the pilot episode was viewed by 4.514 million viewers and received an 18-49
Nielsen Rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
of 2.1/5 coming fourth in its timeslot and becoming the least viewed show on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
that night. Sandra Ganzalez of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the episode a positive review saying "Like I said, there is not much by way of plot, but the individual pieces of the show give it promise." As EW critic Ken Tucker said in his take, if you liked Tyler Labine’s laid-back-dude vibe in ''
Reaper A reaper is a farm implement that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass, especially wheat. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used ...
'', you'll probably enjoy ''Sons of Tucson''. Labine does a great job at making Snuffkin a lovable buffoon without crossing the line into campy. The pilot also rested on Labine’s ability to portray the undeniably creepy Snuffkin as likable, considering the premise." On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the series has an aggregate score of 33% based on 6 positive and 12 negative critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads: "Another formulaic and forgettable FOX sitcom, ''Sons of Tucson'' fails to bring anything new to the genre or the network."


Broadcast history

The series premiered on March 11, 2010, in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
on
Global Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...
at 9:30 pm ET, and on March 14, 2010, in the United States on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
at 9:30 pm ET. This schedule remained until its cancellation was announced on April 5, 2010, after only four episodes. It returned to air its remaining episodes on June 6, 2010, airing Sundays at 7:30 pm ET (then at 7:00 pm ET on June 27, 2010) on Fox, and at 10:30 pm ET on Global.


In popular culture

*First on the ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' episode " Excellence in Broadcasting", when
Stewie Griffin Stewart Gilligan "Stewie" Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the ...
notes, that "Fox sometimes has bad ideas" while a fake ad for ''Sons of Tucson'' appears on-screen. He then points at the ad and goes on saying: "Let's all just sit here and remember that ''this'' was a thing." *The show would be mocked in the ''
American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...
'' episode " Jenny Fromdabloc" for its replacement of the show in its original run's timeslot, in which
Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...
reads an advertisement printed on a promotional stress ball, and says: " 'Sons of Tucson – New on Fox'? When was THIS on? I watch Fox all the time; I never saw this!" As a further mockery, the stress ball had just been revealed to serve as a makeshift
vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...
for Roger to engage in sexual intercourse with under the alias of the episode's title; in a later scene, Roger, having just finished "using" the ball, is seen putting it into a dishwasher before walking away, whistling the ''American Dad'' theme song after he did so, and even during the episode's end credits, a scene is shown (albeit one more specifically mocking a similar scene in the then-recent film ''
Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action heist film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by inf ...
'') heavily implying character Steve Smith later uses the ball for masturbation, a final scene of mockery for the show's fallen former sister program.


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, 1361839, Sons of Tucson
Sons of Tucson at FX Portugal
2010s American single-camera sitcoms 2010 American television series debuts 2010 American television series endings Culture of Tucson, Arizona American English-language television shows Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows set in Tucson, Arizona Television series about brothers Fox Broadcasting Company sitcoms