# Grown Ups (1999 TV series)

Grown Ups is an American television sitcom that aired on the UPN network from August 23, 1999, to May 22, 2000. Starring Jaleel White, the series was created by Matthew Miller and based on a story written by White.

## Plot

Grown Ups follows the lives of three post-college friends who are coming to terms with adulthood. J. Calvin Frazier is a 24-year-old man whose roommate just left town nearly leaving him homeless. J. also learns that his high school crush Melissa (Tammy Townsend) is engaged to another man. With the help of his best friend Gordon (Dave Ruby) and Gordon's wife Shari (Marissa Ribisi), J. attempts to deal with his problems and adjust to life as a grown up.
In the pilot episode, Soleil Moon Frye appeared as Robin Carlucci, J.'s new roommate who wrongly assumes that J. is gay. The series was retooled after the pilot and Frye's character was dropped.

## Cast
### Main

* Jaleel White as J. Calvin Frazier
* Dave Ruby as Gordon Hammel
* Marissa Ribisi as Shari Hammel

### Recurring

* Patrick Bristow as Rodney Caruthers
* Bumper Robinson as Marcus Wentworth
* Tammy Townsend as Melissa

## Reception

Grown Ups premiered on August 23, 1999, at 8:30 EST/7:30 CST. On August 30, 1999, the series moved to Mondays at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST, following the Moesha spin-off The Parkers. The series initially garnered good ratings, but ratings soon dropped and UPN canceled the series (on a cliffhanger that was never resolved) in May 2000.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Pilot" | John Whitesell | Matthew Miller | August 23, 1999 (1999-08-23) |
| J has recently discovered that his roommate has moved out and now he has to find a new one. He gets a roommate in the form of Robin, who thinks he's gay. One of Gordon's coworkers, Marcus, is dating one of J's old girlfriends. J now has to deal with his new roommate and the feelings he has for his old flame. |||||
| 2 | "Truth Be Told" | Rich Correll | Jeny Quine | August 30, 1999 (1999-08-30) |
| While playing the game of "Truth Be Told," J discovers that his girlfriend is still a virgin, while Gordon discovers that he wasn't Sherri's first experience. J and Melissa decide to have sex, and J experiences some bedroom problems. |||||
| 3 | "The Out of Work-Out" | Rich Correll | Matthew Miller | September 6, 1999 (1999-09-06) |
| J quits his job and tries to get another one. He hangs out at a spa to mingle with important business professionals. He eventually gets a new job when he runs into a female member of the club that has her own company. |||||
| 4 | "A Comic Tragedy" | Jeff Melman | Mark Amato | September 13, 1999 (1999-09-13) |
| J and Gordon fight over ownership of a comic book that Shari put on Ebay. The comic puts their friendship in jeopardy. The book turns out to be worthless since Gordon cut an ad out of it; the only winner was Marcus, who cashed in on the legal fees. |||||
| 5 | "Bachelor Auction" | John Tracy | Mark Blutman & Howard Busgang | September 20, 1999 (1999-09-20) |
| J enters a bachelor auction to make his new girlfriend jealous. He gets bought by Gordon's boss' daughter who has a fatal attraction to him. |||||
| 6 | "J Says" | Brian K. Roberts | Jeny Quine | October 4, 1999 (1999-10-04) |
| J takes an encounter with a newspaper columnist who annoyed him, and turns it into a chance at getting his own nationally syndicated column. |||||
| 7 | "Family Circus" | Brian K. Roberts | Arthur Harris | October 18, 1999 (1999-10-18) |
| Against Melissa's wishes, J arranges to meet her parents while they're in town visiting, but quickly discovers why she was so reluctant to introduce him to her germaphobic mother and crazy father. Meanwhile, Gordon and Shari try their hand at writing a children's book, hoping to win a contest that awards the winning author $50,000. |||||
| 8 | "Two Divided by J Equals Ex" | Steve Zuckerman | Rick Newberger | November 8, 1999 (1999-11-08) |
| J's brother comes to town with news of his impending marriage to Donna, who just happens to have had a fling with J years ago. |||||
| 9 | "Vegas, a Place in the Sun" | Steve Zuckerman | Arthur Harris & Mark Amato | November 15, 1999 (1999-11-15) |
| J goes to Las Vegas to try to stop his brother's wedding to Donna. |||||
| 10 | "Why Can't We Not Be Friends?" | Matthew Diamond | Billy Riback | November 22, 1999 (1999-11-22) |
| J's girlfriend Melissa returns from abroad in time for Thanksgiving, but their relationship isn't the same after months of separation. |||||
| 11 | "Online Romance" | Matthew Diamond | Valerie Ahern & Christian McLaughlin | December 6, 1999 (1999-12-06) |
| J and Gordon go crazy with their fantasies, as Gordon loves Shari in her new Scully wig. J dates a former Chicago Bulls cheerleader. |||||
| 12 | "Housesitter" | Joyce Gittlin | Valerie Ahern & Christian McLaughlin | January 3, 2000 (2000-01-03) |
| J tries to score points with his boss by watching his log cabin during a blizzard; J brings his friends along and everything goes bad. |||||
| 13 | "Instant Karma" | Sheldon Epps | Matthew Miller | January 24, 2000 (2000-01-24) |
| J tells a blind date that he'll call her and doesn't, so his karma suddenly go bad; he gets locked out of his apartment, gets an infection on his butt and loses to Gordon in basketball. Meanwhile, Gordon investigates his maid and finds out what she really does. |||||
| 14 | "Action" | John Tracy | Mark Blutman & Howard Busgang | February 7, 2000 (2000-02-07) |
| J, Gordon and Shari get cast as extras in Cameron Russell's new movie. J discovers the other side of his favorite action hero. Guest Star: Paul Michael Levesque as Cameron Russell |||||
| 15 | "Valentine's J" | John Tracy | Jeny Quine | February 14, 2000 (2000-02-14) |
| J and Marcus battle to see who can get the most attractive date. J gets multiple dates and everything backfires in his face. |||||
| 16 | "New Job" | John Tracy | Pamela Eells | February 21, 2000 (2000-02-21) |
| J thinks he hit the jackpot when he goes to work for a computer genius. Sheri gets to edit her first book. |||||
| 17 | "Sons & Lovers" | Tony Singletary | Stephen Lloyd | March 20, 2000 (2000-03-20) |
| J meets an older woman and begins dating her. Unknown to him, she's Logan's mother, and Logan discovers them in bed together. Logan claims that it doesn't bother him, but he has J doing more work. It's not until Logan's mother finds out that J's suffering comes to an end, as does their relationship. |||||
| 18 | "J's Pet Peeve" | Rich Correll | Van Whitfield | April 10, 2000 (2000-04-10) |
| J agrees to watch Melissa's dog, who doesn't like him. |||||
| 19 | "The Car Makes the Man" | Iris Dugow | Scott Rosenbaum | May 1, 2000 (2000-05-01) |
| J buys a Mercedes to pretend to be successful, and ends up going into poverty to pay off the expensive bill. |||||
| 20 | "Out of Sync" | Rich Correll | Story by : Jaleel White Teleplay by : Billy Riback | May 8, 2000 (2000-05-08) |
| J creates his own boy band, the Macho Five. It backfires in his face when the group dumps him and makes Gordon a member. |||||
| 21 | "Match Breaker J" | Lillah McCarthy | John Hunter & Chuck Snyder | May 15, 2000 (2000-05-15) |
| J tries to match Logan up with the new intern. |||||
| 22 | "Nerds of a Feather Gawk Together" | John Tracy | Dan Signer | May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22) |
| J tries to help some of his coworkers with dating by offering them tips. He also discovers that Melissa is getting married after he sees her with a wedding ring; he realizes that he loves her and proposes to her. Melissa agrees, and reveals that the ring was her girlfriend's ring for her marriage. |||||