Show cover for Grounded for Life

The Best Episodes of Grounded for Life

Every episode of Grounded for Life ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Grounded for Life!

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...
Genres:FamilyComedy
Networks:FOXThe WB
Episodes
91
Avg. Rating
7.6
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.5
7.9
7.5
7.7
7.4
7.8
7.0
7.8
7.4
7.7
7.8
7.6

Filter By Season (5)

  • Henry's Been Working for the Drug Squad
    8.5/10(163)
    Loading...

    #1 - Henry's Been Working for the Drug Squad

    Season 3 Episode 6

    Aired 3/7/2003

    From TV Guide: Following his school's drug-awareness day, Henry thinks his family is on drugs and stages an intervention for Sean after he finds a suspicious plant growing in the yard.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: Ned Goldreyer

    Comments

    0
  • I Right the Wrongs
    8.2/10(170)
    Loading...

    #2 - I Right the Wrongs

    Season 4 Episode 4

    Aired 9/19/2003

    Brad is bothered that Lily is embarrassed to be seen with him, so Sean tries to make over his geeky image. But all Sean succeeds in doing is inadvertantly getting another student suspended from school... Which leads to an in-bar confrontation with Sister Helen. Meanwhile, Jimmy's ""trademark"" hair-length has become an issue at school. Elsewhere, Claudia helps Eddie deal with an unwise purchase he made for the bar -- by getting drunk with the customers. And Lily confesses her relationship with Brad in front of the entire school.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Hello, Goodbye
    8.2/10(152)
    Loading...

    #3 - Hello, Goodbye

    Season 5 Episode 13

    Aired 1/28/2005

    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!

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: Mike Schiff, Bill Martin

    Comments

    0
  • It's Hard to be a Saint in the City
    8.1/10(141)
    Loading...

    #4 - It's Hard to be a Saint in the City

    Season 4 Episode 22

    Aired 3/5/2004

    This one might be better: Sean is having trouble keeping the bar alive and Claudia asks him to reconsider running it. With St. Patrick's Day around the corner Eddie tries to lure customers over from rival pubs. Meanwhile, Brad and Lily prepare for the parade and Jimmy is having trouble understanding the meaning of St. Patrick's day.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Oops!...I Did It Again
    8.0/10(124)
    Loading...

    #5 - Oops!...I Did It Again

    Season 2 Episode 22

    Aired 5/8/2002

    A home-pregnancy test in the trash has Sean convinced Lily is with child, but it may be Claudia who has something unexpected to tell him. Meanwhile, Lily learns the truth about the musical circumstances surrounding her birth; and Jimmy sings the blues about the zit that is taking over his face.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Space Camp Oddity
    8.0/10(132)
    Loading...

    #6 - Space Camp Oddity

    Season 4 Episode 28

    Aired 5/7/2004

    Lily has her doubts when Brad tells her about a girl he once had a relationship with at space camp named Lana. But Brad, tired of Lily thinking this, changes his Summer plans and boards a bus to space camp with a very cute, and very real, Lana.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: Chris Kelly

    Comments

    0
    Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Grounded for Life

    READ
  • The Policy of Truth
    8.0/10(136)
    Loading...

    #7 - The Policy of Truth

    Season 5 Episode 1

    Aired 9/17/2004

    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.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: Chris Kelly

    Comments

    0
  • The Letter(s)
    8.0/10(127)
    Loading...

    #8 - The Letter(s)

    Season 5 Episode 11

    Aired 1/14/2005

    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.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Eddie's Dead
    7.9/10(157)
    Loading...

    #9 - Eddie's Dead

    Season 1 Episode 9

    Aired 4/4/2001

    Sean (Donal Logue) tries to keep Eddie (Kevin Corrigan) from hitting on a woman (guest star Julie Claire) Claudia (Megyn Price) is consoling after a break-up.

    Director: Brian Levant

    Writer: Chris Kelly

    Comments

    0
  • Baby, You Can't Drive My Car
    7.9/10(149)
    Loading...

    #10 - Baby, You Can't Drive My Car

    Season 2 Episode 1

    Aired 9/26/2001

    After the family car goes missing one night, the Finnertys find themselves at an impasse: Sean is in mourning over the loss, while Claudia hopes to gain from a slightly inflated insurance claim. But when the battered remains of the car are towed to the house a few days later, it becomes clear that Lily has been covering her tracks about an ill-fated joyride -- and the reason why her parents have to buy the missing parts from Eddie's maniacal mechanic.

    Director: Ken Kwapis

    Writer: Chris Kelly, Ned Goldreyer

    Comments

    0
  • The Kids Are Alright
    7.9/10(141)
    Loading...

    #11 - The Kids Are Alright

    Season 2 Episode 17

    Aired 4/3/2002

    When Sean and Claudia win a free weekend in Atlantic City, Eddie offers to look after the boys while they are away. At first suspicious of his offer, they succumb because they desperately want the time away. But when they return from their trip to find Jimmy and Henry locked in the basement, they are shocked to find out that it was Lily and not Eddie who put them there. As Lily tries to explain what happened at home over the weekend, it becomes clear to Sean and Claudia that, surprisingly, Eddie was not such a bad choice to take care of the kids after all, even if he really did have an ulterior motive.

    Director: John Putch

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Tonight's the Night
    7.9/10(134)
    Loading...

    #12 - Tonight's the Night

    Season 3 Episode 11

    Aired 5/9/2003

    Lily winds up with the strangest bedfellow after Dean fails to pitch enough woo on her monumental 16th birthday. Meanwhile, Henry and Jimmy put Sean's shoddy fathering skills to the test with a con-game and a hot-wings binge.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Catch Us If You Can
    7.8/10(151)
    Loading...

    #13 - Catch Us If You Can

    Season 1 Episode 10

    Aired 4/18/2001

    Sean catches a fly ball that's still in play and loses a game for the Yankees. Claudia's upset when the bachelorette party she's throwing for her girlfriend gets disrupted by Sean, Eddie and the boys, who have been chased home by irate fans.

    Director: Ken Kwapis

    Writer: Jim O'Doherty, David Israel

    Comments

    0
  • Jimmy Was Kung-Fu Fighting
    7.8/10(149)
    Loading...

    #14 - Jimmy Was Kung-Fu Fighting

    Season 1 Episode 12

    Aired 5/2/2001

    To save for a dream vacation to Mexico, Sean and Claudia start working extra shifts at work. This leads to chaos at home, with Eddie raising the kids, Lily getting her tongue pierced, Jimmy becoming a bully, and Henry panhandling and eating out of the garbage.

    Director: Terry Hughes

    Writer: Brad Copeland

    Comments

    0
  • Mrs. Finnerty, You've Got a Lovely Daughter
    7.8/10(157)
    Loading...

    #15 - Mrs. Finnerty, You've Got a Lovely Daughter

    Season 1 Episode 14

    Aired 5/16/2001

    When Lily is miserable because she and her girlfriends have been booed off the stage at the school's talent show, Sean and Claudia have some explaining to do. Meanwhile, the Finnerty's get roped into buying cases of candy bars that the boys are selling for school.

    Director: Kenny Ortega

    Writer: Aron Abrams

    Comments

    0
  • Love Child
    7.8/10(146)
    Loading...

    #16 - Love Child

    Season 1 Episode 15

    Aired 5/23/2001

    Sean has some explaining to do when Lily’s devastated to discover that she was born out of wedlock.

    Director: Craig Zisk

    Writer: Chris Kelly, Ned Goldreyer

    Comments

    0
  • Dream On
    7.8/10(145)
    Loading...

    #17 - Dream On

    Season 2 Episode 2

    Aired 10/3/2001

    Claudia's dream about Eddie has Sean out to relight his wife's fire, until he goes down in flames during an impromptu visit to her work. Meanwhile, Lily bombs out with a new boy after guzzling Jimmy's spiked cider. (TV Guide)

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Let's Talk About Sex, Henry
    7.8/10(140)
    Loading...

    #18 - Let's Talk About Sex, Henry

    Season 2 Episode 8

    Aired 1/2/2002

    After Henry unexpectedly catches Sean and Claudia having sex, Sean is determined to handle the inevitable topic of the birds and the bees with Henry in a better way than Walt did with he and Eddie. After having a father/son talk with Henry about sex, Sean feels good about how he handled things. When Sean and Claudia catch word that they have a ""reputation"", they discover that Henry told his entire class about what he caught Sean and Claudia doing, forcing them to do some damage control.

    Director: Peter Lauer

    Writer: Jim O'Doherty, Bob Kushell

    Comments

    0
  • Cat Scratch Fever (a.k.a. The Bitch Is Back)
    7.8/10(132)
    Loading...

    #19 - Cat Scratch Fever (a.k.a. The Bitch Is Back)

    Season 3 Episode 3

    Aired 12/3/2002

    Things get tense at the bar when Sean hires his high school fantasy girl as the bartender. And Lily freaks out when she tells Dean she loves him at a concert and can't hear his reponse.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: Ned Goldreyer

    Comments

    0
  • Just Like a Woman
    7.8/10(134)
    Loading...

    #20 - Just Like a Woman

    Season 3 Episode 5

    Aired 2/28/2003

    The boys mock Sean when he can't get the lugnuts off of the car, leaving him to have his wife attract a trucker's attention to change the flat tire while he sits in drag in the backseat. Elsewhere, Eddie holds a garage sale at Sean's house where he sells off hot merchandise and his brother's possessions, and he welcomes the kids to partake in the sale. But Lily is mortified when Brad buys her old bra from Eddie, then boasts to the school that he and Lily have slept together.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: Brad Copeland

    Comments

    0
  • Your Father Should Know (2)
    7.8/10(124)
    Loading...

    #21 - Your Father Should Know (2)

    Season 4 Episode 2

    Aired 9/5/2003

    Claudia feels it's time to smooth relations between the two families by having the O'Keefes over for dinner, but the evening falls apart when Brad's mother blames Lily for taking Brad's innocence. Meanwhile, Eddie teaches Jimmy and Henry a lesson in respecting other people's property after he finds out that they used his coin collection to play arcade games.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • My Ex-Boyfriend's Back
    7.8/10(132)
    Loading...

    #22 - My Ex-Boyfriend's Back

    Season 4 Episode 13

    Aired 1/16/2004

    Lily resents her ex-boyfriend's ability to move on so quickly after she dumped him; Eddie's stand-up routine flops until he incorporates material from Claudia and Sean's personal life.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Ned Goldreyer

    Comments

    0
  • Pressure Drop
    7.8/10(131)
    Loading...

    #23 - Pressure Drop

    Season 4 Episode 26

    Aired 4/23/2004

    Claudia tries to alleviate Sean's hypertension and high blood pressure by running the household all by herself but everything goes awry. Jimmy gets suspended from school, which causes a set of problems all its own, and Lily and Brad break her bed so they steal the family car... and get it impounded.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: Eric Kentoff

    Comments

    0
  • Get a Job
    7.8/10(130)
    Loading...

    #24 - Get a Job

    Season 4 Episode 27

    Aired 4/30/2004

    Lily is less than thrilled about Brad's new job, which is taking up all of his time. Meanwhile, Walt's having problems finding work, so Sean and Eddie offer him a job at the bar... but they soon find that he takes over. Jimmy's at the age where he finds his mother to be an embarrassment, so Claudia sets out to bond with him.

    Director: John Blanchard

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Day Tripper
    7.8/10(125)
    Loading...

    #25 - Day Tripper

    Season 5 Episode 4

    Aired 10/8/2004

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0

Best Episodes Summary

"Henry's Been Working for the Drug Squad" is the best rated episode of "Grounded for Life". It scored 8.5/10 based on 163 votes. Directed by John Blanchard and written by Ned Goldreyer, it aired on 3/7/2003. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "I Right the Wrongs".