This fall, fans of ‘80s movies and ‘90s TV have the chance to swoon, giggle and enjoy once again the comedy of John Stamos and Rob Lowe - all thanks to Fox.

Fox has paired the two together, along with The Wonder Years’ very own Fred Savage, in one Tuesday night comedy lineup debuting this fall that was introduced to fans Tuesday evening in Los Angeles at PaleyFest.

After screenings of both new series, TV Guide Magazine’s Michael Schneider sat down with the cast and crew of both shows to discuss “two handsome men with pacts with the devil.”

“I think Fox marketing should just call it ‘The Fox Handsome Hour,’” he said.

First off in that hour is Grandfathered, a story about a confirmed bachelor (Stamos) who is reluctantly reunited with his long-lost son (Josh Peck) who is also carting along his own daughter, disrupting Stamos’ life in one fell swoop.

“I cant think of anyone else who could have done it other than John, really,” said Executive Producer and Creator Danny Chun, explaining that Stamos can be a leading man but also make fun of himself.

“We built this guy up who’s sort of proper and egotistical,” said Stamos, “and then just deconstruct him all the way through. There’s a time now where people can’t be too serious about themselves or they’re just booted out of this business.”

Chun’s idea was to make a sitcom that draws from movies like Jerry Maguire and Kramer vs. Kramer, “character studies of men who are trying to be better,” said Chun.

And with Garry Marshall as a consultant on the show and more guest stars than anyone could list (including Bob Saget, Bob Rickles, Dave Coulier, Dion Sanders, Richie Sambora, Criss Angel, Andy Daly and Lil Wayne), the idea seems to be flowing smoothly so far.

Another return of nostalgic comedians is The Grinder, the second half-hour comedy for Fox’s Tuesday nights that stars Rob Lowe and Fred Savage as brothers – one real lawyer, one fake.

Lowe, popular ‘80s heartthrob, was most recently in NBC’s Parks and Recreation. Savage is better known for The Wonder Years but also has been in the director’s chair for TV more lately, but one can see why Fox is playing up the nostalgia factor with the Tuesday night block.

Schneider called the show “two shows in one,” because excerpts from the faux series ‘The Grinder’ often pop up inside the real show The Grinder.

Lowe, who said he wanted to “find a worthy successor” to Parks and Recreation, also said, “we learned to put The Grinder stuff at the end of the day because it’s so fun to do and so stupid.” He loved the idea to play on all of the bad and well-known tropes of a show like The Grinder to make it as over-the-top and fun as possible.

Savage was in a similar boat, who said he “built this directing career that was going great” before he was handed the script that he couldn’t say no to. “The cast is put together of people who all had no interest in doing a show on Fox,” said Savage, who added that Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who plays his wife in the show, was busy writing, and much of the rest of the cast were taking breaks from TV before signing on.

“It spoke to all of us and we put everything on hold,” said Savage. “We all ended up here because we were so excited about the script that these guys wrote.”

Co-Creator/Executive Producer Jarrad Paul says the idea for the show came from a series of conversations he had with fellow Creator/Executive Producer Andrew Mogel about ER’s Noah Wyle.

“I mean, he’s got to know some stuff,” said Paul on the subject of actors who played doctors, lawyers and other professionals on TV.

Lowe also revealed that one of the upcoming episodes of The Grinder lets the audience in on the secret of why his character left his show. Apparently it was a problem of getting along with the show’s creator, who will be played by Jason Alexander (who apparently got the role by watching the pilot on the plane and calling the team to get involved).

Grandfathered and The Grinder both premiere Tuesday, Sept. 29 on Fox.

[Images courtesy of © The Paley Center for Media]

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