How We Roll

Pete Holmes talks about his new sitcom 'How We Roll,' bowling shirts and rethinking comedy tours.

I was in the middle of a tour in 2020. Why do I want to tell a joke so many times that I literally hate it? Being in the same city, Wednesday through Monday, at a certain point I want to hate my own material. It should be just a nice way to check in with your fans and have fun. And again, it’s a privileged thing to be asked to put your bone marrow in that wood chipper — but there was a little bit of a hesitancy to do [something like that] again. It doesn’t have to be a cash grab. During the quarantine, for Disney, I did Home Sweet Home Alone, which was the first thing in many years that I was a part of that I didn’t write. And my son on the show wants to be a tap dancer, and Tom wasn’t trying to convince him to play football instead. But Conan O’Brien likened doing a show that revolves around your life, your personality, to putting your bone marrow in a wood chipper. This is not a slight, but I am curious. Crashing was certainly like a baby to me, to be involved in every decision, every cut, every song, everything like that. I think they cut it out every single time I said it, but I kept trying to work in that I looked like Guy Fieri’s caddy or Guy Fieri’s masseuse.

Katie Lowes, Chi McBride and Julie White co-star in the new sitcom, based on the real story of pro bowler Tom Smallwood.

Most Pilot-y Line: Because Archie’s Lanes is “Home of the Curly Fry,” we wonder how many curly fry references we’re going to get. Despite the lack of laughs, we found both in How We Roll, produced by TV veterans Mark Gross and David Hollander, along with actor Brian d’Arcy James. There was a warmth to the show that was evident from the start; it doesn’t treat Tom’s bowling dreams as crazy, maybe because they actually came true in real life. How long that will take is anybody’s guess; CBS provided the pilot for preview, then episodes 4 and 5, indicating that, like most sitcoms, the first few episodes are as shaky as the pilot. It’s based on the true story of the real Tom Smallwood, so there’s some real-life inspiration to be mined as the fictional Tom tries to become a top pro bowler. And, while Tom thinks this is the perfect time to go for it, he’s learned from his mom Helen (Julie White) to always go for the safe choice. He is likeable, mainly because his comedy has an easygoing warmth to it that most of his colleagues don’t even try to muster.

As a skilled player, Tom (Holmes) knows that in bowling you get two chances; no matter what you do with the first ball, you get another one to make it right - the ultimate second chance. Keeping that in mind, Tom begins his new career with the loving ...

Pete Holmes stars in a new comedy inspired by the life of professional bowler Tom Smallwood, who gets laid off from his factory job and makes the ...

CBS' 'How We Roll' Scores Second-Most Watched Broadcast Comedy Debut of Season Behind 'Ghosts' · Related Stories · optional screen reader · More From Variety · Most ...

See below for the full Nielsen rankings for premiere audiences for broadcast TV’s new comedies of the 2021-2022 season. Based on professional bowler Tom Smallwood’s life, “How We Roll” stars Holmes as Tom, a stoic Midwest husband and dad who gets laid off from a car assembly line and makes the extraordinary decision to provide for his family by following his dream of becoming a professional bowler, per CBS. “As a skilled player, Tom knows that in bowling you get two chances; no matter what you do with the first ball, you get another one to make it right — the ultimate second chance. In third is ABC’s “The Wonder Years” reboot from producer Lee Daniels.

'How We Roll" features Pete Holmes as 35-year-old Tom Smallwood, who after being laid off decides to pursue a career as a professional bowler.

So, the one piece of positive news is Katie Lowes as Tom’s supportive wife Jen, who has dreams of opening her own salon one day. The official logline for How We Roll: As a skilled player, Tom knows that in bowling you get two chances; no matter what you do with the first ball, you get another one to make it right — the ultimate second chance. Historically, anything the network airs in the Thursday 9:30 p.m. ET half hour is generally the lowest-rated of the quartet of sitcoms on the evening.