Hank Episode 1.01 Pilot

Ever wonder if there's any upside to downsizing? Hank Pryor is about to find out.

We first meet Hank Pryor (Kelsey Grammer) and his family on moving day. They are headed out of their Park Avenue pad en route to a new life in rural River Bend, Virginia. This is the hometown of Hank's wife, Tilly (Melinda McGraw), as well as the place where Hank opened the first of 170 Pryor Sporting Goods stores.

A hostile takeover of his company has forced this self-made man to downsize his entire life. Teenage daughter Maddie (Jordan Hinson) isn't happy about leaving her boyfriend behind in the Big Apple. But young son Henry (Nathan Gamble) is more optimistic about the move to the country. He says in his best Yoda voice, "Excited I am. Undertaking a grand adventure are we."

We're guessing the Pryor's new home isn't as lavish as their place in Manhattan. After all, the stove is smack-dab in the middle of the living room. Tilly's brother, Grady (David Koechner) recommended the broken-down house they bought. Fortunately, he's a contractor and is willing to give his standard 5% family discount on all repairs. Grady seems to revel in the fact that he and Hank are now in the same tax bracket.

When the movers can't fit Hank's mattress up the stairs, Grady offers to take it off their hands. He even gives them his son Kyle's old fire truck bed as a replacement. The little red bed comes complete with a cute little bell overhead, but this is still a few sizes smaller than their previous king-size sleeping conditions. After a little physical showdown over bed boundaries, Hank and Tilly realize that being so close isn't so bad. But the good times don't last long once Tilly realizes Hank isn't exactly enjoying all the newfound time he gets to spend with his family.

Henry is having trouble sleeping. He thinks there may be a ghost in his room. Hank does his best to alleviate his son's fears, but he hasn't had much practice doing the father-son bonding thing. Maddie says she often sings to Henry whenever he's freaked out. Hank finds this a little hard to believe. Nevertheless, he breaks into a stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. He doesn't make it through the whole song, as he realizes his kids are pulling a fast one on him once they start laughing hysterically. We're cracking up, too.

To his credit, Hank gives it another try with Henry. As they chat, Hank realizes that Henry isn't really afraid of ghosts. He's afraid of other things. Everything is different in their new life. They all have to start over. And that can be scary. Hank admits he's a little afraid of their future, too. He offers to lay with Henry to help him feel better about things. Remember how we said Hank isn't all that experienced in that father-son bonding area? Well, that doesn't look to be the case any longer.

Hank may have lost everything he worked so hard for in his previous life, but he still has his family. We're gonna be pulling for him as he tries to turn things around and make his way back to the top. See, Hank Pryor has always believed he was destined for greatness. He may be right about that. But it may not be the greatness he imagined.