The BEST episodes of Grounded for Life

Every episode of Grounded for Life ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Grounded for Life!

Having started procreating at a young age, Claudia and Sean aren't sure they're ready for parenthood - even after having three kids. This series tells the story of kids - as well as the adults - growing up.

Last Updated: 12/26/2023Network: FOXStatus: Ended
Share:
Who Are You?
star
8.33
51 votes

#1 - Who Are You?

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/28/2003

Sean and Claudia are shocked to learn that Jimmy has been shoplifting and try to figure out his motivations for stealing. Elsewhere, Lily agonizes over what to wear for dinner with Dean's parents. Brad helps her find the perfect outfit, but Dean's parents turn out to be not so great. Meanwhile, Henry brings home his class's pet lizard.

Watch Now:Amazon
Baby, You Can't Drive My Car
star
8.24
29 votes

#2 - 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.

Directors: Ken Kwapis
Watch Now:Amazon
Don't Let Me Download
star
8.16
31 votes

#3 - Don't Let Me Download

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/21/2001

Claudia is shocked to find some racy pictures downloaded on Jimmy's computer, and insists that she and Sean confront him about it, but Sean wants to ignore the situation. Later, Sean confesses to Walt that he downloaded the pictures, and its not long before Claudia discovers that Sean is the guilty culprit. Meanwhile, Lily gives Jimmy a picture of Sister Helen which they doctor and use as an e-mail joke. But when the e-mail is sent to Sister Helen, things aren't so funny anymore.

Directors: Dennie Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
star
8.12
82 votes

#4 - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/19/2004

Depressed that she doesn't feel sexy while pregnant, Claudia gets a boost when her cute study buddy, Steve, flirts with her. But her bubble is burst when she finds out that Sean paid him to do it. Meanwhile, Lily helps Eddie write material for his stand-up routine, but it backfires when another comic steals Eddie's jokes. Brad gets a reluctant Jimmy into Sciencenauts and his attitude changes when he finds out that the ""secret"" of every meeting involves porn.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Rubber Sold
star
8.04
27 votes

#5 - Rubber Sold

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/28/2001

Sean freaks out over Lily's attending a bash at Brad's after he spots the nerdy neighbor stocking up on certain sexy party supplies.

Directors: Peter Werner
Writer: Bob Kushell
Watch Now:Amazon
Dream On
star
8.03
34 votes

#6 - 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)

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Smoke on the Daughter
star
8.00
27 votes

#7 - Smoke on the Daughter

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/12/2001

During a stressful day at work, Claudia takes a puff of a co-worker's cigarette which quickly turns into an entire cigarette and then a daily habit. Desperate to keep her smoking habit from Sean and the kids, Claudia tries her best to smoke without being found out, but is busted by Lily. Lily makes a deal with her - she won't say anything if Claudia will get her a cell phone and Claudia agrees. Sean thinks that Claudia's bizarre behavior lately has something to do with him, prompting him to buy her the expensive armoire Claudia was admiring recently at the flea market. When her quest for a cigarette leads to her digging through the trash and landing outside Brad O'Keefe's window, she realizes she has hit a new low and swears off her habit. Meanwhile, after setting a date with Dean on her new cell phone, Lily is humiliated to find out Dean heard her gushing about him when the phone didn't turn off.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Mustang Lily
star
8.00
52 votes

#8 - Mustang Lily

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/24/2002

Sean blows his shot at snagging a loan from Claudia's dad (Stephen Root) after losing the car he gave Lily for her birthday in a street race. Meanwhile, Henry and Jimmy put the squeeze on their grandfather for some hefty Tooth Fairy funds.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Pressure Drop
star
8.00
76 votes

#9 - 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.

Directors: John Blanchard
Writer: Eric Kentoff
Watch Now:Amazon
Devil's Haircut
star
7.97
71 votes

#10 - Devil's Haircut

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/28/2001

Sean (Donal Logue) tries to disguise the fact that he cut Henry's (Jake Burbage) hair himself instead of taking him to a barber shop.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Henry's Been Working for the Drug Squad
star
7.96
52 votes

#11 - 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.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Drive Me Crazy
star
7.96
51 votes

#12 - Drive Me Crazy

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/28/2003

For the second time, Lily has failed her behind-the-wheel exam. But this time it's not her fault, it's Sean's, who went out of her way to sabotage her driving test by teaching her rediculous driving tips, such as the all-important ""W-turn."" In other events, Claudia is having a devil of a time keeping Henry and Jimmy from playing a violent video game condemned by Sister Helen -- but she winds up addicted to it herself.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
All Apologies
star
7.93
76 votes

#13 - All Apologies

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/30/2004

During a romantic getaway at a hotel, Claudia and Sean watch an adult film and realize it was shot in their home; a girl bullying Jimmy might actually like him.

Watch Now:Amazon
Just Like a Woman
star
7.92
53 votes

#14 - 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.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Swearin' to God
star
7.91
23 votes

#15 - Swearin' to God

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/10/2002

Sean exploits a nun's foulmouthed slip of the tongue to get Claudia and the kids everything they've ever wanted from St. Finnian's.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Eddie and This Guy with Diamonds
star
7.91
23 votes

#16 - Eddie and This Guy with Diamonds

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/17/2002

Sean winds up in jail for buying some shady diamond earrings for Claudia from Eddie's so-called ""connection""; Lily protests the nuns's donkey-basketball game.

Directors: John Putch
Writer: Jeremy Hall
Watch Now:Amazon
Jimmy's Got a Gun
star
7.89
61 votes

#17 - Jimmy's Got a Gun

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/25/2001

Walt gives Jimmy a BB gun for his birthday, prompting an all-out war between him and Sean, which ends up with Walt in the hospital, shot in the rump.

Directors: Paul Lazarus
Watch Now:Amazon
Crazy
star
7.88
52 votes

#18 - Crazy

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/21/2005

Eddie's ex, Amy, displays naked photos of him in an art gallery, but he's too afraid to ask her to remove them... because she's crazy! Meanwhile, Sean is having problems trying to sell the Red Boot; Claudia has a baby shower; and Jimmy fills in on the cheerleading squad to get close to the girls.

Watch Now:Amazon
I Fought the In-Laws
star
7.88
24 votes

#19 - I Fought the In-Laws

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/24/2002

The minor insults of Claudia's visiting parents get so far under an insecure Sean's skin that it starts to look like he's gone out of his mind. Meanwhile, karaoke leads to an unlikely liplock between Brad and Lily.

Watch Now:Amazon
Hello, Goodbye
star
7.87
80 votes

#20 - 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!

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Eddie's Dead
star
7.86
70 votes

#21 - 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.

Directors: Brian Levant
Writer: Chris Kelly
Watch Now:Amazon
It's Hard to be a Saint in the City
star
7.85
48 votes

#22 - 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.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
Loser
star
7.85
60 votes

#23 - Loser

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 5/9/2001

Sean volunteers to referee Henry's soccer team and ends up making an unethical decision in the team's favor. Which in hindsight wasn't a great idea, when Henry gets an inflated ego. So Sean tries to make things right the following week by making an unethical decision in the opposing team's favor. . . Meanwhile, Lily flirts with the cute guy at the concession stand and the conversation leaves her walking on air. But when she starts to obsess over the introduction, she replays the scene over and over in her head, each time thinking that she made a bigger and bigger fool of herself.

Directors: John Blanchard
Watch Now:Amazon
The Kids Are Alright
star
7.85
20 votes

#24 - 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.

Directors: John Putch
Watch Now:Amazon
Take It to the Limit
star
7.85
52 votes

#25 - Take It to the Limit

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/13/2002

Lily's compulsive credit-card usage sinks Sean's plans to take Jimmy and his friends to a pricey waterpark; Eddie refuses to open up to his family about the contents of his mysterious locked box. (TV Guide)

Directors: Dennie Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon