10 Items or Less (TV series)

The series stars John Lehr as a failed New York City businessman who moves back to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio to take over the family supermarket following the death of his father. The show is set in the fictional supermarket known as Greens & Grains, located at 5th Street and Tiberius.{{cite web |title=Greens & Grains Grocers – Directions |url=http://www.greensngrains.com/directions.html |access-date=January 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112142200/http://www.greensngrains.com/directions.html |archive-date=January 12, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

• Leslie Pool (John Lehr) – the owner and manager of Greens & Grains. Leslie brings his oblivious yet lovable management style to the Greens & Grains grocery store he inherits after his father's death.
• Amy Anderson (Jennifer Elise Cox) – The first and second season manager of Super Value Mart, the G&G's number one competitor from across the street. Amy went to high school with Leslie.
• Mercy P. Jones (Kim Coles) – The third season manager of Super Value Mart. She is ultra-competitive, and trying to put the G&G's out-of-business at all cost.
• Ingrid Wakowski (Kirsten Gronfield) – Ingrid is the quirky, soft-spoken customer service representative who lives for Renaissance festivals.
• Yolanda Nelson (Roberta Valderrama) – The straight talking dominant force behind the produce department.
• Todd Sykes (Chris Payne Gilbert) – Todd, the butcher who hopes to be a NASCAR driver.
• Carl Dawson (Bob Clendenin) – Carl is the sweet doofus stockboy with a huge crush on Yolanda.
• Richard Mednick (Christopher Liam Moore) – Richard is a dignified cashier who dreams of becoming a professional figure skater.
• Buchwald "Buck" Washington (Greg Davis Jr.) – Buck is a checkout bagger who is looking towards the future of becoming a doctor by attending night school.

A detailed script was written for each episode outlining the overall story arc. However, the script was not shown to the actors; instead they were provided with a loose outline of the plot, often finding out about it as they filmed. All dialogue in the show is improvised spontaneously by the actors on the set. A typical 22-minute episode was edited-down from roughly 30 hours of raw improvised dialogue and scenes.{{cite web|title=10 Items or Less on Quotes|url=https://www.quotes.net/movies/10_items_or_less_100013}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} John Lehr has described their production style as "similar to Spinal Tap." At one point during the first season, the actors demanded to see the script, but upon receiving it they decided as a group that they did not want to see the scripts again in the future.{{cite web |author1=Chris Jalufka |author2=John Lehr |title=Interview: Making Television with Actor John Lehr |url=https://eviltender.com/2012/12/19/making-television-actor-writer-john-lehr/ |website=Evil Tender |access-date=26 June 2018 |language=en |date=December 19, 2012}}

The series was filmed in a real grocery store called "Jon's" in Reseda, California (formerly Vons),{{cite news|title=Grocery-store Comedy Premieres on TBS|magazine=Progressive Grocer|date=November 28, 2006}} often with actual customers used as extras.

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| EpisodeNumber = 1

| EpisodeNumber2 = 1

| Title = The New Boss

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2006|11|27|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 101

| ShortSummary = When Leslie's father passes away, he moves back to Ohio to run the family's business, the Greens & Grains supermarket. To Leslie's surprise, Amy Anderson, the manager of the competitor Super Value Mart, tries to close a deal she made with Leslie's dad to buy Greens & Grains from Leslie.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| EpisodeNumber2 = 2

| Title = The Miracle Worker

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2006|12|04|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 102

| ShortSummary = When he discovers a stain on one of the walls that resembles Jesus, Leslie markets the stain as a miracle to get more customers into the store. Meanwhile, Carl wants to see his son, Manuelito.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| EpisodeNumber2 = 3

| Title = Health Insurance

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2006|12|11|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 103

| ShortSummary = Leslie announces that Greens & Grains is having some financial difficulties and must eliminate health insurance all together or fire one employee.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| EpisodeNumber2 = 4

| Title = What Women Want

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2006|12|18|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 104

| ShortSummary = Leslie wants to join the Bisons, a high society social club, and plans on attending an event to make sure he gets in. But, because the Bisons are big on pairs, he first needs to find a date.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| EpisodeNumber2 = 5

| Title = Bag It

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2006|12|25|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 105

| ShortSummary = Greens & Grains agrees to go head to head in a bagging competition with Super Value Mart. Leslie however does not realize that Buck, the store's best bagger, has given up bagging competitions.

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| EpisodeNumber = 6

| EpisodeNumber2 = 1

| Title = Dollar Day Afternoon

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|01|15|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 203

| ShortSummary = Leslie comes up with a plan to bring in more customers through a "free money giveaway." Meanwhile, in a failed robbery attempt, the G&G crew is taken hostage in the store and Ingrid develops Stockholm syndrome. Eventually the robbers are thwarted, but only after Leslie is shot.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| EpisodeNumber2 = 2

| Title = Forever Young

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|01|22|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 205

| ShortSummary = Leslie is devastated to learn that Buck and Amy slept together after being drunk at a club one night. Convinced Amy would go for him if he were young like Buck, Leslie resolves to "hip" himself up and snags a make out sessions of his own with Amy.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| EpisodeNumber2 = 3

| Title = To Heir Is Human

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|01|29|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 201

| ShortSummary = As Leslie remembers his father Bud on the one year anniversary of his death, he realizes there is no one to continue the legacy of G&G. He decides to find an "heir" to take over when he dies.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| EpisodeNumber2 = 4

| Title = First Time

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|02|05|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 202

| ShortSummary = Ingrid decides that its time to lose her virginity and tries to find a suitor to help her.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 10

| EpisodeNumber2 = 5

| Title = The Bromance

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|02|12|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 204

| ShortSummary = Todd wins some cows in a poker game and pitches Leslie the idea that they could use the cows to sell "the freshest meat in town".

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 11

| EpisodeNumber2 = 6

| Title = Amy Strikes Back

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|02|19|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 206

| ShortSummary = When Amy loses her job at the SuperValueMart, Leslie decides to hire her as Greens & Grains' new assistant manager, to the horror of the rest of the staff.

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| EpisodeNumber = 12

| EpisodeNumber2 = 7

| Title = Illegal Alien

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|02|26|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 207

| ShortSummary = After a calendar shoot, which Ingrid was chosen as cover model, Amy overhears that Ingrid is an illegal alien from Poland. When an attempt to have her arrested fails, Amy calls INS which eventually lands everyone in jail. Amy is the only one unable to make bail, and Leslie decides to sponsor Ingrid's citizenship.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 13

| EpisodeNumber2 = 8

| Title = The Ren Fair

| WrittenBy = Robert Hickey, Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2008|03|04|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 208

| ShortSummary = The Greens & Grains grocery store is celebrating Renaissance Days, wherein the staff dresses in 15th century garb.

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| EpisodeNumber = 14

| EpisodeNumber2 = 1

| Title = Turkey Bowling

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|01|06|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 301

| ShortSummary = Todd and Carl create a new grocery store bowling game using frozen turkeys. Leslie becomes obsessed with the game. The new Super Value Mart store manager, Mercy P. Jones, bets Leslie he can't throw 3,000 frames without leaving a single pin standing and gambling fever takes over the store.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 15

| EpisodeNumber2 = 2

| Title = Eye Can See Clearly

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|01|13|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 304

| ShortSummary = Leslie's decision to start an eye exam clinic in Greens & Grains sets off a chain of events that results in Leslie going blind, which forces him to live with Yolanda.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 16

| EpisodeNumber2 = 3

| Title = Star Trok

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|01|20|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 303

| ShortSummary = Leslie holds a Star Trok convention. When Jolene Blalock of Star Trek: Enterprise shows up for her celebrity appearance, an exploding refrigerator compressor leaves her trapped in close quarters with Leslie and Ingrid.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 17

| EpisodeNumber2 = 4

| Title = One Day at a Time

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|01|27|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 306

| ShortSummary = Leslie is convinced to help Richard's mother overcome her alcohol problems when she is caught shoplifting liquor from the store.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 18

| EpisodeNumber2 = 5

| Title = The Whistler

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|02|03|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 305

| ShortSummary = After being humiliated by Super Value Mart, Leslie decides to put his whistling talent to good use and gets air play for his tunes.

| LineColor = 4d5878

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 19

| EpisodeNumber2 = 6

| Title = The Milk Man

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|02|10|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 307

| ShortSummary = Leslie complains about getting too many expired milk jugs and runs up against the dreaded Dairy Consortium. Soon, Greens & Grains is completely depleted of dairy products, and it appears Leslie's life is in danger.

| LineColor = 4d5878

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 20

| EpisodeNumber2 = 7

| Title = Dances with Groceries

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|02|17|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 308

| ShortSummary = Leslie discovers his great, great, great grandfather was a Native American and decides to make contact with the local Shawnee Indian tribe in an attempt to connect with his heritage.

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{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 21

| EpisodeNumber2 = 8

| Title = Sesquicentennial

| WrittenBy = Nancy Hower & John Lehr

| DirectedBy = Nancy Hower

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|02|24|df=yes}}

| ProdCode = 302

| ShortSummary = Leslie celebrates the store's 150th anniversary by doing everything the old-fashioned way; Ingrid dates a man who may not be what he appears to be.

| LineColor = 4d5878

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{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928202147/http://www.10itemsorlesstv.com/ Official website] Archive.org of 10itemsorlesstv site
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121116131457/http://www.tbs.com/shows/10items/ Official website] Archive.org of TBS site
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120206000124/http://www.greensngrains.com/ Official website] Archive.org of Greens 'n' Grains grocery store site
• {{IMDb title|0826254|10 Items or Less}}

{{TBSNetwork Shows}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:10 Items Or Less (Tv Series)}}

Category:2006 American television series debuts

Category:2009 American television series endings

Category:2000s American mockumentary television series

Category:2000s American single-camera sitcoms

Category:2000s American workplace comedy television series

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television

Category:Television shows set in Montgomery County, Ohio

Category:Television shows filmed in Los Angeles

Category:Television series set in shops

Category:TBS (American TV channel) sitcoms