Joey arrives in L.A. after his new agent offers him his choice of parts on two TV shows, and befriends his neighbor, Alex. His nephew, Michael, wants to move in with him at his new apartment, but Joey fears that this will upset his sister, Gina.

Having trouble meeting new people in L.A., Joey throws a party to get to know some of his neighbors. Unfortunately, the one he'd like to get to know, Jake, seems to be more interested in Gina. Also, Alex pretends to be Michael's girlfriend so that he can one-up his friend.

Joey joins Michael's book club to meet pretty women. Unfortunately for Michael, the girl he is crazy about, seems to have more interest in Joey than him. Meanwhile, looking to get her hairdressing work noticed, Gina bargains with Alex.

There's a vacant apartment in the complex, and Joey and Michael try to hide it from Gina, fearing that she'll want to move in to be closer to them. Also, Joey is understudying in three plays at once and unfortunately for him, he gets called upon to perform on stage in all three of them on the same evening.

Michael is sick and Gina is delighted cause now she feels needed again and takes care of him. However, this bothers Joey, because now his sister is around all the time, so Gina offers him to crash at her place until Michael gets better. While staying at Gina's, Joey meets her secret boyfriend and confronts him. Also, an actor named Brian Michael David Scott repeatedly tricks Joey into missing auditions.

After Gina keeps complaining about her current workplace, Joey decides to loan her some money, so that she can open her own salon, but she has second thoughts. Also, Alex's husband Eric returns to town and things get weird between him and Joey.

Gina's high school friend Donna comes to town, recently separated from her husband. Joey, who has had a huge crush on Donna for years, is happier than ever when they start going out. However, Donna confides in Gina that her husband wants to reconcile, and begs her not to tell Joey. Meanwhile, Michael is startled to discover that he was a great baseball player when he was younger.

Well, Donna begged her not to, but of course Gina tells Joey about Donna's husband begging to reconcile. Joey takes Donna to a romantic bed-and-breakfast, but when Ron shows up in town, Donna ultimately ends up heading back to New York with him. Meanwhile, Alex discovers that she's hot and that hot girls get free stuff.

A discouraged Joey is just looking for an audition for a good show. At Alex's Northwestern alumni party, he's mistaken for a fellow alumni, and introduced to the Northwestern Mafia. They help him get an audition for a show called Deep Powder, described as "Baywatch on skis." Joey's a little depressed that he's auditioning for the father of 2 teenage characters.

Bobbie gets Joey a job as a celebrity judge for the Miss Southwestern U.S.A. pageant, taking place in Las Vegas. With Gina, Michael and Alex in tow, he heads for Vegas. While there, Alex reveals her Celine Dion obsession, Michael teaches Gina how to count cards, and Joey accidentally sleeps with a pageant contestant.

Joey meets Deep Powder's executive producer, Lauren Beck. Joey worries that he may be fired after giving away a plot twist at a press conference. Alex, Gina and Michael decorate the apartment for Joey for Christmas.

Joey's relationship with costar Katie has consequences that could get him fired from the show, unless he manages to talk her out of her dressing room. Joey and Lauren acknowledge their feelings for one another. After Gina teaches Alex how to make lasagna, Joey is forced to judge a taste test.

Unable to decide who to take to the premiere of Deep Powder, Joey struggles to find tickets for Gina, Michael and Alex. Michael meets a girl and Brent Spiner and must choose who to leave with. Gina's date is Lauren's ex-boyfriend. Alex's date is a lesbian. Joey and Lauren kiss.

Following Bobbie's advice to get an assistant, Joey winds up with Glen, who couldn't be better. But when Glen starts dating Gina, his worlds colliding means problems for Joey. Eventually, Gina and Joey create some guidelines so that Glen can continue working for both of them. Meanwhile, Alex mediates Michael's dispute over a patent with his friend Seth.

Bobbie has booked Joey on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. En route to the show, he's stuck in a major traffic jam. After giving the finger to a guy who cut him off, Michael is terrified after they are stuck next to the guy's car. Gina meets two guys, one in an El Camino and one in a Mercedes. Alex saves the day when she shows up with a motorcycle that gets Joey onstage and hugging Jay Leno just in time.

Joey accidentally makes a date with a reporter from "People" for Valentine's Day. He has the gang "accidentally" bump into him and his date at the restaurant to ruin the mood, but his plans backfire when she thinks he's taking their relationship to the next level. A drunken Alex shares some sexual secrets with Gina. After Joey sends Michael over to hit on a table of girls, Michael actually becomes "one of the girls."

Joey is nominated for a Daytime Soap Award for his death scene on Days of Our Lives. (For the record, he was stabbed.) He is also presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress, and a problem arises when his inability to correctly pronounce one of the nominees' names leads to his saying the wrong name entirely. Meanwhile, Gina struggles with the fact that she is dressed unlike herself for the event.

Joey and Gina's sister Mary Theresa is coming for a visit, and Gina can't stand her because she thinks the world revolves around her. When Mary Theresa discovers that her engagement ring is fake, she decides to call off the wedding and stay in California, leaving Joey and Gina to try to find a way to get her to return to New York. Meanwhile, Michael is oblivious of a girl's interest in him.

When he investigates the hot women coming out of the apartment across the courtyard, Joey discovers beautiful new neighbor Sara, a photographer. She is surprisingly straightforward and asks Joey out. After his date with Sara goes well, Joey forgets to cancel his backup and she shows up at the complex. Sara lets Joey know that she'll be okay with him dating other women, but that she'll be seeing other men as well. Meanwhile, Eric is home for the first time in two months, and he and Alex are not getting along. They have a long talk and decide to separate.

As Eric moves out of their apartment and into one across the courtyard, Alex plants herself up in Joey's room with a pair of binoculars as Eric invites another woman over. After Alex goes to bed, Joey sees Eric kissing the other woman. Meanwhile, Joey's got problems of his own: even though he and Sara are allowed to see other people, he's not because he's too crazy about Sara. Trying to make her jealous, Joey discovers that she likes him as much as he likes her, and they decide not to see other people.

Just as Joey and Sara become exclusive, Joey has to do a love scene with Carmen Electra for Deep Powder. Meanwhile, Alex struggles with the knowledge that Eric kissed another woman.

Joey asks Bobbie to help Sara find work. Sara gets a job working for Newsweek in Washington DC. Trying to get her to stay, Joey tells Sara he loves her and asks her to move in. Meanwhile, Michael's new girlfriend, a 45-year-old woman, cheats on him with a 60-something professor. Alex is struggling to keep herself together.

After asking Sara to move in with him, Joey freaks out. Sara freaks out too, and leaves without saying goodbye. Joey is heartbroken. On her first date in a long time, Alex accidentally offers sex to the guy, and Joey gets rid of him. While doing shots in Joey's bedroom and commiserating about the sad state of their love lives, Alex and Joey kiss! Meanwhile, Bobbie sets herself up with Michael at a Star Wars preview. When Gina confronts Bobbie about being attracted to Michael, Bobbie offers her a job.