Cougar Town
Encyclopedia
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC
on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorce
d woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make up her dysfunctional, but supportive and caring extended family. The pilot episode of the show was broadcast after Modern Family
and the show currently airs on Wednesday nights at 9:30. ABC officially gave the series a full season pickup on October 8, 2009.
The show was created by Bill Lawrence
and Kevin Biegel
and is produced by Doozer (Lawrence's company) and Coquette Productions
in association with ABC Studios. Filming for the series takes place at Culver Studios
in Culver City, California
. The broadcasting of the pilot episode achieved 11.28 million viewers. The second season of Cougar Town premiered on September 22, 2010 with 8.35 million viewers. On January 10, 2011, Cougar Town was renewed for a third season by ABC. The third season was originally slated to premiere in November 2011, but was later moved to January 2012. However, the third season premiere did not appear on ABC's 2011-2012 mid-season schedule. It was later reported that the third season had received an episode order cut to 15 episodes, and would premiere in March.
premiere episode shows Jules while she examines her naked body in the mirror for signs of aging. Jules, now divorced from her husband Bobby, tries to re-enter the dating world and relate to her young assistant Laurie. Jules' best friend and neighbor Ellie tries to prevent her from going out while her son is constantly being embarrassed by both of his parents. The show was originally about older women ("cougars") dating younger men, as Jules begins dating Josh (Nick Zano
) and Barb is often seen "hunting". Jules' relationship with Josh ends when he tells her that he loves her and Jules does not feel the same way. Later Jules begins a relationship with Jeff (Scott Foley
) a client who infuriates Jules with his indecision. Her relationship with Jeff ends when the relationship becomes too serious for Jules who is not looking for anything too serious so soon after her divorce, whereas Jeff is ready to settle down as he has been 'playing the field' for a long time. After her relationship with Jeff ends, Jules falls into bed with her ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt
). This causes Bobby's feelings for Jules to stir even more and he later tells her that he wants her back. Jules, however, tells him that she loves him but 'not that way anymore' and that their happy ending is them as friends, raising their son Travis (Dan Byrd
) together. Toward the end of the season, the simmering feelings between Jules and neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins
) boil to the surface, and the two begin a relationship.
and Kevin Biegel
. Following the cancellation of Dirt
, Courteney Cox wanted to return to broadcast television and do another comedy. Lawrence, who is best known as the creator of Scrubs
and Spin City
, was approached by Cox about "wanting to do something." While developing the concept of the show, Lawrence thought he would do a tryout with Cox on Scrubs, by guest-starring in the first three episodes of the eighth season. Lawrence and Biegel, who worked together writing episodes on Scrubs, came up with the concept of the show with Cox as a 40-year-old, newly single woman because he thought that it was a real "zeitgeist
-y topic." He drew inspiration from his real-life wife, actress Christa Miller
who also stars in the show as Ellie; Miller had previously worked with Cox as part of the story-arc of the three part Scrubs try-out. Lawrence told Cox that the show could be "high-risk, high-reward," although Cox decided to go for it. He added, "I rarely have this much trepidation because usually the only person I could let down is myself. I want to make it work for her." In addition, Lawrence was also a staff writer on Friends
during the show's first season
.
Before he pitched the idea to ABC, other titles for the show included 40 and Single and The Courteney Cox Show, which was eventually named Cougar Town because Lawrence thought that "the title is noisy and that people will be aware of this show." He felt that the risk of the title was that the audience wouldn't watch it because people would say "...the title bums me," commenting: "it's a risky roll of the dice ... We don't call women "cougars" in it. We certainly don't use the word beyond the unbelievably big cheat that the high school mascot is a cougar." Lawrence believed that with the subsequent scripts they'd be doing and the re-shoots in the pilot, the show would be "creatively satisfying." After he pitched the idea to ABC, they asked him to have a pilot ready to shoot by the end of January 2009. Lawrence and Biegel together wrote the script with Lawrence, who has written and directed many episodes on Scrubs, directing the episode. In casting beyond Cox, Lawrence created the character of Ellie for his wife, Christa Miller
. Miller felt that her character started off "gleefully" and that her husband would write down little things that she would say, in which she believes is the reason her character "came out of that."
, and is filmed at Culver Studios
in Culver City, California
. Lawrence serves as executive producer
/writer/director, Kevin Biegel as writer/co-executive producer, and Courteney Cox
and David Arquette
as executive producers. Cougar Town is produced by Doozer Productions and Coquette Productions
and is aired weekly on ABC. The sitcom is filmed in the single-camera format.
WAZ and the production team Golden-Sgro. Bill Lawrence stated; "As a show composer WAZ brings something incredibly special. He has the ability to make score music sound current, like it was just lifted off the radio, and yet, it still services the show perfectly ... As a group we're confident that WAZ will be the next singer/songwriter that we try to claim credit for. He's that good." Songs such as Phoenix
's "Lisztomania," Foghat
's "Slow Ride," and La Roux
's "Bulletproof (Remix)" were all used in the pilot episode. In the second episode, Beyoncé Knowles
's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
" and Keren DeBerg
's "Today" as well as "Tell Me" were used on the show.
' s opening sequence
features a map of Florida showing Sarasota County, Florida
. In the Season 1 episodes, the title sequence zooms in from the outline of Florida to show Sarasota with a "Welcome to Cougar Town" sign. The producers wanted something different for the setting of the show and decided to include a map of the show's setting in the sequence, commenting: "Everyone's in New York or Los Angeles. I think there's a lot of fun to be had in that area and with those characters." Jeanne Corcoran, the director of the Sarasota County Film commission
, spoke to the show's production assistants to be able to use the locality as the setting as well as including it on the opening sequence. For the second season, each episode (excluding the second episode) replaced the 'Welcome to' subtitle to a reference regarding the "bad" title of the show (e.g., "(Badly Titled) Cougar Town", "It's Okay to Watch a Show Called Cougar Town"). In the second season's finale an extended opening sequence was used, featuring a map of Hawaii. In that episode, the title reference was "We will never stop mocking the title...". The show's title will be changed for the third season, although it has been announced that the referential subtitles will remain.
who is from Florida. In one episode Jules describes Josh as among the top 10–15 people she has met, which includes "Tom Petty and Colonel Sanders
".
On May 27, 2011, Bill Lawrence announced through his Twitter
account that the name of the show will change for season 3 with input from the fans, but did not give any further details. In June, 2011, Courteney Cox
hinted that one of the frontrunners for the new title is Friends with Beverages, but stated that "there are still other titles on the board." As of September, 2011, the possible new title is yet to be announced, but Lawrence tweeted on September 9, 2011, that "Those that loved title "Cougar Town"... Not around for much longer...", hinting that the title would be changed.
and Eastwick
. The series premiered with 11.4 million viewers, coming first in its timeslot. The second episode scored 9.14 million viewers, although it dropped 2.14 viewers from the pilot, as well as other shows that night such as Modern Family and Eastwick.
gave the series 49 out of 100 based on the pilot episode, from the 21 reviews it collected, and a user score of 4.5 out of 10 based on 46 votes. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
gave the pilot episode a B, commenting that the show mixes "clinical realism (when did you last hear a C-section scar used as a punchline?) with ridiculous slang (a new boob job is referred to as gorilla heads), Cougar Town is so brashly vulgar, it's endearing." Tucker also stated that it "is so single-minded that this obsession itself becomes funny." Variety
stated that the show "does feed into the dual sense of insecurity and self-empowerment that women harbor about getting older ... though, the execution here is consistently about as subtle as a kick to the groin." Los Angeles Times Mary McNamara said that the "maddening thing about Cougar Town is that it isn't completely unfunny or uncharming." Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
feels that "Cougar Town is still finding itself, but it's already much better than the title would suggest [...] the show "has to walk a very careful line between making fun of the cougar concept and embracing it" although based on the two episodes "Cougar Town is self-aware enough to pull that off." USA Today
was also favorable saying that the show has "the right cast and good writing."
Many critics have speculated that show will only have a narrow target audience: older women; with Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times
stating that the show's "plot description alone could drive away male viewers" while the Los Angeles Times
Mary McNamara opined that it "is fun and exciting for women over 40." Despite speculation, the show has done well with young males and young adults in all key demographics.
In contrast, Jezebel
disapproved stating, "It's clichéd, it's lame, it's undignified. It smacks of predatory desperation." Ryan Brockington of New York Post
compared the show to Samantha Who?
. The Daily News David Hinckley opined that the show is "a waste of Cox's comic talents." In The Irish Times
Kate Holmquist writes that "Cox is both a symbol and a red light warning for everything that is wrong with the Hollywood portrayal of middle-aged women, who are rarely wise or strong or naturally aged" and states that she is "the female version of the pervert in a dirty raincoat".
In contrast to the previous year, season 2 received more positive reviews from critics. The second season currently holds an average score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic
, based on 7 reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'. Tim Stack from Entertainment Weekly
regarded the season in a positive light, citing that "very few shows can get away with genuine moments of emotion while also incorporating the phrase 'dead-baby tacos.'" Hitfix writer Alan Sepinwall also gave a positive review of the show, saying that "midway through the first season the writers realized their cast was so funny together that the wisest course was to just put everyone together as often as possible. This is still the show that Cougar Town became at mid-season last year."
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make up her dysfunctional, but supportive and caring extended family. The pilot episode of the show was broadcast after Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
and the show currently airs on Wednesday nights at 9:30. ABC officially gave the series a full season pickup on October 8, 2009.
The show was created by Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
and Kevin Biegel
Kevin Biegel
-Scrubs:Biegel got his first staff writing job on Scrubs, in its fifth season. In that season he wrote the episode "My Missed Perception" as well co-wrote the season finale "My Transition." In the sixth season he was promoted to story editor...
and is produced by Doozer (Lawrence's company) and Coquette Productions
Coquette Productions
Coquette Productions is a motion picture production company created by the Arquettes . Their productions include:*2009: Cougar Town *2009: The Big Change...
in association with ABC Studios. Filming for the series takes place at Culver Studios
Culver Studios
The Culver Studios is a historic Colonial-styled movie studio located at 9336 W. Washington Blvd., in Culver City, California. It was the site of filming for Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane and other classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. The broadcasting of the pilot episode achieved 11.28 million viewers. The second season of Cougar Town premiered on September 22, 2010 with 8.35 million viewers. On January 10, 2011, Cougar Town was renewed for a third season by ABC. The third season was originally slated to premiere in November 2011, but was later moved to January 2012. However, the third season premiere did not appear on ABC's 2011-2012 mid-season schedule. It was later reported that the third season had received an episode order cut to 15 episodes, and would premiere in March.
Cast and characters
The series features seven main cast members, with other characters recurring.Main cast
- Courteney CoxCourteney CoxCourteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
as Jules Cobb – a recently divorced single mother exploring the truths about dating and aging. Jules spent most of her 20s and 30s married to Bobby and raising a son, Travis. She tried to relive her 20s and make up for lost time by dating younger men, but has since come to terms with the limitations of her age and has had relationships with men her age. She resides in a small town in FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and is a real estate agent who is successful in business. Because she has been out of the dating world for a while, Jules discovers it is difficult to find love again. A close-up of her driver's license in a season 2 episode reveals her full first name to be Julia and her birth date to be November 15, 1968 (age 43). - Christa MillerChrista MillerChrista Miller is an American actress who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show and Jordan Sullivan on Scrubs . She has also appeared on Seinfeld and CSI: Miami...
as Ellie Torres – Jules' feisty next door neighbor and best friend. Ellie is married to Andy Torres, and the two have a son named Stan. She is the sarcastic, unapologetic confidante who is often the jealous antagonist of Jules' young assistant and friend, Laurie. She also loves to gossip but feels that Jules' new lifestyle is coming between their friendship. - Busy PhilippsBusy PhilippsElizabeth Jean Philipps , known professionally as Busy Philipps, is an American film actress, perhaps best known for her supporting roles on the television series Freaks and Geeks and Dawson's Creek...
as Laurie Keller – Jules' young attractive employee who is known for her fun-loving personality. Laurie works with Jules in the same real estate office, as her assistantPersonal assistantA personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....
. She encourages Jules to get out and have some fun and tries to reacquaint her to the world of dating. She considers herself Jules' best friend, although Jules' true best friend Ellie is often jealous of their friendship. Although she has had many short-lived boyfriends and one-night stands, she did enjoy one long-term relationship with a young lawyer named Smith. - Brian Van HoltBrian Van Holt-Early life:Van Holt was born in Waukegan, Illinois and raised in California. Despite his Dutch surname, he is of mainly Scotch-Irish ancestry. Van Holt has a degree in Sociology from UCLA. At 18 years of age, he struck the perfect image of a Huntington Beach, California surfer...
as Bobby Cobb – Jules' ex-husband who currently lives on his boatBoatA boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
in a parking lot, which makes him legally homeless. Bobby is a classic under-achiever who'll test Jules' patience as they attempt to raise their teenage son, Travis. He spent most of their marriage touring as an unsuccessful golfer, and now spends his time cutting the grass at his son's high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
or giving golf lessons. His only means of transportation is a well-worn golf cart. He frequently refers to Jules as "J-Bird". - Dan ByrdDan ByrdDaniel "Dan" Byrd is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes, the CW original comedy series Aliens in America, A Cinderella Story alongside Hillary Duff, ABC's Cougar Town, and the 2010 movie Easy A.-Life and career:Byrd was born in Marietta,...
as Travis Cobb – Jules' and Bobby's son, who is a senior in high school at the start of the series, but is now attending a local college. He loves both of his parents although is constantly embarrassed by both of them. At school, he constantly deals with humiliation from his friends and classmates. He is generally supportive of his mother, but feels that her dating exploits cause him embarrassment. After dealing with his mom's real estate ads around town and his dad's new job as his school's grass cutter, his father helps him realize not to worry about what other people think. - Ian GomezIan GomezIan Gomez is an American actor best known for his comedic TV work, the most notable of which are his series-regular stints as Javier on Felicity and Andy on Cougar Town.-Career:...
as Andy Torres – Ellie's husband who is also Jules' next door neighbor. Andy is a devoted husband to Ellie and also a loving father to their son, Stan. He loves his coffee. He and Jules' ex-husband Bobby were best friends before the divorce, and Andy still spends a lot of time with Bobby. - Josh HopkinsJosh HopkinsWilliam Joshua Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins joined the fourth, and last season, of New York Undercover in 1998. In 1999 Hopkins starred in Alanis Morissette's "Unsent" music video...
as Grayson Ellis – a bar owner, and Jules' other neighbor. Grayson enjoys dating younger women and rubbing it in Jules' face. Grayson, like Jules, is also newly divorced, but unlike Jules, he embraces his bachelor and single lifestyle. However, he revealed that he wanted to have kids but his wife didn't want to have children with him, a fact that becomes more painful when he learns that she and the man she left Grayson for are now expecting a child. He unintentionally revealed his interest in Jules to Bobby and Andy at Thanksgiving. In Episode 21, "Letting You Go," Grayson comforts Jules as she deals with the prospect of Travis leaving for college, and the pair finally kiss. The next episode begins with the pair waking up in bed together. For this episode, they consider the notion of "friends with benefits" before deciding that they want more and finally begin officially dating.
Recurring cast
- Carolyn HennesyCarolyn HennesyCarolyn Hennesy is an American actress and writer, who stars in the soap opera General Hospital and the sitcom Cougar Town....
as Barb Coman – a man-hungry older cougar who works in real estate along side Jules. She usually appears briefly to deliver a lascivious one-linerOne-liner jokeA one-liner is a joke that is delivered in a single line. A good one-liner is said to be pithy.Comedians and actors use this comedic method as part of their act, e.g...
. As Jules observes in one episode, "do you just follow me around, waiting to say things?" - Bob ClendeninBob ClendeninRobert Treman "Bob" Clendenin is an American actor known for portraying Carl Dawson in the TBS series 10 Items or Less and Roy in the failed pilot turned Internet series Nobody's Watching....
as Tom – Jules' widowed neighbor who expresses his attraction for her in weird ways, makes wine in his garage, and is always doing things for Jules' and the gang without getting anything back in an attempt to become part of their group. He follows the gang to Hawaii, but is not noticed until the end of their trip. - Nick ZanoNick ZanoNick Zano is an American actor and producer. He is best known for having played Vince in The WB's sitcom What I Like About You...
as Josh (Season 1) – a younger man who had dated Jules, but who she felt wanted a more serious relationship than she did. Later Jules decided to break up with him due to his desire for a serious relationship. The actor Nick Zano left the show due to his offer on Melrose PlaceMelrose Place (2009 TV series)Melrose Place is an American television series broadcast on The CW Television Network from September 8, 2009 to April 13, 2010. The fifth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise, it is an updated version of the 1990s Fox prime time drama of the same name, featuring a group of young adults...
, which was later cancelled. - Spencer LockeSpencer LockeSpencer Locke is an American actress who has had various appearances as "Kylie" on ABC's Cougar Town.-Life and career:...
as Kylie – Travis' girlfriend at the start of the series. Travis loses his virginity to Kylie, but the two later break up after they both cheat on each other with Travis kissing Heather Spangler and Kylie kissing Joey Spangler. The couple later reconciles and continues to date into Season 2, even though Kylie reveals that she no longer wants to be exclusive with Travis. - Ryan DevlinRyan DevlinRyan Patrick Devlin is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role opposite Calista Flockhart on the ABC show Brothers & Sisters where he played her younger boyfriend Seth. In addition, he recurs in the role of Smith in the ABC-TV comedy Cougar Town...
as Smith Frank – a young lawyer and Laurie's boyfriend. In Season 2, Smith breaks up with Laurie after she admits to Jules that she is in love with him and he realizes he doesn't feel the same way. - Barry BostwickBarry BostwickBarry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City...
as Roger Frank - a wealthy businessman and Smith's father. He strongly disapproves of Laurie, receives golfing lessons from Bobby, and eventually buys "Penny Can" from both of them. - LaMarcus TinkerLaMarcus TinkerLaMarcus Tinker is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage football star Dallas Tinker on the NBC and Direct TV television drama Friday Night Lights, and as Kevin on the ABC comedy Cougar Town...
as Kevin – Travis' college roommate and friend. Travis annoys Kevin when they first meet, as he's trying to find his way in college. However, Travis earns Kevin's respect and they become good friends. - Collette WolfeCollette WolfeCollette Wolfe is an American actress. She made her film debut with The Foot Fist Way in 2006, and later starred as Nell in Observe and Report . In September 2009, Wolfe was cast as series regular Jill in the NBC situation comedy 100 Questions. She currently has a recurring role as Kirsten in the...
as Kirsten (Season 2) – Travis' new, slightly older girlfriend, whom he met in his first semester of college. Travis subsequently proposed to her, but she immediately rejected him and has not been seen since.
Synopsis
The first seasonCougar Town (season 1)
Season one of Cougar Town, an American television series, began airing on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 19, 2010. Season one regular cast members include Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez and Josh Hopkins. The sitcom was created by Bill...
premiere episode shows Jules while she examines her naked body in the mirror for signs of aging. Jules, now divorced from her husband Bobby, tries to re-enter the dating world and relate to her young assistant Laurie. Jules' best friend and neighbor Ellie tries to prevent her from going out while her son is constantly being embarrassed by both of his parents. The show was originally about older women ("cougars") dating younger men, as Jules begins dating Josh (Nick Zano
Nick Zano
Nick Zano is an American actor and producer. He is best known for having played Vince in The WB's sitcom What I Like About You...
) and Barb is often seen "hunting". Jules' relationship with Josh ends when he tells her that he loves her and Jules does not feel the same way. Later Jules begins a relationship with Jeff (Scott Foley
Scott Foley
Scott Kellerman Foley is an American actor. He is known for roles in television shows such as The Unit and Felicity, and in films such as Scream 3...
) a client who infuriates Jules with his indecision. Her relationship with Jeff ends when the relationship becomes too serious for Jules who is not looking for anything too serious so soon after her divorce, whereas Jeff is ready to settle down as he has been 'playing the field' for a long time. After her relationship with Jeff ends, Jules falls into bed with her ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt
Brian Van Holt
-Early life:Van Holt was born in Waukegan, Illinois and raised in California. Despite his Dutch surname, he is of mainly Scotch-Irish ancestry. Van Holt has a degree in Sociology from UCLA. At 18 years of age, he struck the perfect image of a Huntington Beach, California surfer...
). This causes Bobby's feelings for Jules to stir even more and he later tells her that he wants her back. Jules, however, tells him that she loves him but 'not that way anymore' and that their happy ending is them as friends, raising their son Travis (Dan Byrd
Dan Byrd
Daniel "Dan" Byrd is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes, the CW original comedy series Aliens in America, A Cinderella Story alongside Hillary Duff, ABC's Cougar Town, and the 2010 movie Easy A.-Life and career:Byrd was born in Marietta,...
) together. Toward the end of the season, the simmering feelings between Jules and neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins
Josh Hopkins
William Joshua Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins joined the fourth, and last season, of New York Undercover in 1998. In 1999 Hopkins starred in Alanis Morissette's "Unsent" music video...
) boil to the surface, and the two begin a relationship.
Conception
Cougar Town was created by Bill LawrenceBill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
and Kevin Biegel
Kevin Biegel
-Scrubs:Biegel got his first staff writing job on Scrubs, in its fifth season. In that season he wrote the episode "My Missed Perception" as well co-wrote the season finale "My Transition." In the sixth season he was promoted to story editor...
. Following the cancellation of Dirt
Dirt (TV series)
Dirt is an American television serial broadcast on the FX network. It premiered on January 2, 2007 and starred Courteney Cox as Lucy Spiller, the editor-in-chief of the first-of-its-kind "glossy tabloid" magazine DirtNow, which was previously two separate publications: drrt and Now Dirt (styled...
, Courteney Cox wanted to return to broadcast television and do another comedy. Lawrence, who is best known as the creator of Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
and Spin City
Spin City
Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
, was approached by Cox about "wanting to do something." While developing the concept of the show, Lawrence thought he would do a tryout with Cox on Scrubs, by guest-starring in the first three episodes of the eighth season. Lawrence and Biegel, who worked together writing episodes on Scrubs, came up with the concept of the show with Cox as a 40-year-old, newly single woman because he thought that it was a real "zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
-y topic." He drew inspiration from his real-life wife, actress Christa Miller
Christa Miller
Christa Miller is an American actress who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show and Jordan Sullivan on Scrubs . She has also appeared on Seinfeld and CSI: Miami...
who also stars in the show as Ellie; Miller had previously worked with Cox as part of the story-arc of the three part Scrubs try-out. Lawrence told Cox that the show could be "high-risk, high-reward," although Cox decided to go for it. He added, "I rarely have this much trepidation because usually the only person I could let down is myself. I want to make it work for her." In addition, Lawrence was also a staff writer on Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
during the show's first season
Friends (season 1)
The first season of Friends, an American situation comedy created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing...
.
Before he pitched the idea to ABC, other titles for the show included 40 and Single and The Courteney Cox Show, which was eventually named Cougar Town because Lawrence thought that "the title is noisy and that people will be aware of this show." He felt that the risk of the title was that the audience wouldn't watch it because people would say "...the title bums me," commenting: "it's a risky roll of the dice ... We don't call women "cougars" in it. We certainly don't use the word beyond the unbelievably big cheat that the high school mascot is a cougar." Lawrence believed that with the subsequent scripts they'd be doing and the re-shoots in the pilot, the show would be "creatively satisfying." After he pitched the idea to ABC, they asked him to have a pilot ready to shoot by the end of January 2009. Lawrence and Biegel together wrote the script with Lawrence, who has written and directed many episodes on Scrubs, directing the episode. In casting beyond Cox, Lawrence created the character of Ellie for his wife, Christa Miller
Christa Miller
Christa Miller is an American actress who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show and Jordan Sullivan on Scrubs . She has also appeared on Seinfeld and CSI: Miami...
. Miller felt that her character started off "gleefully" and that her husband would write down little things that she would say, in which she believes is the reason her character "came out of that."
Filming
The series takes place at the fictional town of Gulf Haven in Sarasota County, FloridaSarasota County, Florida
Sarasota County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county was 372,057. Its county seat is Sarasota, Florida....
, and is filmed at Culver Studios
Culver Studios
The Culver Studios is a historic Colonial-styled movie studio located at 9336 W. Washington Blvd., in Culver City, California. It was the site of filming for Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane and other classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. Lawrence serves as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
/writer/director, Kevin Biegel as writer/co-executive producer, and Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
and David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
as executive producers. Cougar Town is produced by Doozer Productions and Coquette Productions
Coquette Productions
Coquette Productions is a motion picture production company created by the Arquettes . Their productions include:*2009: Cougar Town *2009: The Big Change...
and is aired weekly on ABC. The sitcom is filmed in the single-camera format.
Music
The original theme and music for Cougar Town is composed by singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
WAZ and the production team Golden-Sgro. Bill Lawrence stated; "As a show composer WAZ brings something incredibly special. He has the ability to make score music sound current, like it was just lifted off the radio, and yet, it still services the show perfectly ... As a group we're confident that WAZ will be the next singer/songwriter that we try to claim credit for. He's that good." Songs such as Phoenix
Phoenix (band)
Phoenix is a Grammy Award winning French indie rock band from Versailles, founded by Thomas Mars, Deck d'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz.-Formation and early years:...
's "Lisztomania," Foghat
Foghat
Foghat are a British rock band that had their peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. Their style can be described as "blues-rock," or boogie-rock dominated by electric and electric slide guitar. The band has achieved five gold records...
's "Slow Ride," and La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...
's "Bulletproof (Remix)" were all used in the pilot episode. In the second episode, Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
" and Keren DeBerg
Keren DeBerg
Keren DeBerg is an American singer-songwriter. She has performed at Lilith Fair and is known for contributing songs to the TV show Scrubs....
's "Today" as well as "Tell Me" were used on the show.
Opening sequence
Cougar TownOpening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
features a map of Florida showing Sarasota County, Florida
Sarasota County, Florida
Sarasota County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county was 372,057. Its county seat is Sarasota, Florida....
. In the Season 1 episodes, the title sequence zooms in from the outline of Florida to show Sarasota with a "Welcome to Cougar Town" sign. The producers wanted something different for the setting of the show and decided to include a map of the show's setting in the sequence, commenting: "Everyone's in New York or Los Angeles. I think there's a lot of fun to be had in that area and with those characters." Jeanne Corcoran, the director of the Sarasota County Film commission
Film commission
Film commissions are quasi-governmental, non-profit, public organizations that attract motion media production crews to shoot on location in their respective localities, and offer support so that productions can accomplish their work smoothly.- Introduction :Over 300 such organizations are active...
, spoke to the show's production assistants to be able to use the locality as the setting as well as including it on the opening sequence. For the second season, each episode (excluding the second episode) replaced the 'Welcome to' subtitle to a reference regarding the "bad" title of the show (e.g., "(Badly Titled) Cougar Town", "It's Okay to Watch a Show Called Cougar Town"). In the second season's finale an extended opening sequence was used, featuring a map of Hawaii. In that episode, the title reference was "We will never stop mocking the title...". The show's title will be changed for the third season, although it has been announced that the referential subtitles will remain.
Episode format
All but two of the episodes have been named after songs by Tom PettyTom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
who is from Florida. In one episode Jules describes Josh as among the top 10–15 people she has met, which includes "Tom Petty and Colonel Sanders
Colonel Sanders
Harland David "Colonel" Sanders was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, now re-branded as KFC...
".
Potential name change
In May 2010, it was reported that the show's producers were considering a name change because the plot had strayed so far from its initial premise. Stephen McPherson, who headed ABC Entertainment, was said to be "on board" with a name change should the producers decide to go ahead. Research also showed that many viewers who ignored the show based on its name actually enjoyed it after seeing a screening of an episode. However the name change was scrapped and retained the title Cougar Town for the second season. Bill Lawrence later stated that two potential titles that they wanted to change to were declined by ABC - "Sunshine State" (declined because ABC did not want two shows with 'sunshine' in their title) and "Grown Ups" (declined because of the film with the same name).On May 27, 2011, Bill Lawrence announced through his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account that the name of the show will change for season 3 with input from the fans, but did not give any further details. In June, 2011, Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
hinted that one of the frontrunners for the new title is Friends with Beverages, but stated that "there are still other titles on the board." As of September, 2011, the possible new title is yet to be announced, but Lawrence tweeted on September 9, 2011, that "Those that loved title "Cougar Town"... Not around for much longer...", hinting that the title would be changed.
Reception
In the USA the audience dropped from 11 million to 6 million over the 24 episode run. In Australia the audience dropped from 1.3 to 1 million in one week after the chief executive of the Australian channel showing it (Seven Network) described it as a 'shit show' that he could get large audiences for, by promoting it. In the UK, the first season aired on LIVING, and was shown in double-bills on Tuesday nights at 9pm. The season premiered on March 30, 2010 to a strong 802,000 viewers and concluded on June 15, 2010 to a series low of 593,000 viewers. However, the entire season was the most-watched show on LIVING, averaging 769,000 viewers.Seasonal ratings
| Season | Timeslot (EST) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Cougar Town (season 1) Season one of Cougar Town, an American television series, began airing on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 19, 2010. Season one regular cast members include Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez and Josh Hopkins. The sitcom was created by Bill... |
September 23, 2009 | May 19, 2010 | 2009-2010 | #57 | 7.34 | |
| 2 Cougar Town (season 2) Season two of Cougar Town, an American television series, has begun to air since September 22, 2010. Season two regular cast members include Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez and Josh Hopkins... |
September 22, 2010 | May 25, 2011 | 2010-2011 | #67 | 7.34 | |
| 3 | |
Mid-season 2012 | TBA | 2011-2012 | TBA | TBA |
Broadcast
Cougar Town premiered on September 23, 2009 in the Wednesday 9:30 pm timeslot. The pilot episode aired between the other two pilots, Modern FamilyModern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
and Eastwick
Eastwick (TV series)
Eastwick is a 2009 screwball comedy series based on John Updike's novel, The Witches of Eastwick. The series was developed by Maggie Friedman, and starred Paul Gross as the infamous Darryl Van Horne, alongside Jaime Ray Newman , Lindsay Price, and Rebecca Romijn as the eponymous...
. The series premiered with 11.4 million viewers, coming first in its timeslot. The second episode scored 9.14 million viewers, although it dropped 2.14 viewers from the pilot, as well as other shows that night such as Modern Family and Eastwick.
Awards and nominations
| Award Ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year Awards Glamour magazine Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women... |
2010 | US TV Actress | Courteney Cox Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination.... |
|
| Golden Derby TV Awards | 2010 | Outstanding Comedy Series | ||
| Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Lisa Kudrow Lisa Kudrow Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards... |
|||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Courteney Cox Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination.... |
|||
| Golden Globe Awards | 2009 67th Golden Globe Awards The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were... |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy | ||
| People's Choice Awards People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett... |
2009 36th People's Choice Awards The 36th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2009, was held on January 6, 2010 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was broadcasted on CBS. Not all of the awards were presented on air during the show, as many including Favorite Movie were left out... |
Favorite New Comedy Series | ||
| 2010 37th People's Choice Awards The 37th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2010, were held on January 5, 2011 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and were broadcast live on CBS at 9:00 pm ET... |
Favorite TV Comedy Actress | Courteney Cox Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination.... |
||
| Critics' Choice Television Awards | 2011 1st Critics' Choice Television Awards The 1st Critics' Choice Television Awards, presented by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association , the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2010 until May 31, 2011, and took place on June 20, 2011 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, California... |
Best Actress in a Comedy Series | ||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Busy Phillips | |||
Critical reception
Cougar Town opened to a mixed reviews from critics. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the series 49 out of 100 based on the pilot episode, from the 21 reviews it collected, and a user score of 4.5 out of 10 based on 46 votes. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the pilot episode a B, commenting that the show mixes "clinical realism (when did you last hear a C-section scar used as a punchline?) with ridiculous slang (a new boob job is referred to as gorilla heads), Cougar Town is so brashly vulgar, it's endearing." Tucker also stated that it "is so single-minded that this obsession itself becomes funny." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
stated that the show "does feed into the dual sense of insecurity and self-empowerment that women harbor about getting older ... though, the execution here is consistently about as subtle as a kick to the groin." Los Angeles Times Mary McNamara said that the "maddening thing about Cougar Town is that it isn't completely unfunny or uncharming." Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
feels that "Cougar Town is still finding itself, but it's already much better than the title would suggest [...] the show "has to walk a very careful line between making fun of the cougar concept and embracing it" although based on the two episodes "Cougar Town is self-aware enough to pull that off." USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
was also favorable saying that the show has "the right cast and good writing."
Many critics have speculated that show will only have a narrow target audience: older women; with Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
stating that the show's "plot description alone could drive away male viewers" while the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Mary McNamara opined that it "is fun and exciting for women over 40." Despite speculation, the show has done well with young males and young adults in all key demographics.
In contrast, Jezebel
Jezebel (website)
Jezebel is a blog aimed at women's interests, under the tagline "Celebrity, Sex, Fashion. Without Airbrushing". It is one of several blogs owned by Gawker Media.Jezebel was launched on May 21, 2007, as the 14th Gawker blog...
disapproved stating, "It's clichéd, it's lame, it's undignified. It smacks of predatory desperation." Ryan Brockington of New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
compared the show to Samantha Who?
Samantha Who?
Samantha Who? is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from October 15, 2007 to July 23, 2009. The series was created by Cecelia Ahern and Don Todd, who also served as producers...
. The Daily News David Hinckley opined that the show is "a waste of Cox's comic talents." In The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
Kate Holmquist writes that "Cox is both a symbol and a red light warning for everything that is wrong with the Hollywood portrayal of middle-aged women, who are rarely wise or strong or naturally aged" and states that she is "the female version of the pervert in a dirty raincoat".
In contrast to the previous year, season 2 received more positive reviews from critics. The second season currently holds an average score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, based on 7 reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'. Tim Stack from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
regarded the season in a positive light, citing that "very few shows can get away with genuine moments of emotion while also incorporating the phrase 'dead-baby tacos.'" Hitfix writer Alan Sepinwall also gave a positive review of the show, saying that "midway through the first season the writers realized their cast was so funny together that the wisest course was to just put everyone together as often as possible. This is still the show that Cougar Town became at mid-season last year."