Cougar Town | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 102 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Camera setup | Film; Single camera |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | September 23, 2009 – May 29, 2012 |
Network | TBS |
Release | January 8, 2013 – March 31, 2015 |
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. [1] ABC officially gave the series a full season pickup on October 8, 2009. [2] [3] On May 8, 2012, ABC canceled the series after three seasons. Two days later, TBS picked up the series for a fourth season.
The show was created by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel and was produced by Doozer and Coquette Productions in association with ABC Studios. Filming took place at Culver Studios in Culver City, California. [4] The pilot episode achieved 11.28 million viewers. [5] Season 2 premiered on September 22, 2010, with 8.35 million viewers. [6] Season 3, consisting of 15 episodes, was originally slated to premiere in November 2011 [7] but, because of ABC's promotion of the ill-fated Man Up! , it premiered on February 14, 2012. [8] [9] Following the season 3 finale, it was announced that TBS had purchased the rights to the series for an additional 15-episode season, to air in 2013, with options for additional seasons. On March 25, 2013, TBS renewed the series for a fifth season of 13 episodes, which premiered on January 7, 2014. [10] [11] On May 10, 2014, TBS renewed Cougar Town for a sixth and final season. [12] Season six premiered on January 6, 2015, [13] and the series concluded on March 31, 2015.
Set in the fictional town of Gulfhaven, Florida, which is nicknamed "Cougar Town" because its high-school team mascot is a cougar, [14] the series focuses on Jules Cobb, a recently divorced woman in her 40s facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls, and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her teenage son, her ex-husband, and her wine-loving [15] friends who together make up her dysfunctional but supportive and caring extended family. [16] Most scenes in the series take place in Jules's home, Gray's Pub, or around her ex-husband's boat.
Each season features seven main cast members, with other characters recurring or appearing as guests.
Guest stars on the show include three of Cox's former Friends co-stars: Jennifer Aniston in season two as Glenn, Jules's therapist, Lisa Kudrow in season one as a mean dermatologist, Matthew Perry in season 5 as the millionaire that proposes to Jules; and, the show's producer and Cox's then husband David Arquette. Danny Pudi made a brief appearance as his character Abed Nadir from Community , tying into a reference made on the other show about Abed appearing on Cougar Town.
Many of the show's guest stars were either regulars or had recurring roles on Bill Lawrence's two previous television series Spin City and Scrubs – Barry Bostwick, Bob Clendenin, Michael McDonald, Scott Foley and Ken Jenkins – to name a few. The final scene of season 3's "A One Story Town" featured several actors from Scrubs including Robert Maschio, Sarah Chalke, Sam Lloyd, with an uncredited cameo by Zach Braff. [31]
Cougar Town was created by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. Following the cancellation of Dirt , Courteney Cox wanted to return to television and do another comedy. [32] Lawrence, who is best known as the creator of Scrubs and Spin City , was approached by Cox about "wanting to do something". [32] While developing the concept of the show, Lawrence thought he would do a tryout with Cox on Scrubs, [33] by guest starring in the first three episodes of the eighth season. [34] 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". [34] He drew inspiration from his real-life wife, actress Christa Miller who also stars in the show as Ellie; [34] [35] Miller had previously worked with Cox as part of the story-arc of the three part Scrubs tryout. Lawrence told Cox that the show could be "high risk, high reward", although Cox decided to go for it. [33] 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." [33]
Before he pitched the idea to ABC, other titles for the show included 40 and Single and The Courteney Cox Show, [36] which was eventually named Cougar Town because Lawrence thought that "the title is noisy and that people will be aware of this show". [33] He felt that the risk of the title was that the audience would not 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." [33] Lawrence believed that with the subsequent scripts they would be doing and the reshoots in the pilot, the show would be "creatively satisfying". [33] After he pitched the idea to ABC, they asked him to have a pilot ready to shoot by the end of January 2009. [34] Lawrence and Biegel together wrote the script with Lawrence, who has written and directed many episodes on Scrubs, directing the episode. [37] In casting beyond Cox, Lawrence created the character of Ellie for his wife, Christa Miller. Miller felt that her character started off "gleefully" and reported that Lawrence would write down little things that she would say. [33]
The series takes place in the fictional town of Gulf Haven in Sarasota County, Florida. [38] Filming took place on the Miami Street backlot located at the Culver Studios in Culver City, California. [39] [40] The Cul-de-sac used for filming is also located in Culver City on Lamarr Avenue. [41] Lawrence served as executive producer/writer/director, Kevin Biegel as writer/co-executive producer, and Courteney Cox and David Arquette as executive producers. Cougar Town was produced by Doozer Productions and Coquette Productions and was aired weekly on ABC, before moving to TBS for its fourth season. The sitcom was filmed in the single-camera format.
The original theme is written by WAZ and original music for Cougar Town is composed by WAZ, Jamie Jackson, Will Golden and Al Sgro. [42] 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." [42] Songs such as Phoenix's "Lisztomania", Foghat's "Slow Ride", and La Roux's "Bulletproof (Remix)" were all used in the pilot episode. [42] 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. [42] A full version of the theme song was released in February 2012 to coincide with the shows return.
The opening sequence features a map of Florida showing Sarasota County, Florida. [43] 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. [43] 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." [38] 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 and including it on the opening sequence. [43]
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. [44] Research also showed that many viewers who ignored the show based on its name actually enjoyed it after seeing a screening of an episode. [45] However, the name change was scrapped, and the show retained the title Cougar Town for its 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 also had a Matthew Perry sitcom on their mid-season schedule that season known as Mr. Sunshine ) and Grown Ups (declined because of the then-recent film with the same name). [46] [47]
On May 27, 2011, Bill Lawrence announced through his Twitter account that the name of the show would change for season 3 with input from the fans, but did not give any further details. [48] 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". [49] 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. [50] Ultimately, the show retained the original title for the third season, with the first opening sequence subtitle stating that "[they're] not happy about it".
On February 14, 2012, Cox and Lawrence revealed in an interview that a title change could still take place for the fourth season, mentioning Wine Time, The Sunshine State and Family Jules as potential titles. [51] However, after announcing that the show would move to TBS for the fourth season, Lawrence said if TBS wants that title to change, then it will, but also said that he doubts it will happen. [52]
On August 28, 2012, the show announced its new season on its new Facebook page for the now TBS show, with a picture that stated, "Turns out even a new network couldn't change the title." However, even TBS has poked fun in their promos for the new season, referring to Cougar Town as a "crappy title". [53]
In the final episode, the title sequence called the show Sunshine State.
On May 10, 2012, TBS announced that Cougar Town would join its lineup in the beginning of 2013 for 15 episodes, after ABC canceled the series. [54] [55] Moving to TBS gave the show the possibility of receiving more episodes and publicity than had the show remained on ABC. [56]
Cougar Town became frequently mentioned starting with season two of the NBC comedy series Community , as the favorite show of Abed Nadir. This culminates in a gag in the episode "Critical Film Studies" where Abed reveals that he had a walk-on role as an extra that he internally named "Chad". The event ends up causing him to have an identity crisis and he defecates in his own pants. While not accurately depicted like his account, Danny Pudi makes a cameo on Cougar Town in the episode "Something Good Coming, Part 1" where he is listening in on a conversation between Laurie and Travis, before getting up and running away. [57] [58]
In the US the audience dropped from 11 million to 6 million over the first season. 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. [59] In the United Kingdom, 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.
Season | Timeslot (EST) | Network | No. of episodes | Season premiere | Viewers | 18–49 rating | Season finale | Viewers | 18–49 rating | TV season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
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1 | Wednesday 9:30 pm | ABC | 24 | September 23, 2009 | 11.28 [60] | 4.4 [60] | May 19, 2010 | 6.14 [61] | 2.8 [61] | 2009–10 | 57 | 7.34 [62] |
2 | 22 | September 22, 2010 | 8.32 [63] | 3.4 [63] | May 25, 2011 | 5.01 [64] | 2.0 [64] | 2010–11 | 67 | 7.34 [65] | ||
3 | Tuesday 8:30 pm | 15 | February 14, 2012 | 4.88 [66] | 1.8 [66] | May 29, 2012 | 3.42 [67] | 1.2 [67] | 2011–12 | 107 | 5.19 [68] | |
4 | Tuesday 10:00 pm | TBS | 15 | January 8, 2013 | 2.18 [69] | 1.1 [69] | April 9, 2013 | 1.38 [70] | 0.6 [70] | 2012–13 | N/A | 1.93 [71] |
5 | 13 | January 7, 2014 | 1.94 [72] | 0.9 [72] | April 1, 2014 | 1.53 [73] | 0.8 [73] | 2013–14 | 1.47 [74] | |||
6 | Tuesday 10:30 pm | 13 | January 6, 2015 | 1.04 [75] | 0.5 [75] | March 31, 2015 | 1.24 [76] | 0.5 [76] | 2014–15 | 1.08 [77] |
Cougar Town premiered on September 23, 2009, in the Wednesday 9:30 pm timeslot. The pilot episode aired between the other two pilots, Modern Family and Eastwick . The series premiered with 11.4 million viewers, coming first in its timeslot. [78] [79] The second episode scored 9.14 million viewers, although it dropped 2.14 million viewers from the pilot, as well as other shows that night such as Modern Family and Eastwick. [80]
In Canada the show aired on City. The fifth season began on the network on February 26, 2014. [81] The sixth season premiered on February 19, 2015. [82]
In the United Kingdom, after being dropped by Sky Living, the show is now streamed by Blinkbox (from Tesco). All seasons are now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Cougar Town opened to mixed reviews from critics. Metacritic gave the series 49 out of 100 based on the pilot episode, from the 21 reviews. [83] 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". [84] Tucker also wrote that "the entire show is about getting and having sex... Cougar is so single-minded that this obsession itself becomes funny". [84] 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". [85] Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara said that the "maddening thing about Cougar Town is that it isn't completely unfunny or uncharming". [86] 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". [87] USA Today was also favorable, saying that the show has "the right cast and good writing". [88]
Many critics have speculated that the 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" [89] while the Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara opined that it "is fun and exciting for women over 40". [86] Despite speculation, the show has done well with young males [90] and young adults in all key demographics. [91]
In contrast, a writer for feminist blog Jezebel disapproved stating, "It's clichéd, it's lame, it's undignified. It smacks of predatory desperation." [92] Ryan Brockington of New York Post compared the show to Samantha Who? . [93] The Daily News' David Hinckley opined that the show is "a waste of Cox's comic talents". [94] 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". [95]
The second season received more positive reviews. The second season holds an average score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on seven reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'. [96] 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." [97]
The much-delayed third season of Cougar Town became the most critically acclaimed season of the series, garnering an average Metacritic score of 80 out of 100, based on five reviews. [98] RedEye gave the season a positive review, stating that it "returns with its wit, silliness and good-heartedness fully intact." [99] TV Guide concluded: "witty and wacky, this sharp-tongued, sweet-souled sitcom picks up without losing a (heart)beat." [100] The Huffington Post summed up their review by noting that fans of the show will "find a lot to like about the new season." [101] Despite this, the 3rd season ranked 107th among viewers, and was quickly dropped by ABC afterwards. The show continued its run on the cable network TBS.
Season | Release date | No. of discs | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
The Complete First Season | August 17, 2010 February 5, 2013 (re-release) | September 27, 2010 | December 1, 2010 | 3 (U.S.) 4 (UK & AU) |
The Complete Second Season | August 30, 2011 February 5, 2013 (re-release) | November 7, 2011 | November 2, 2011 | 3 (U.S.) 4 (UK & AU) |
Seasons One and Two | — | November 7, 2011 | — | 8 |
The Complete Third Season | February 5, 2013 | December 3, 2012 | February 6, 2013 | 2 |
Complete Seasons 1, 2, 3 | — | December 3, 2012 | — | 10 |
The Complete Fourth Season | — | April 6, 2015 [102] | August 13, 2014 | 2 |
In early 2013, Lionsgate Home Entertainment acquired the home video rights to shows produced by ABC Studios and announced the release of season three on DVD for February 5, 2013. That same day, Lionsgate re-released seasons one and two. The re-releases retained the same artwork and disc content as their original releases.
As of July 2017, seasons four through six have not been released on DVD in the United States or Canada, and the DVD releases for the first three seasons have been taken out of print. Since 2016, Seasons 5–6 have not been released in the United Kingdom, and a "Complete Collection" boxset has not been released since the series ended. Despite this, the entire series is available for purchase on iTunes and streaming on Hulu. [103]
Internationally, the entire series has been added to the Disney+ streaming service under the dedicated hub Star.
Scrubs is an American medical sitcom created by Bill Lawrence that aired from October 2, 2001, to March 17, 2010, on NBC and later ABC. The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, which is a teaching hospital. The title is a play on surgical scrubs and a term for a low-ranking person because at the beginning of the series, most of the main characters are medical interns.
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress and filmmaker. She rose to international prominence for playing Monica Geller in the NBC sitcom Friends (1994–2004) and Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise Scream (1996–present). Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award, nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Christa Miller is an American actress known for her roles in television comedies. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien in the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show, Jordan Sullivan in the NBC/ABC comedy series Scrubs, Liz in the Apple TV+ comedy drama Shrinking, and voicing Cleopatra "Cleo" Smith and Candide Sampson in Clone High. She has also appeared in Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and CSI: Miami. From 2009 to 2015, she starred in the ABC/TBS sitcom Cougar Town.
Scott Kellerman Foley is an American actor. He is known for roles in television shows such as The Unit, Scrubs, Felicity, and Scandal. In film, he is most commonly known for playing Roman Bridger in the slasher franchise Scream. He has also guest starred in series including Grey's Anatomy, Dawson's Creek, and House.
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William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American television producer, screenwriter, and director. He is the creator of the series Scrubs and co-creator of shows including the live-action Cougar Town, Spin City, Ground Floor, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking, and the animated series Clone High, in which he also voiced the leader of the shadowy figures. He has written for many other shows, including The Nanny and Boy Meets World.
Daniel Byrd is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2004 film A Cinderella Story, the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes, the 2010 films Easy A and Norman, and the sitcoms Aliens in America, Young Sheldon, and Cougar Town.
Robert Treman Clendenin is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Dr. Tom Gazelian in ABC comedy series Cougar Town and Dr. Paul Zeltzer in the comedy series Scrubs.
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"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the American television sitcom Cougar Town, which premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The episode was directed by series creator Bill Lawrence, and written by Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. The pilot introduces seven main cast members: Jules Cobb as a 40-year-old mother who's newly single; Ellie Torres, Jules' next door neighbor and best friend; Laurie Keller, Jules' younger employee; Bobby Cobb, Jules' unemployed ex-husband; Travis Cobb, Jules' 17-year-old son; Andy Torres, Ellie's husband; and Grayson Ellis, Jules' newly divorced neighbor.
The first season of Cougar Town, an American television series, began airing on September 23, 2009, and concluded on May 19, 2010, after Modern Family and before Eastwick. 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 Lawrence and Kevin Biegel.
Kevin Buford Biegel is a television writer/producer, the co-creator of Cougar Town and creator of Enlisted. In April 2017, it was announced that Biegel would serve as showrunner for the live-action New Warriors television series, which would be based on the Marvel Comics superhero team with the same name. The show was not picked up, however, after production languished for over a year.
"Here Comes My Girl" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American television sitcom Cougar Town. It originally aired on November 25, 2009 in the United States on ABC.
The second season of Cougar Town, an American television series, began airing on September 22, 2010, and concluded on May 25, 2011. Season two 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 Lawrence and Kevin Biegel.
"All Mixed Up" is the first episode of the second season of the American television sitcom Cougar Town. It originally aired on September 22, 2010, in the United States on ABC. In this episode, Jules sees a therapist named Glenn in order to relieve the stresses of her issues. Meanwhile, Bobby is troubled with the reality of Grayson's relationship with Jules, and Travis prepares for college.
The third season of Cougar Town, an American sitcom that airs on ABC, began airing on February 14, 2012 and concluded on May 29, 2012 with a 1-hour episode. Season three 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 Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. This is the final season to air on ABC before it moved to TBS.
The fourth season of Cougar Town, an American sitcom that airs on TBS, began airing on January 8, 2013. Season four 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 Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. This is the first season to air on TBS.
The fifth season of Cougar Town, an American sitcom that airs on TBS, began airing on January 7, 2014. Season five 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 Lawrence and Kevin Biegel.
The sixth and final season of Cougar Town, an American sitcom that aired on TBS, began airing on January 6, 2015, and concluded on March 31, 2015. Season six regular cast members include Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez, and Josh Hopkins. The sitcom was created by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel.