Cougar Town - The Name Game

Jules: Good morning! I've been up for hours.
Grayson: I had eggs for breakfast.
Jules: What?
Grayson: Oh I'm sorry, I thought we were sharing incredibly boring facts about each other.

I never, in a million years, thought I would be trying to defend a show called “Cougar Town.” Forget defending – I never that I would genuinely enjoy a show called “Cougar Town.”

This is a very odd moment for me.

Let me preface – I wouldn't have given this show the time of day if I wasn’t coming off of a week hosting family followed by a week of being poor with nothing to do but sit on my ass and attempt to entertain myself. I’m bad at doing this without television, so I thought I would give this show that I had heard surprisingly good things about a shot. 

Good decision, self. If only all the other stupid hobbies I took up were as rewarding.

So the initial premise of the show was this: Forty year-old Jules Cobb (Courteney Cox) has just gotten a divorce from her loser dead-beat, cheating husband, Bobby Cobb (Brian Van Holt) after spending all of her adult life devoted to being a good mom to her son Travis (Dan Byrd). Now, she’s getting her first taste of independence since she was 19, and of course, what does that mean? Sleep with a twenty-three year-old, obviously! This is encouraged by Ellie (Christa Miller), her married best friend, Andy (Ian Gomez), Ellie’s husband, and by Laurie (Busy Phillips), her slightly younger office assistant, as a reclaiming of all that Jules had been denied in years past! Meanwhile, their neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins) across the street watches with snarky commentary.

Obviously, the pilot made me want to stab myself – and the show – in the face.

Then I kept watching. Because I had nothing better to do and I was broke.

And I was surprisingly delighted. It took about four episodes for “Cougar Town” to outgrow its name and become something far more interesting and heartwarming. What started out as a very cynical look at aging women in society became a bunch of middle-aged people creating a community together, and hilarity has resulted. Because dammit if this show isn’t freaking hilarious.

For those of you who watched “Scrubs,” “Cougar Town”s co-head writer is Bill Lawrence, the man behind the greatest bromance in the history of television (JD/Turk forever) and some of the most impactful, emotional comedy to come about in television. Yeah, “Scrubs” has gone down-hill a great deal since the first few seasons, but when at its best “Scrubs” had an ability to confront really difficult subject matter in a meaningful way without sacrificing the overall comedy of the show. That’s a near impossible line to walk, and it’s something that “Cougar Town” pulls off as well. The whole idea of a cougar is something that is largely ridiculed by society, but the mythos behind these figures exists because there really isn't a place for single, middle-aged women in our society. And having a show that can both laugh at the idea and acknowledge the fact that it's rooted in a real sense of loneliness is damn impressive. Add to that a real look at the lives of forty-somethings in a manner that isn't meant to serve as a back-drop to younger people, and you have a truly unique comedy.

Which is pretty hilarious, considering that the crew in "Cougar Town" does the same stuff as the gang in "How I Met Your Mother." Sure, they hang out in nicer houses, already have babies, live in Florida, and drink more wine than scotch or beer, but everything else is basically the same. They have awesome inside jokes (invisible hat is among my favorites, but nothing beats Pennny Caaan!), a love for mocking one another ruthlessly, and a decidedly mafia-like mentality when it comes to outsiders. It’s delightful, even the one-note characters end up having more depth than you would initially expect, and the cast as a whole has a lot more heart than ensembles on different shows can manage. Add to that a quip-y sense of humor, a group of characters endearing enough to be forgiven for their many flaws, and writing that (while not always brilliant) has been consistently funny and smart. What’s not to love? 

Well… The name. Cut to Bill Lawrence feeling idiotic!

Were it not for my crappy job titling this show, I actually think this show has a broader appeal than "Scrubs," without the weird fantasies and the voiceover and the very Zach-centric sensibility. Even though this show has some "Scrubs" elements, it has Courtney Cox, she has mass appeal, she's still that kind of all-American girl. It's got the potential to reach a wider audience. I'm still surprised. We're much more impatient within the industry, how deep I have to fight the bad title battle.  Entertainment Weekly, the reviewers are very nice to "Cougar Town," they're very supportive and great, but then whoever does their "Community" review, when "Community" wrote their "Cougar Town" episode, they said, "I don't know how there can be any crossover between those shows, because one's about fucking younger guys." And I'm like, "Really? You work at a magazine that has written tons of articles about how the show's not about that anymore, and still you don't know." It drove me crazy. To me, the only thing that's different than "Scrubs," I like where the show is now, probably won't push it to as weird a level as "Scrubs" got. I just think we're still fighting the fight to convince people to at least give it a shot. (Source)

I don’t ever want to know what possessed a perfectly sensible guy and a damn fine TV writer to name the show what he did, but at least he’s properly regretting it now. Unfortunately, so is most of the viewing public. “Cougar Town” is a charmingly poignant and hilarious show, and I only know of one other person who is watching it. And the only reason this person is watching it is because I made them. Because I’m pushy when I like something.

On that note… Watch this show! You’ll probably like it more than you think you will, and if you don’t you can mock me forever for defending it. There is no downside in this for you, honest!