Image Credit: Bob D’Amico/Getty Images
Okay, so the Cougar Town cast and creators weren’t pounding grape quite like the cul-de-sac crew does, but they came with red wine in hand to last night’s Paley Center panel. The event was just the latest of a series of viewing parties that the cast and co-creators and executive producers Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel organized as part of a grassroots campaign. With the ABC comedy stuck in TV schedule limbo, they decided that sitting around and doing nothing was not an option. “For Bill and for me it was kind of a no brainer,” Biegel said. “Why would you not do this? I want people to see it. So if that means going out there to show it to people, I’m going to go out there and show it to people.”
And that’s exactly what Beigel & co. did. They screened the season 3 premiere along with the fifth episode. Then, they answered questions from panel moderator Michael Ausiello. Here are the highlights from last night’s red carpet and panel session. [Warning: Mild spoilers ahead!]
++ About that Jules and Grayson proposal in the premiere: “Friends did this will-they-won’t-they thing with Ross and Rachel. And apparently there was some kind of break or something,” laughed Lawrence. “But we were not interested in doing that,” added Biegel. And that’s why Jules and Grayson are in it for the long haul.
++ Ian Gomez said the premiere was the perfect combination of funny with heartfelt moments. “I get teary,” he confessed. And then he promised me I probably would too. “At least I hope so. If you don’t I look very wimpy!” (Don’t worry, Ian. I totally did.)
++ The name Cougar Town is not going anywhere. The title, which Lawrence said is the “worst title in the history of television” is now being worn as a badge of honor now. They will, however, continue to use clever title card lead-ins including Lawrence’s favorite, “This is not The Simpsons title card joke.”
++ Courteney Cox directs an episode this season that features her daughter, Coco. “It’s an episode where Bobby and I are trying to keep our white shirts clean. So we have a white shirt contest, and Coco’s in one scene where she walks by with a chocolate ice cream cone. It’s very nerve-wracking.”
++ Busy Philipps said that her character, Laurie, finds a boyfriend via Twitter. (Shout out to The Larmy!)
++ Philipps also said that Laurie starts her own business: “Ripped from my own personal headline, she has a cake decorating business.” Yes,Busy Philipps is a real-life cake decorator. “I’m basically professional. I’m like one of the people who plays a doctor on TV and then stops at car accidents because they think they can help. Whenever there’s cake stuff on set I’m like, ‘Okay, guys, let me tell you how it really is in the cake world. We would never use that kind of fondant!’”
UP NEXT…Travis, Baby Stan, and Braveheart?
