Image Credit: Erik Heinila/TBS
Love is blooming on the dodgeball court in tomorrow’s episode of Cougar Town!
Bobby starts to spend a lot of time with his new tomboy friend, Riggs (guest star Maria Thayer), but it’s not until the two find themselves in a heated game of dodgeball that things really begin to heat up.
How hot does it get? For that, I direct you to the exclusive clip below, in which Riggs puts her neck on the line to save Bobby. What a gal! Watch:
Image Credit: Randy Holmes/ABC
From Freaks and Geeks’ Kim Kelly to Cougar Town’s Laurie Keller, Busy Philipps has made a career out of playing lovable loudmouths. Off screen, the actress possesses the gift of gab as well, which is why we invited one of our small screen faves to call in to this week’s edition of the InsideTV Podcast! And call in she did. In a freewheeling discussion, Busy tells us all about her “disheartening” frustration with the lack of support from Cougar Town’s previous network, ABC, as well as some big changes for Laurie this season on the comedy’s new home of TBS. She also reminisces about her formative days on Freaks and Geeks, while also discussing being pregnant for the second time —and the bigger boobs that come with it!
Busy then provides some behind-the-scenes intel on how the Cougar Town set is unique when it comes to balancing work and parenting. Not only that, but the actress plays a few rounds of Jessica Shaw’s latest game — 7 Degrees of Busy Philipps! To hear our candid and colorful chat with the star, click on the audio player icon below.
But that’s not all. Jessica and I also size up the new American Idol judges panel. Is Nicki Minaj too over the top? Does Mariah Carey have anything of interest to say? And is Randy Jackson the only one willing to actually critique anyone? We give our first impressions of the first episodes and name some early favorite contestants as well. (The American Idol discussion begins at 24:00.) READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Michael Becker/Fox
Other than a possibly manufactured feud with Nicki Minaj that she appears to want no part of, has Mariah Carey added anything to the American Idol judging panel? Considering all the vocal expertise at her disposal, we hoped she’d have some legitimate constructive criticism to share with this year’s auditioning contestants. Instead, she merely smiles, says yes or no in as boring a manner as possible, and then goes back to praying that her fellow female judge does not light into her again. Mariah’s yawn-worthy entrance onto the American Idol stage is just one of the first impressions Jessica Shaw and I will be breaking down on this week’s edition of the InsideTV Podcast.
Also up for discussion on the new season of Idol: Is Randy the only judge actually willing to criticize? How are we feeling about the steady stream of inspirational sob stories being shoved down our throats? And does Keith Urban deserve better than being forced to play peacemaker between the two feuding divas? Also, who are our early favorites among the contestants? Click on the audio player icon to hear our thoughts and see if you agree. (The American Idol discussion beings at 24:00.)
But first, it’s time to get busy with one of our TV favorites — Busy Philipps! That’s right, the Cougar Town star calls in to talk about the comedy’s big move to TBS, her boobs getting a lot bigger (due to her pregnancy, natch), and what’s in store for her character coming up. She also shares some memories from her Freaks and Geeks days and plays a few kick-ass rounds of Jessica’s new game — 7 Degrees of Busy Philipps. READ FULL STORY »
Take a modest show on broadcast and put it on cable. How does it perform by cable standards? Kinda modest.
Despite promising lots of Courteney Cox cleavage, Cougar Town delivered 2.2 million viewers for its TBS premiere last night, with 1.3 million adults 18-49. That’s not bad (the network’s press release, which naturally grades on a curve, called them “solid”). But by comparison, last year’s Sullivan and Sons debuted to 2.5 million viewers and Men at Work debuted to 2.6 million viewers — and those titles didn’t have Cougar Town‘s broad awareness after running for three years on ABC, or a star like Cox to help promote the show.
Basically the numbers are within TBS’ ballpark, but you’d expect this particular title to deliver more viewers. Or maybe not, if you subscribe to the philosophy referenced above — that the popularity of a title remains consistent regardless of the size of its venue. That just because a show moves to an outlet with lower bar for success doesn’t mean it will continue delivering broadcast-level numbers and therefore become a cable hit.
The Cougar Town team kicked off the winter Television Critics Association press tour by serving mimosas to a ballroom of bleary-eyed critics. Sure it’s only 9 a.m., but this is the alkie-friendly Cougar Town on stage so let the party begin.
Here’s six notable quotables from the panel, with the Cougar Town team pledging Courteney Cox cleavage, some barechested Josh Hopkins and a “naked day” episode.
– Co-creator Bill Lawrence expressed more appreciation for TBS rescuing the show for a fourth season, along with some playful knocks on his former network ABC. “I don’t know if you’ve seen them but there’s commercials for this show now, it’s insane,” he says. “Go to New York and you’ll see the [ABC] Don’t Trust the B— posters they’re right next to ours.”
– Lawrence and the cast repeatedly emphasized that fans shouldn’t notice any difference in the show compared to previous seasons. “I want them to notice no difference,” Lawrence says. EXCEPT… “One difference is Courteney did declare this year the year of her cleavage,” he says. Adds Cox: “You will not see one scene where I don’t show my boobs.” Lawrence also joked, “the big difference is we’ve shifted from Brian Van Holt not wearing his shirt all the time to Josh Hopkins not wearing his shirt all the time. I think that was probably TBS’ only big note.”
– TBS wasn’t interested in changing the show’s much-debated name. The network’s head of programming Michael Wright said: “Cougar Town had become part of the humor… why change something that we all appreciate that’s part of the show’s humor … why [move away] from all the marketing that had already been done [in support of the show].” Lawrence says he’s embraced the title at this point. READ FULL STORY »
With Cougar Town set to make its debut on TBS in January, the network is rolling out a new wine-splashing promo featuring Courteney Cox and the cul-de-sac crew all clad in white. Or I should say, wine spilling, since the ad features the classic Eric Burdon and War track, “Spill the Wine.” The former ABC fan-favorite comedy will launch its fourth season on the cable channel on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 10 p.m. Here’s your “ultimate laundry nightmare”… READ FULL STORY »
The following is an important musical video message brought to you by the cast of Cougar Town. The gist of it? They’re back! More specifically, their premiere date is Jan. 8.
Little else can be said about the video below other than it’s further proof that this show deserved to get saved from cancellation, and TBS will be a fine home for it. (Also, why does nothing rhyme with Tuesday?)
Click below to be serenaded and totally ear-wormed. READ FULL STORY »
Had the news of Cougar Town‘s renewal and move to TBS not been released weeks ago, the season finale may have made a few fans worry. After all, the episode certainly had the tone of a series finale.
Jules (Courteney Cox) and Grayson (Josh Hopkins) got married. Ellie (Christa Miller) dangled her sexuality over Andy (Ian Gomez) like an unreachable carrot. And Laurie (Busy Phillips) and Travis (Dan) seemed to accept that they will always remain friends — and nothing more. But while the episode felt like a natural end to the series, co-creator Bill Lawrence says that was never the intention. “It’s the opposite,” he says. “We thought it was a season finale and when the show wasn’t doing great, we realized it could be the series finale if it had to be. And we were like thank goodness! But we never planned it that way.”
Instead, the episode is really a new beginning. Next fall, the start its run on TBS, a move that Lawrence calls “a very appealing situation. “[TBS] flew our entire cast out to Upfronts, and we were being treated like somebody’s flagship show rather than an afterthought,” he says. “It’s really cool. I couldn’t be more grateful.”
And while Lawrence, who has a development deal with Warner Bros., and Cougar Town co-creator Kevin Biegel are handing over daily duties to Ric Swartzlander (Gary Unmarried), their relationship with the show will continue, he says. How exactly? That’s one of the subjects he tackled during a conversation with EW about the finale and what’s next: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Peter Stone/ABC
Cougar Town not only has a new network, it has a new showrunner to match.
Ric Swartzlander (Gary Unmarried) has signed on as an executive producer and will oversee the cul-de-sac comedy in its fourth season — and first on TBS. The news comes on the heels of series co-creator/exec producer Bill Lawrence’s confirmation that he and co-creator Kevin Biegel were no longer planning to run the series, which aired for three seasons on ABC. Lawrence, who’s married to Cougar Town star Christa Miller, assured fans on Twitter last week that he and Biegel weren’t fully letting go of their Big Carls, quipping: “My wife is on the show — you think she’ll let me disappear? Please.” Lawrence will serve as an executive producer and executive consultant on Cougar Town while developing new projects for Warner Bros. TV, with whom he signed a deal last year. Biegel will act as consulting producer. Swartzlander’s other credits include Samantha Who? and 8 Simple Rules.
Image Credit: Richard Cartwright/ABC
Courteney Cox set down Big Carl long enough to step behind the camera as director of tonight’s episode of Cougar Town. She and costar Josh Hopkins spoke with EW about her directing role and shared a few season 3 spoilers.
Cougar Town fans, this may not be news you want to read: Dan Byrd (Travis Cobb) just booked another gig.
Byrd has joined Louis C.K’s untitled pilot at CBS, which is a multi-camera comedy about a “group of young people trying to achieve their creative dreams in these tough financial times.” It also stars Ashley Tisdale and is from Spike Feresten, Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun.
He’s the second Town vet to land a new job in the event ABC fails to renew the sitcom. Previously, Josh Hopkins (Grayson Ellis) signed on to the NBC comedy Lady Friends, a comedy from Kari Lizer that looks at what happens between two lifelong female friends when a husband comes into the mix. These are second position roles: If ABC shows mercy and gives Cougar Town another season, then CBS and NBC will have to find themselves some other funny men, thank you for very much.
Sadly, Cougar Town sunk to a series low last week, earning a mere 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 and luring only 4.3 million.
For more:
TV pilots mega list 2012
Death Watch 2012: Bubble Show Edition
Cougar Town: Life’s tough! Get a helmet
Image Credit: ABC
Well … you can’t say Cougar Town‘s cast and producers didn’t try.
The third season of ABC’s comedy returned significantly lower in the ratings. In its new (and much tougher) time period, Cougar Town delivered 4.8 million viewers and a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating Tuesday night. This is a series low for the show (The CW’s Ringer also had some particularly bad news, below).
It’s arguably unfair to compare Cougar Town to its own 3.4 premiere last year (from which it’s down 47 percent). The show debuted in the fall on Wednesday nights with a lead-in from top-rated Modern Family. Whereas last night’s time slot in a few short months has been haunted by the short-lived Man Up (which premiered to a 2.4 rating) and Work It (2.0). Cougar Town‘s 1.8 rating is about average for this slot, but that’s not great considering the two shows that mainly generated that number were cancelled. It’s lead-in, Last Man Standing, had 7.6 million viewers and a 2.0 rating. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Simon Russell/Getty Images
The Cougar Town cast has pounded grapes, traveled the country, and, from a promotional point of view, pretty much killed themselves getting word out about the return of their show tonight for an exciting third season after a lengthy absence. (EW readers likely have heard the news.)
But the result of their efforts — and, in turn, the true power of guerrilla, self-funded promotion — won’t be known until tomorrow morning, when overnight ratings are released. Though, even then, creator Bill Lawrence, who largely funded the massive campaign pegged to the show’s return, says he’s trying to stay realistic about the possible ratings outcome for a show premiering on Valentine’s Day. “Here’s what I really think will happen: I think the show will not premiere as high as people hope,” he admits. “And what I hope will happen is what always happened on Scrubs when they brought it back. The first week, the numbers are always lower than their predecessor….But what would happen then, as people became educated that the show was back on, each week it would be higher. The next week, the gap would be closed.”
Should his prediction come true, he’s prepared himself for the reaction — the Internet will try to stick a toe tag on Cougar Town. “We’re such an immediate culture that you immediately read on blogs is, ‘It’s dead!’ I read that about Scrubs for four years in a row,” he says. READ FULL STORY »
James Hibberd
@James_Hibberd
Lynette Rice
@EWLynette
