Cougar Town is a pretty funny show about a 40 year old woman named Jules (Courteney Cox), a real estate agent, who is going through a mid life crisis of sorts, as she realizes that her failed marriage left her unsure about whether she can find love again. While all of that’s going on, Jules is trying not to embarrass her wise-ass and extremely funny son (Dan Byrd, yay). She’s also taking good and bad advice from her two best friends who tell her two different things about how to approach dating. And then there’s the instant love-hate-sure-to-be-romantic relationship with the 40 year old neighbor man. It’s got the makings of a show that I would love, but for me, it’s not there yet.
Cougar Town, like I said, is pretty funny, and Courteney Cox shows she’s a very funny lady, playing Monica Gellar going through a midlife crisis, with an even needier attitude. She has great chemistry with all of her costars, who, separately, and together, I love. Busy Phillipps is always a breath of fresh air, combined with the genuine comedy that Dan Byrd brings. Josh Hopkins is smarmy and charming and adorable and frustrating all rolled into one. And Christa Miller plays Jordan from Scrubs so well, that she’s brought the character to Cougar Town. There’s just a waywardness to it that makes me feel like the ideas aren’t fully formed yet.
I will definitely be watching, more to see where they go in a second or third episode, versus a genuine love of the show, but I think (I hope) we’ll be pleasantly surprised, if the writers find their footing, to find a solid female-lead comedy that quickly becomes can’t miss TV. If it takes a wrong turn somewhere along the line, this could be the high profile comedy that kicks the bucket quickly!
Series Premiere: Wednesday, September 23rd on ABC 9:30/8:30c
