TV to Obsess Over - Cougar Town Returns!

If you’ve been following us through the years, it’s pretty evident that we have strong opinions on pop culture and we aren’t afraid to share them. To this point, we’ve ripped in to movies, music, theatre and restaurants, but outside of making seasonal suggestions for Fall TV, television isn’t something we’ve deeply delved into. So with our 100th post, that is about to change.

Generally, television is inundated with mindless, formulaic crowd pleasers like cop shows, hook-line-sinker comedies and reality shows (shudder). But if you’re strong enough to push past the fluff that has congealed on the surface of regular programming, there are a few beauties underneath that make it all worth it. Beauties like Parks and Rec, Castle, Community, Modern Family, 30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia and Cougar Town.

Yes, that’s right. Cougar Town. Before you stop reading, forget every judgement you just made about this show. Despite what the admittedly horrible title will lead you to believe, the show is not about cougars. It isn’t a Friends replica even though Courtney Cox is the ring leader. In fact, it’s a charming, hilarious take on suburban family life chalked full of quirky characters, clever writing, relatable antics and wine. Lots of wine.

But even so, Cougar Town received the same frustrating fate as Community at the beginning of the year when it wasn’t included for a return on the fall schedule. And like Community fans, Cougar Town fans were outraged and took to the internet with petitions and viral social media outreach to voice their opinions.

But it wasn’t just the fans who were trying to take things into their own hands. Cougar Town creator Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Clone High, Spin City) unleashed his own aggressive guerrilla marketing techniques to keep the Cougar Town name out there and to build an online cul-de-sac full of supporters for this little show that could.

Lawrence personally financed intimate viewing parties in venues across the United States where fans were able to win tickets through Twitter to attend the event, enjoy free food, open bar, view two episodes of the new season, participate in a Q and A with select cast members and show writers and basically just hang out.

When ABC left Cougar Town out of their 2012 Press Tour, Lawrence and the entire cast (Courtney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Brian Van Holt and Dan Byrd – Ashley’s newest TV boyfriend) held their own press party right next door.

These grass root efforts weren’t just limited to the States, however. Lawrence’s Twitter (@Vdoozer) is bursting with activity. He and the cast are the most socially interactive that we have seen from celebs, constantly tweeting, retweeting and personally addressing their fans. Not to mention the daily contests and incentives for followers and fans, such as giving away bottles of Cult Wine to anyone who promises to stay in and watch the season premiere on Tuesday, February 14 at 8:30pm. A contest that this lucky writer is proud to say she won! Hello free wine!!

Quality of the show aside, when do you ever see a cast and crew so passionate about a show and their fans that they go to these lengths to sidestep a bunch of corporate suits that are standing in their way? If nothing else, that should be reason enough to tune in to see what all the buzz is about.

So tomorrow – Tuesday, February 14th – scrap your Valentine’s Day plans, grab an oversized glass of wine and prepare to fall in love with Cougar Town.

Season 3 Highlight Reel

images from google images