It’s a moving day for the Cul-De-Sac Crew.
The cult favorite “Cougar Town” has been picked up by TBS after ABC — which has perennially made fans of the Courteney Cox-led sitcom hold their breath in fear of cancellation — decided not to move ahead with the show. TBS will air the fourth season of “Cougar Town” in early 2013. The cable network also acquired the syndication rights to the 61 episodes of “Cougar Town” that have aired over three seasons on ABC.
“‘Cougar Town’ is a smart, whimsical sitcom that draws its humor from likable, relatable characters,” said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), in a statement. “We are thrilled to have ‘Cougar Town’ moving to the TBS neighborhood as the network continues to expand its slate of original comedy series.”
And the wine-loving suburbanites should fit right into TBS’s neck of the television woods. “Cougar Town” follows a group of neighbors and friends led by Cox’s Jules (Busy Philipps, Ian Gomez, Dan Byrd, Brian Van Holt and Christa Miller round out the cast). Their goofy relatability — these are adults who have made up a drinking game called Penny Can — is what Conan O’Brien, whose “Conan” airs nightly on TBS, has built his late-night persona on. Meanwhile, Tyler Perry’s monster sitcom successes for the network — “For Better or Worse,” “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne” — all feature quirky and bickering, but forever loving, friends and family. And don’t forget TBS’s roster of syndicated comedies running at all hours of the day: “The Big Bang Theory,” “Family Guy,” “My Name is Earl,” “The Office” and “Seinfeld” all feature regular folks getting into extraordinary — and “very funny,” as the network’s tagline reminds viewers — circumstances.
The pickup also shows TBS’s continued commitment to bolstering its lineup of original programming. The “Cougar Town” announcement comes just weeks before the network’s latest original comedy, “Men at Work,” about dudes who work and play together, premieres on May 24.
