Cougar Town

CHICAGO – When ABC canceled “Cougar Town” after three seasons of mediocre ratings offset by some critics who were surprisingly loyal to the show, TBS swooped in and grabbed it up for a potential two seasons, the first of which premieres tonight, January 8, 2013.

CHICAGO – As we told you would happen earlier this week (in this feature), CBS has canceled “A Gifted Man,” a show that had a small audience from day one and ABC has finally given up on “Cougar Town,” but TBS has picked up the show with a 15-episode order to air in 2013.

CHICAGO – With almost every episode they’ve produced, ABC’s “Cougar Town” has turned into a better program. It’s been remarkable to watch creator Bill Lawrence and his team refine what works about this show.

CHICAGO – After months of wondering if it will come back at all, it turns out that the total failure of the abysmal “Work It” was the best thing that could have happened to fans of “Cougar Town.” ABC announced today that the Courteney Cox hit will return on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 7:30pm CST. I’m still not sold that this is a good fit with “Last Man Standing,” but it’s better than nothing. Hopefully next year they can move “The Middle” to this slot and put “CT” back on Wednesdays where it belongs.

CHICAGO – Fans of “Pan Am,” “Man Up!,” and “Cougar Town” better be sitting down. None are on ABC’s mid-season schedule, announced today. It’s unclear for sure what the heck is going on with “Cougar Town,” a show that was announced as returning mid-season months ago, but one hopes it will still return in the spring. Stay tuned for further updates. The fact that the sliding “Pan Am” and “Man Up!” appear less and less likely to make it through their first seasons should come as a surprise to no one.

CHICAGO – Disney and ABC Studios are releasing waves of DVDs in the coming weeks that are designed to allow you to catch up before new episodes of your favorite shows premiere or, as is the case with two of the first titles, remember the days when they were still on the air. The most recent seasons of “Brothers & Sisters” and “Off the Map” hit stores this week, August 23rd, 2011, followed by “Cougar Town” and “Desperate Housewives” next week, August 30th, 2011.

CHICAGO – NBC & FOX released their schedules already this week and there are a few interesting highlights, but ABC has released easily the most aggressive and ambitious new slate of programs, which will feature at least one new program five nights a week.

CHICAGO – HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico speaks with WGN Radio host Bill Moller on Jan. 29, 2011 about the best programming on TV you should be watching but probably aren’t.

CHICAGO – Fans of ABC’s often-struggling “Cougar Town” had to wait until the eleventh hour last year to find out that their favorite show would be given a second chance with a sophomore season. Not so this year. In a surprising move, “Cougar Town” got the nod for an early pick-up for the 2011-12 season. Less surprising were the also-announced renewals of “Castle,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Middle,” “Modern Family,” and “Private Practice.”

CHICAGO – Courteney Cox returns tonight to try and overcome the perception that her very-clever and consistently-improving “Cougar Town” is not a success. What better way to make instant waves than to bring former co-star on “Friends” Jennifer Aniston to the party? The result is yet-another funny half-hour of television for a program that seems to get better by the week.