Pilot (Cougar Town)
Encyclopedia
"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the American television sitcom Cougar Town
, which premiered on ABC
on September 23, 2009. The episode was directed by series creator Bill Lawrence
, and written by Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. The pilot introduces seven main cast members: Jules Cobb (Courteney Cox
) as a 40-year-old mother who’s newly single; Ellie Torres (Christa Miller
), Jules' next door neighbor and best friend; Laurie Keller (Busy Philipps
), Jules' younger employee; Bobby Cobb (Brian Van Holt
), Jules' unemployed ex-husband; Travis Cobb (Dan Byrd
), Jules' 17-year old son; Andy Torres (Ian Gomez
), Ellie's husband; and Grayson Ellis (Josh Hopkins
), Jules' newly divorced neighbor.
The episode aired between the other two pilots, Modern Family
and Eastwick
. It achieved 11.4 million viewers, coming first in its timeslot. Critical response was mixed, with Los Angeles Times
Mary McNamara stating that the show "is fun and exciting for women over 40" and that the "maddening thing about 'Cougar Town' is that it isn't completely unfunny or uncharming."
After dropping Travis off at school, he trudges off for a day of humiliation after dealing with his mom's busty real estate ads around town, and his dad's new job as his school's lawn mower. As a real estate agent, Jules has the obligatory lawn signs posted all over town. Jules is horrified that Laurie would do that, but Laurie is hell-bent on getting Jules out in the dating world. After seeing another older man with a younger girl, Laurie insists she and Jules go out and have a little fun. After arriving at the club, Jules soon meets a younger guy, Matt, and though drunk by the end of the night, she goes home alone. When Jules gets home, she is ready to share a bottle of wine with Ellie. Although, Laurie unexpectedly swings by and leaves Matt at Jules's place. Reluctantly, Jules sleeps with Matt three times. Several hours later, they are relaxing by her pool, and she wants to do something to him she always told her ex-husband she hated. As Jules attempts to go down on Matt, Bobby and Travis walk in. In the morning, she tries to apologize to Travis and explain she fears shriveling up and dying if she doesn't get out and do things. Feeling bad for Travis' bitterness toward her posters, Jules and Laurie chase down the kid responsible for stealing most of the posters.
and Kevin Biegel. Lawrence is best known as the creator of Scrubs
. He drew inspiration from his real-life wife, actress Christa Miller
who also stars in the show as Ellie. Lawrence and Kevin Biegel, who worked together writing episode on Scrubs, decided to create a show with Courteney Cox
as a 40-year-old, newly single woman because he thought that it was a real "zeitgeist-y topic." Cox and Lawrence had worked together on Scrubs, with Cox guest-starring in the first three episodes of the eighth season. Lawrence was also a staff writer on Friends
during the show's first season
. Before pitching the idea to ABC, other titles for the show included 40 and Single and The Courteney Cox Show. After pitching the idea to ABC, they asked him to have a pilot ready to shoot by the end of January 2009. Lawrence and Biegel together wrote the script with Lawrence, who has written and directed many episodes on Scrubs, directing the episode.
although it is filmed at Culver Studios
in Culver City, California
. The pilot episode began filming in January 2009 and was directed and written by Bill Lawrence. Lawrence serves as executive producer
/writer/director, Kevin Biegel as writer/co-executive producer, and Courteney Cox
and David Arquette
are executive producers. It is produced by Doozer Productions and Coquette Productions
(headed by Cox and her husband David Arquette
) and is from ABC Studios. Original music for Cougar Town is composed by singer-songwriter WAZ & the production team Golden-Sgro.
gave the series 49 out of 100 based on the pilot episode, from the 21 reviews it collected, and a user score of 4.5 out of 10 based on 46 votes. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
gave the pilot episode a B, commenting that the show mixes "clinical realism (when did you last hear a C-section scar used as a punchline?) with ridiculous slang (a new boob job is referred to as gorilla heads), Cougar Town is so brashly vulgar, it's endearing." Tucker also stated that it "is so single-minded that this obsession itself becomes funny." Variety
stated that the show "does feed into the dual sense of insecurity and self-empowerment that women harbor about getting older ... though, the execution here is consistently about as subtle as a kick to the groin." Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
gave the episode a B-, although compared Cox's character to Elliot Reid
from Scrubs, stating that Cox is "cartoonishly self-serious and has a propensity to say whatever it is she's thinking."
Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
feels that "'Cougar Town' is still finding itself, but it’s already much better than the title would suggest [...] the show "has to walk a very careful line between making fun of the cougar concept and embracing it" although based on the two episodes "'Cougar Town' is self-aware enough to pull that off." USA Today
was also favourable saying that the show has "the right cast and good writing." Jezebel
gave the show negative reviews stating, "It's clichéd, it's lame, it's undignified. It smacks of predatory desperation," while Ryan Brockington of New York Post
compared the show to ABC's recently canceled Samantha Who?
.
Cougar Town
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorced woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make...
, which premiered on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on September 23, 2009. The episode was directed by series creator Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
, and written by Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. The pilot introduces seven main cast members: Jules Cobb (Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
) as a 40-year-old mother who’s newly single; Ellie Torres (Christa Miller
Christa Miller
Christa Miller is an American actress who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show and Jordan Sullivan on Scrubs . She has also appeared on Seinfeld and CSI: Miami...
), Jules' next door neighbor and best friend; Laurie Keller (Busy Philipps
Busy Philipps
Elizabeth Jean Philipps , known professionally as Busy Philipps, is an American film actress, perhaps best known for her supporting roles on the television series Freaks and Geeks and Dawson's Creek...
), Jules' younger employee; Bobby Cobb (Brian Van Holt
Brian Van Holt
-Early life:Van Holt was born in Waukegan, Illinois and raised in California. Despite his Dutch surname, he is of mainly Scotch-Irish ancestry. Van Holt has a degree in Sociology from UCLA. At 18 years of age, he struck the perfect image of a Huntington Beach, California surfer...
), Jules' unemployed ex-husband; Travis Cobb (Dan Byrd
Dan Byrd
Daniel "Dan" Byrd is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes, the CW original comedy series Aliens in America, A Cinderella Story alongside Hillary Duff, ABC's Cougar Town, and the 2010 movie Easy A.-Life and career:Byrd was born in Marietta,...
), Jules' 17-year old son; Andy Torres (Ian Gomez
Ian Gomez
Ian Gomez is an American actor best known for his comedic TV work, the most notable of which are his series-regular stints as Javier on Felicity and Andy on Cougar Town.-Career:...
), Ellie's husband; and Grayson Ellis (Josh Hopkins
Josh Hopkins
William Joshua Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins joined the fourth, and last season, of New York Undercover in 1998. In 1999 Hopkins starred in Alanis Morissette's "Unsent" music video...
), Jules' newly divorced neighbor.
The episode aired between the other two pilots, Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
and Eastwick
Eastwick (TV series)
Eastwick is a 2009 screwball comedy series based on John Updike's novel, The Witches of Eastwick. The series was developed by Maggie Friedman, and starred Paul Gross as the infamous Darryl Van Horne, alongside Jaime Ray Newman , Lindsay Price, and Rebecca Romijn as the eponymous...
. It achieved 11.4 million viewers, coming first in its timeslot. Critical response was mixed, with Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Mary McNamara stating that the show "is fun and exciting for women over 40" and that the "maddening thing about 'Cougar Town' is that it isn't completely unfunny or uncharming."
Plot
Jules examines her naked body in the mirror after coming out of the shower. At a football game at her son's high school, Jules relaxes in the stands with her friend and co-worker, Laurie. They are playing the traditional game of "Son...or Boyfriend?" with a few 40-something moms sitting with much younger guys. Meanwhile, Laurie tries to convince Jules to go out and party, but Jules has two glasses of wine and a Scrabble board waiting at home for her best friend and neighbor, Ellie, to come over. However, Ellie promised her husband Andy that they would have sex at least once a month and he is making her honor the agreement. The next morning, Jules goes outside to get the newspaper and sees her 40-something neighbor, Grayson, say goodbye to another 20-something conquest. This time, she confronts him about the fact he's sleeping with sorority girls only a week after his wife leaves him. He thinks it's because she couldn't "bag a young stud if she tried." Therefore she tries by flashing a kid on a bicycle. The kid eventually crashes headfirst into a car.After dropping Travis off at school, he trudges off for a day of humiliation after dealing with his mom's busty real estate ads around town, and his dad's new job as his school's lawn mower. As a real estate agent, Jules has the obligatory lawn signs posted all over town. Jules is horrified that Laurie would do that, but Laurie is hell-bent on getting Jules out in the dating world. After seeing another older man with a younger girl, Laurie insists she and Jules go out and have a little fun. After arriving at the club, Jules soon meets a younger guy, Matt, and though drunk by the end of the night, she goes home alone. When Jules gets home, she is ready to share a bottle of wine with Ellie. Although, Laurie unexpectedly swings by and leaves Matt at Jules's place. Reluctantly, Jules sleeps with Matt three times. Several hours later, they are relaxing by her pool, and she wants to do something to him she always told her ex-husband she hated. As Jules attempts to go down on Matt, Bobby and Travis walk in. In the morning, she tries to apologize to Travis and explain she fears shriveling up and dying if she doesn't get out and do things. Feeling bad for Travis' bitterness toward her posters, Jules and Laurie chase down the kid responsible for stealing most of the posters.
Conception
Cougar Town was created by Bill LawrenceBill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
and Kevin Biegel. Lawrence is best known as the creator of Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
. He drew inspiration from his real-life wife, actress Christa Miller
Christa Miller
Christa Miller is an American actress who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show and Jordan Sullivan on Scrubs . She has also appeared on Seinfeld and CSI: Miami...
who also stars in the show as Ellie. Lawrence and Kevin Biegel, who worked together writing episode on Scrubs, decided to create a show with Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
as a 40-year-old, newly single woman because he thought that it was a real "zeitgeist-y topic." Cox and Lawrence had worked together on Scrubs, with Cox guest-starring in the first three episodes of the eighth season. Lawrence was also a staff writer on Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
during the show's first season
Friends (season 1)
The first season of Friends, an American situation comedy created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing...
. Before pitching the idea to ABC, other titles for the show included 40 and Single and The Courteney Cox Show. After pitching the idea to ABC, they asked him to have a pilot ready to shoot by the end of January 2009. Lawrence and Biegel together wrote the script with Lawrence, who has written and directed many episodes on Scrubs, directing the episode.
Filming
The series takes place in Sarasota, FloridaSarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
although it is filmed at Culver Studios
Culver Studios
The Culver Studios is a historic Colonial-styled movie studio located at 9336 W. Washington Blvd., in Culver City, California. It was the site of filming for Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane and other classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. The pilot episode began filming in January 2009 and was directed and written by Bill Lawrence. Lawrence serves as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
/writer/director, Kevin Biegel as writer/co-executive producer, and Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
and David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
are executive producers. It is produced by Doozer Productions and Coquette Productions
Coquette Productions
Coquette Productions is a motion picture production company created by the Arquettes . Their productions include:*2009: Cougar Town *2009: The Big Change...
(headed by Cox and her husband David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
) and is from ABC Studios. Original music for Cougar Town is composed by singer-songwriter WAZ & the production team Golden-Sgro.
Reception
The episode was first broadcast in the United States on ABC on September 23, 2009 in the 9:30–10 p.m. (PST) timeslot. The episode drew an average of 11.28 million viewers on first broadcast. It opened with initially mixed reviews from television critics. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the series 49 out of 100 based on the pilot episode, from the 21 reviews it collected, and a user score of 4.5 out of 10 based on 46 votes. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the pilot episode a B, commenting that the show mixes "clinical realism (when did you last hear a C-section scar used as a punchline?) with ridiculous slang (a new boob job is referred to as gorilla heads), Cougar Town is so brashly vulgar, it's endearing." Tucker also stated that it "is so single-minded that this obsession itself becomes funny." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
stated that the show "does feed into the dual sense of insecurity and self-empowerment that women harbor about getting older ... though, the execution here is consistently about as subtle as a kick to the groin." Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave the episode a B-, although compared Cox's character to Elliot Reid
Elliot Reid
Dr. Elliot Reid is a fictional character played by Sarah Chalke in the American comedy-drama Scrubs. She has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except two Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words" and "My Lawyer's in Love"....
from Scrubs, stating that Cox is "cartoonishly self-serious and has a propensity to say whatever it is she's thinking."
Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
feels that "'Cougar Town' is still finding itself, but it’s already much better than the title would suggest [...] the show "has to walk a very careful line between making fun of the cougar concept and embracing it" although based on the two episodes "'Cougar Town' is self-aware enough to pull that off." USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
was also favourable saying that the show has "the right cast and good writing." Jezebel
Jezebel (website)
Jezebel is a blog aimed at women's interests, under the tagline "Celebrity, Sex, Fashion. Without Airbrushing". It is one of several blogs owned by Gawker Media.Jezebel was launched on May 21, 2007, as the 14th Gawker blog...
gave the show negative reviews stating, "It's clichéd, it's lame, it's undignified. It smacks of predatory desperation," while Ryan Brockington of New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
compared the show to ABC's recently canceled Samantha Who?
Samantha Who?
Samantha Who? is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from October 15, 2007 to July 23, 2009. The series was created by Cecelia Ahern and Don Todd, who also served as producers...
.