The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, February 10, 2012 2 coverstory Cox rocks 'Cougar Town' pounces back into prime time By Kyla Brewer TV Media Courteney Cox. Now, she's looking for love, both on screen and off since splitting with hubby David Arquette in 2010. Viewers looking for a new fabulous female to lead the prime-time charge will be happy she's returning to the airwaves just in time for Val- entine's Day with the season premiere of "Cougar Town," airing on Tuesday, Feb. 14, on ABC. F Cox stars as Jules, a recent- ly divorced mom trying to navigate the ups and downs of the single life, all the while dealing with the pitfalls of ag- ing. She's also coping with the fact that her grown son Travis (Dan Byrd) is living away from home as he goes to college. Luckily, her best friend Ellie (Christa Miller) lives next door, though she and hus- band Andy (Ian Gomez) have their own problems raising her toddler, Stan. For mo- ments when Ellie just isn't around, Jules leans on her younger, free-spirited buddy Laurie (Busy Philipps). The "cul-de-sac crew" also includes Josh Hopkins as handsome bar owner and Jules' love interest, Grayson. Her ex-husband, Bobby Cobb ew women have cap- tured the hearts of TV viewers like actress (Brian Van Holt), is still a pres- ence in her life as well, though not romantically. As the third season kicks off, Jules is miffed at Grayson because he calls her predict- able. What she doesn't know is that he has an ulterior mo- tive. Meanwhile, Ellie is con- cerned that little Stan could end up like Laurie, and Travis enjoys his new off-campus housing until Bobby makes a suggestion. Cox has ingratiated herself with viewers for decades, both on the tube and the sil- ver screen. The actress is best known for her starring role in the mega-hit sitcom "Friends," but she's been a force on tele- vision since the 1980s when she snagged a recurring role opposite Michael J. Fox in the comedy "Family Ties." Before that, she'd starred in the short-lived superhero TV fan- tasy "Misfits of Science." Oth- er TV credits include "Sein- feld," "Scrubs" and her star- ring turn in FX's "Dirt." As Cox rose through the ranks of television, she also made a name for herself in such feature films as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and the "Scream" slasher movie series. However, her gig as Monica Geller in the Emmy-winning sitcom "Friends" is by far her most successful role. The show about six twentysome- Geeks" and "Dawson's Creek" star Philipps won a 2011 Critic's Choice Television Award for her role as Laurie in "Cougar Town." Christa Miller stars in "Cougar Town" thing friends in Manhattan premiered in September 1994 and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. Al- though Cox was the most fa- mous cast member in the be- ginning, all of her "Friends" co-stars became hugely pop- ular. Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry, along with Cox, became among the highest paid TV actors of their time, earning a reported $1 million per epi- sode. As in "Friends," Cox is in good company in "Cougar Town." Miller starred in the ABC comedy "The Drew Car- ey Show" and NBC's "Scrubs," and has appeared in "CSI: Miami" and "Sein- feld." Co-star Gomez is also a "Drew Carey" alum. Viewers may also recognize him from his roles in "Curb Your Enthu- siasm," "Felicity" and "Jake in Progress." Hopkins has ap- peared in some of the most popular TV shows in recent memory, including "Ally Mc- Beal," "Cold Case" and "Bones." Former "Freaks and A/Auto Boutique B/The Green Giraffe 2 x 2 Despite the stellar cast, critics haven't always been kind to "Cougar Town." Many critics panned Season 1, say- ing it isolated all but a small fraction of viewers, primarily females in their 40s. Others also derided the series for portraying mature single women as the desperate predators of the dating world. Season 2 was generally better received by critics, and the show held steady with an av- erage of just over seven mil- lion viewers. ABC has reportedly or- dered just 15 episodes of the new season, explaining why the premiere was pushed back to February from Janu- ary. That may still change, however, now that ABC has pulled its cross-dressing com- edy, "Work It," so there's more room for "Cougar Town" to stretch its season. According to the Twitter- verse, executives dabbled with the idea of a name change for Season 3 because some felt the name put po- tential viewers off. In May 2011, creator Bill Lawrence tweeted that a name change could be in store, a sentiment echoed by Cox in a June 2011 tweet. But ABC has apparent- ly decided "Cougar Town" is OK, since it began promoting the show under the original name in January. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Is it true that Lucy Lawless put out a music album? A: Not exactly. Lucy Lawless, best known to most as the warrior princess Xena in the cleverly titled cult classic series "Xena: Warrior Princess," has released a recording of a live concert she performed at L.A.'s famed Roxy Theater, and an EP with five tracks, three of which are just remixes of the first. However, Lawless is certainly aware of her physical ap- peal, which undeniably aided in the success of her TV show. Perhaps that's why, though she's released just two audio re- cordings, she's released multiple live-concert DVDs, includ- ing two filmed at the aforementioned Roxy. She also contributed a song to the 2006 CD "Unexpected Dreams: Songs From the Stars," a compilation of lullabies performed by various film and TV stars. Other contributors include Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor and "Desper- ate Housewives" star Teri Hatcher. As is the case with most actors who can sing, Lawless ap- peared in a Broadway run of "Grease," playing Rizzo. Her appearance earned a fair bit of press -- "Xena" was nearing its popularity peak at the time -- and so this was most peo- ple's introduction to Lawless's musical bent. But despite all this she hasn't abandoned her TV fans. In- deed, her current series, Starz's "Spartacus," has a lot in common with "Xena: Warrior Princess." Both are factually loose, racy portrayals of classical eras. A/Crazy Tom's B/Allstar Auto Wash 2 x 3 Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com.