ABC at TCA: Bitches Abound; "Cougar Town" Producers and Cast Take Matters into their Own Hands

Ed Martin Live from the 2012 Winter Television Critics Association TourThe most interesting event to date at the Winter 2012 Television Critics Association tour turned out not to be an official TCA activity at all Monday night Cougar Town executive producer Bill Lawrence rented out the bar at the Langham Huntington Hotel the home of this tour and invited TCA members to come by for drinks hors d39oeuvres and casual ontherecord conversation about the many mysteries surrounding ABC39s treatment this season of his showInterestingly ABC had nothing to do with this unofficial event even though it took place during the network39s portion of the tour The night was open and Lawrence seized the opportunity For the record ABC was perfectly okay with letting Lawrence sponsor the evening as long as the network didn39t have to pay for it The bar was packed for over two hours with dozens of reporters who weren39t there simply for the free drinks and food Rather it was a rare opportunity to record lively interviews with virtually everyone responsible for a single series without the usual interference by network or personal publicistsTo say the evening was a huge success would be to understate its impact Producers of other series who feel that they aren39t being particularly well treated by their networks ought to take note Lawrence was accompanied by his fellow producers and the entire cast of Cougar Town including its lead actress Courteney Cox one of those highprofile television personalities whose time with the press at previous TCA tours when she was promoting series such as Friends and Dirt was always somewhat limited and very carefully controlled Turns out she39s a pleasure to talk to when she isn39t surrounded by professional handlers Who knewThe Cougar Town story is increasingly strange and fascinating It is owned by ABC it earned respectable ratings during its first two seasons it steadily improved creatively throughout those two seasons it has enjoyed ongoing critical acclaim and media coverage and it39s a whole lot better than many of the comedies ABC has favored this season including Man Up Work It Don39t Trust the B in Apt 23 and Happy Endings And yet it wasn39t included on the network39s schedule last fall it had been scheduled for a December return but was then pulled its episode order was cut from 22 to 15 and ABC will say only that Cougar Town will be back on its air quotin MarchquotMonday39s unprecedented event was part of a grassroots movement Lawrence has organized that involves sending cast members from Cougar Town around the country to show episodes from the yettobe seen third season at fan gatherings Never has a group of producers and actors worked so hard at keeping a show aliveTellingly despite their frustrations at ABC39s handling of their show the producers and stars of Cougar Town in the hotel bar Monday night never actually said anything negative about ABC other than to express their disappointment with the treatment their show has received They were consummate professionals throughoutUnfortunately ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee didn39t offer much insight into the Cougar Town situation during his official executive session yesterday morning He claimed that when the show finally does return to ABC the network will quotbring a big strong message that we love the showquot Lee added that he would eventually like to put together quota group of irreverent young adult comediesquot that would include Cougar Town Happy Endings and Don39t Trust the B in Apt 23Lee had little else to say mainly because ABC39s fall season has largely been very successful with the launches of four new series that appear to have traction or as Lee likes to say to be quotstickyquot Revenge Once Upon a Time Last Man Standing and Suburgatory amp8211 and the establishment on Wednesday of a true mustsee lineup of shows Lee noted that his has been quotthe only broadcast network that grewquot in the 10 o39clock hour quotwhich is good for the whole of ABCquotThere was an interesting question during the session with Lee about the use of the word quotbitchquot in the titles of two ABC shows Don39t Trust the B in Apt 23 and GCB The letters in the latter once stood for Good Christian Bitches but now stand for Good Christian Belles Why build a word into the title of a broadcast show that for a number of reasons cannot remain in the title of a broadcast show CBS did the same thing last season when it developed S My Dad Says Lee didn39t have much to say about it other than to suggest that if Don39t Trust the B in Apt 23 succeeds it will likely come to be known simply as Apt 23 and that he hopes the title GCB will quotpique people39s interestquot But it raises an interesting point for network and studio executives Why play so fast and loose with silly and vague titles for shows A bad or vague title can grievously compromise the perception of a series Just ask Bill Lawrence about Cougar TownLee also said he wasn39t concerned about the vague quality of the title GCB which reveals nothing about what the show might actually be and compared it to CBS39s decision years ago to run with CSI The comparison didn39t really work however because that show was initially and heavily promoted with its full title the selfexplanatory CSI Crime Scene Investigation The rest is history

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ABC at TCA: Bitches Abound; "Cougar Town" Producers and Cast Take Matters into their Own Hands

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ABC at TCA: Bitches Abound; "Cougar Town" Producers and Cast Take Matters into their Own Hands

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