Cougar Town

CHICAGO – If you’re like most people, you probably wrote off “Cougar Town” after hearing the overly simplified concept or watching the incredibly sporadic first few months of the ABC series. You should take another look. The Courteney Cox vehicle, now on DVD, changed gears so radically that there’s a special feature about the mid-season shift in tone on the DVD and I have a feeling this series could improve even more in season two, finding a rhythm that it could maintain for years to come.

CHICAGO – The 62nd-annual Emmy Award nominations took our advice and openly embraced several of the best new shows and performances of the last year. This resulted in what could be considered the best list of choices that the often-criticized group has yet produced. Of course, no one’s perfect.

CHICAGO – ABC continues to look for another “Lost” or “Modern Family” this fall with seven new shows announced today at their 2010 upfronts presentation.

CHICAGO – Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment Group, announced early pick-ups of the network’s hit Wednesday night comedies “Cougar Town,” “The Middle” and “Modern Family” for the 2010-2011 Season yesterday during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

CHICAGO – There are major chunks of ABC’s very disappointing “Cougar Town” with Courteney Cox that resemble a stand-up comedian so eager to please that you can see the desperate flop sweat forming on their brow as joke after joke hit the floor with a thud. More pathetically manic than honestly funny, it’s the writing on the weakest part of the network’s entirely new Wednesday night line-up that lets down its talented star.

CHICAGO – Satire (“Glee”), family comedy (“The Middle”), animation (“The Cleveland Show”), a remake of a soap classic (“Melrose Place”), and three medical dramas (“Mercy,” “Trauma,” “Three Rivers”) - this Fall TV season attempts to offer something for everyone. But is any of it worth watching? Is there another “Lost,” “Pushing Daisies,” or even a “Grey’s Anatomy”? Let us guide the way.

CHICAGO – ABC has announced their fall premiere dates and the season really starts for the network with the return of “Dancing With the Stars” and “Castle” on Monday, September 21st. The network has a very aggressive slate of new programs coming your way including “The Forgotten,” “Modern Family,” “Cougar Town,” “Eastwick,” “FlashForward,” “Hank,” and “The Middle”.

CHICAGO – ABC is still struggling to find the next big hit to stand next to monsters like “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and they decided to give Nathan Fillion & Stana Katic’s “Castle” a shot at hit status, but cancelled several other new shows, including “The Unusuals” and “Cupid”.