‘Cougar Town’, the hit US comedy about a group of friends in their 30s and 40s dealing with love and life, airs Tuesdays at 8:30pm on ABC, and returns to UK television screens this Friday, March 9, at 8:30pm on Sky Living.

Starring Courteney Cox (Friends) and executive produced by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel (Scrubs, Spin City), the series revolves around Jules Cobb (Cox) and her dysfunctional friends who spend their time either at Jules’ house or at a local pub run by Jules’ neighbour Grayson, played by Josh Hopkins.

In this Friday’s season premiere, Jules and Grayson, who have been dating for over a year, take a major step forward in their relationship after Jules spends the episode trying to disprove her friends’ belief that she is a predictable person. Meanwhile, Jules’ son Travis (Dan Byrd) moves into a new student house while dealing with the presence of his silly yet well-meaning father Bobby (Brian Van Holt).

The results of both plots are as hilarious as one would come to expect from this show, which has solidified itself as one of the best-written ensemble comedies on contemporary television. Premiering alongside Emmy winner ‘Modern Family’, ‘Cougar Town’ exemplifies the modern family comedy, with innovative and creative plots which serve to echo the statement of Courteney Cox’s previous hit sitcom ‘Friends,’ that: ‘your friends can become your family’.

Set in an always-sunny cul-de-sac in Florida, the series provides consistent, razor-shop humour while still delivering family-friendly entertainment.

The cast and crew have recently hosted viewing parties across the United States – a move previously covered by Toonari Post – in an effort to trump up promotion for the show after it spent the majority of the last 12 months off the air due to various scheduling delays. But now, the Golden Globe nominated comedy is back on UK screens for a brand new 15-episode run.

Set to guest star in the forthcoming episodes are several actors from ‘Scrubs’, notably Sarah Chalke who portrayed Dr. Elliot Reid on the hit medical comedy for 9 years (2001-2010). Chalke will join ‘Cougar Town’ for four episodes as a love interest for Van Holt’s character, while her former co-star Ken Jenkins – Dr. Bob Kelso on ‘Scrubs’ – will return as Jules’ father for at least one episode.

One of this season’s most high-profile guest stars is David Arquette, real-life husband of Courteney Cox and her co-star in the ‘Scream’ franchise. Arquette and Cox are currently separated, but that has not stopped them from working onscreen once again, following their co-starring roles in all 4 ‘Scream’ films and Arquette’s appearance in a 1996 episode of ‘Friends’. Cox herself will step behind the camera to direct several episodes this season.

‘Cougar Town’ returns this Friday (March 9) at 8:30pm on Sky Living.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/CougarTown

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A new trend in romantic comedy movies has cropped up recently. Friends With Benefits, directed by Will Gluck (Easy A, 2010), is set to come into theaters this July 22, adding to a long list of similarly themed projects. In just the last year alone, No Strings Attached, an independent film titled Friends (With Benefits), and a T.V. series set to launch this fall on NBC have all sported an almost identical premise: boy meets girl. Both boy and girl are too busy to find a meaningful relationship, but not too busy to have desires. Boy and girl become friends… with benefits. Complications arise and hilarity ensues.

If you have already seen any of these other films, it is easy to compare them with Friends With Benefits. A number of sites have published detailed comparisons between No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits, judging everything from who is the better director, to which actor or actress has been in the most successful films. While there is some value to this type of comparison, there have been many movies with similar or even identical plots that turn out very differently from each other. Friends With Benefits may have a similar plot-line, but it is not the exact same film.

Gluck was very aware of the common plot when he began directing this film, but he felt that this well-known plot could actually add to the film instead of taking away from it. He told cinemablend.com that he wanted to do a “big time Hepburn and Tracy movie […] But [the actors are] conscious they’re going through the same thing. We now have seen so many movies and gone through so much stuff we know the story.” Gluck knows his audience is familiar with the basic plotline, and he is ok with that. He even takes things one step further and gives the characters in his films that awareness. He then combines this dual awareness to create a smart and funny film.

Friends With Benefits stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, with a number of cameos by actors such as Shaun White, Jason Segel, and Rashida Jones. While the thought of Timberlake becoming an actor as well as a singer seemed unthinkable several years ago, he has begun to establish himself as more than just a singer who was in one or two films. His role in Social Network has added a lot to his credibility, and it seems that Friends With Benefits just might boost his image even more.

Gluck has managed to take an almost tired concept and imbued new life into it in his film. Instead of ignoring the host of other films with this theme, he looked back at the classic Tracy and Hepburn romantic comedies for inspiration to create a hilarious new romantic comedy. He is known for his off-the-wall humor, and his work with Friends With Benefits is no different.  It is this humor that adds something new to the film and makes it more than just another copycat.

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