Cougar Town: Deeply Shallow

Last night I caught an episode of ABC's new comedy, Cougar Town. As you might guess, the protagonist is a "cougar," a woman over forty who dates younger men. Aka, the cliché du jour. I swear to god, if I see another magazine article, blog post, or Facebook group about cougars, I am going to punch Ashton Kutcher in the face.

But I was going to do that anyway.
No worries, Demi. We're cool.

Needless to say, I didn't approach Cougar Town with the most open of minds. Within the first few minutes of watching the vapid protagonist, Jules (played well by Courteney Cox, but still irritating as shit), I was about ready to give up. Here are the three reasons I stuck around:

1. Christa Miller. I liked her as Kate on The Drew Carey Show, I loved her as Jordan on Scrubs. She plays Jules' age-appropriate friend.
2. Busy Philipps, who plays the Jules' friend/employee, will always be bad-girl Kim Kelly (from Freaks and Geeks) to me.

3. My sweetie lumpkin cakes, Dan Byrd. I can mute the television and pretend I'm watching Aliens in America. Except, as Jules' son Travis, he dresses better. And there's no Adhir Kalyan. *pout*

Let me be clear - I am in no way, shape or form recommending Cougar Town. It's a fluffy bit of nothing, flitting briefly along the surface of how our youth-obsessed culture punishes women as they grow older. There's just not much there there, you know? But Cox's star power, coupled with a supporting cast comprised of some of the most talented and energetic actors in the biz, will likely keep Cougar Town afloat for at least a season.