"Cougar Town" Co-Creator Bill Lawrence Reacts to Bad News from ABC
by Alex Moaba
posted Nov 19th 2011


"Cougar Town" got dealt some bad news late on Friday afternoon, when it was left on the bench for the second half of ABC's fall schedule.

Fans took to Twitter to vent against ABC's decision and wondered if this meant the beloved niche comedy was canceled, but before anyone could change their avatars in a "Community"-style show of support, Deadline reported "Cougar Town" would return in March, with its episode order cut from 22 to 15.





"Cougar Town" co-creator Bill Lawrence, who goes by VDOOZER on Twitter, joined fans in reacting to the unfortunate news.

"Look, we will be back, and the show will be on for a long time (Parks and Rec style). Only people hurt by reduced order - crew and fans," he tweeted.



He continued venting. "No, I don't think ABC has vendetta against me. They have been great to me. Just think they made wrong move. We shall see..."



Later, he added, "Still pissed off re: ABC schedule. Show will do fine, though. We will win in the end. Not delusional, I swear."





"Cougar Town" star Busy Phillips also chimed in on the impact of ABC's move, tweeting her support for the show's crew and writers.

"We've already shot 10 - so now just 5 more. Sad cause the writers had amazing stuff planned + the incredible crew will have to find other jobs."

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/11/19/cougar-town-bill-lawrence-reacts-abc-midseason-schedule/

Busy Phillips sure acts like the show's been canceled. lol

I thought I just read that Cougar Town isn't even on the mid-season schedule anymore. It doesn't look well for the show's future...

It's not scheduled YET, but it will air. Some sites are speculating and overreacting. Read our story and it will clear up everything:

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sitcomsonline/Bnuy/~3/w45eRX-MBmU/abc-midseason-2012-schedule-watch-tv.html

No matter how you slice it, if ABC loved this show, it wouldn't be going through this...bottom line

No matter how you slice it, if ABC loved this show, it wouldn't be going through this...bottom line

Well they love the sitcom pilot Apartment 23 and that's not scheduled yet either. I saw all of the network sitcom pilots for 2011-12 and Apt. 23 is by far the best new pilot. I cannot wait until it airs. NBC's best pilot Awake isn't scheduled either, so not scheduled right now means nothing. They know when it'll air but they haven't announced yet.

The Cougar Town cast have been appearing in cameos on many other series, so that's a plus.

Well they love the sitcom pilot Apartment 23 and that's not scheduled yet either. I saw all of the network sitcom pilots for 2011-12 and Apt. 23 is by far the best new pilot. I cannot wait until it airs. NBC's best pilot Awake isn't scheduled either, so not scheduled right now means nothing. They know when it'll air but they haven't announced yet.

The Cougar Town cast have been appearing in cameos on many other series, so that's a plus.


Why would they cut the episode order though? That makes zero sense.

Why would they cut the episode order though? That makes zero sense.

I mentioned in my story why: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sitcomsonline/Bnuy/~3/w45eRX-MBmU/abc-midseason-2012-schedule-watch-tv.html They have a lot series ordered for midseason, including about 4-5 unscheduled series counting Cougar Town. It really didn't make sense to air 22 for just mid-season. Originally the series was going to air Tuesdays at 9pm (paired with Apt. 23) starting late November, so that's why 22 were ordered. But that plan was scratched because similar-appeal New Girl has done well there for Fox. 15 for mid-season is still more than any other mid-season show, so that's positive. Most series are between 6-13.