Of all the ABC sitcoms that haven’t been picked up for next season yet — “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23,” “Happy Endings,” “Modern Family,” “Last Man Standing,” “Suburgatory,” “The Middle,” and “Cougar Town” — the only one I think may be canceled is Bill Lawrence’s “Cougar Town,” thanks in part to the shaft that ABC has given it this season. It took away its cushy post-“Modern Family,” spot, then dropped it from the fall and mid-season schedules, and then didn’t bring it back until Valentine’s Day and put it in the same hour as a horrible time-slot partner, “Last Man Standing.” TBS apparently senses the same thing, as Deadline is reporting that they are prepared to step in and save the show should the cul-de-sac crew be evicted from their ABC home.
I hear that the deal eyed by both sides is for a two-season pickup by TBS, 15 episodes each, which would allow for “Cougar Town” to be sold in syndication. Negotiations are progressing and if they come to fruition, an announcement could come as soon as early next week.
I assume that TBS still airs round-the-clock “Friends” reruns, which would obviously be a nice platform to promote “Cougar Town,” since “Cougar Town” is “Friends” plus alcohol. Moreover, if it makes it to syndication, there’s a chance it could go on for a few more years. Syndication could then do for it what syndication has done for “How I Met Your Mother” — make it a more popular show in its current season than the first five seasons — which would mean that enough people may eventually watch it one day to learn that the show is NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT COUGARS AND HASN’T BEEN SINCE ABOUT THE SIXTH EPISODE OF THE FIRST SEASON.
Ahem. Most importantly, it means two more seasons of Penny Can.
