10 Most Underrated Sitcoms Of The Past Decade

Cougar Town. It's a terrible name, and definitively what kept this series from getting any respect whatsoever. In season one, you get to see why the series is called that. Jules Cobb, played by Courtney Cox, is a newly divorced, middle aged woman who is exploring life back on the dating scene. She is, by definition, a cougar.

That premise is quickly dropped as Jules finds herself in a committed relationship with her newly divorced neighbour before the end of season one. After that, it becomes a story about life, wine and weird, selfish people reveling in how weird and selfish they are. It's simultaneously heartwarming and infuriating in a special way that's hard to replicate.

This series was created by Bill Lawrence, who was also behind the series Scrubs. Several of Cougar Town's principal and recurring cast were actually on that show. Ted, a regular Scrubs character, even appears on Cougar Town as does Community's Abed. He pops up in the background of one scene as a part of his obsession with the series, which is explored in Community.

Cougar Town's title card makes jokes about its terrible name as it goes on but it was impossible to overcome it, like an albatross around the series' metaphorical neck. If they had changed the name to represent the series better, it might have gotten a fairer shake from critics and TV watchers.