Fans rejoice at return of Cougar Town

Friends has been off the air for almost eight years now, and with all the delays ofCougar Town's season 3 debut, it feels as long as that near-decade since Courtney Cox has been on the small screen. However, for fans of  Cougar Town and Cox, the wait is over.

The ABC comedy's name is admittedly off-putting; it's not a show about a city of wild cats, nor is it about older women trawling for 20-year-old men. It's a fast, sarcasm-driven sitcom that centers on Cox, who plays Jules Cobb, a recently divorced woman and her "cul-de-sac crew." This crew, as it is so referred to on the show, comprises Jules' ex-husband, son, co-worker and her best friends, the couple next-door to her suburban Florida home. 

Although it seems like an odd bunch, the show's wit and Gilmore Girls-fast dialogue has made the comedy a hit among viewers since the series' debut in 2009. Fans of the show were left wanting more when the second season ended last May with the group's spontaneous Hawaii vacation and several loose ends. ABC pushed back the season premier to make room for its new show, Work It, but after that pilot turned out to be a ratings flop, the network slated Cougar Town for a mid-season premiere.

This is a major change from last year's schedule, which featured Cougar Town as part of ABC's popular Wednesday night lineup, which included The Middle, Modern Family and Happy Endings. Now the new Wednesday night hit, Suburgatory, has pushed Cougar Town to Tuesday night, alongside Tim Allen's sitcom, Last Man Standing. Additionally, ABC reduced its Cougar Town order from 22 episodes to 15 episodes for the third season, forcing the writers to make some changes to the script.

However, fans need not fret; the show will be full of its usual charm and plenty of their self-created game, Penny Can (which is a spinoff drinking game; look it up). There will be several exciting new exploits for Jules and the gang during the upcoming season. Perhaps most excitingly, creator and executive producer (along Cox and her ex, David Arquette), Bill Lawrence, has provided some teasers about the new season. Lawrence has said that the premier episode will feature a proposal, appropriate for its Valentine's Day debut, and that the season will end with the subsequent wedding. Also, there will be a love interest in the form of a military official for Jules' coworker, Laurie, played by Busy Philipps, and the slightly bizarre ongoing flirtation between Laurie and Jules' college-age son, Dan Byrd's Travis, will finally be explained.

Be sure to tune into ABC at 8:30 to catch up with the cul-de-sac crew, Jules' infamous, gallon-sized wine glass, Big Carl and maybe even a game of Penny Can.