The third season of ''

Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. AB ...

'', an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that airs on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, began airing on February 14, 2012 and concluded on May 29, 2012 with a 1-hour

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...

. Season three regular cast members include

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...

Christa Miller Christa Beatrice Miller is an American actress and model who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on ''The Drew Carey Show'' and Jordan Sullivan on '' Scrubs''. She has also appeared in '' Seinfeld ...

Busy Philipps Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series '' Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), ''Dawson's Creek'' (2001–2003), ''Love, Inc.'' (2005–2006) and '' ER' ...

, Brian Van Holt,

Dan Byrd Daniel Byrd (born November 20, 1985) is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2004 film ''A Cinderella Story'', the 2006 remake of ''The Hills Have Eyes'', the 2010 films ''Easy A'' and '' Norman'', and the sitcoms ''Aliens in ...

Ian Gomez Ian Braque Gomez (born December 27, 1964) is an American actor known for his comedic TV work, which include series-regular roles as Javier on '' Felicity'' and Andy on ''Cougar Town''. Early life He was born in New York City, New York, to an ar ...

, and

Josh Hopkins William Joshua Hopkins (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor. Some of his best known roles include Raymond Millbury on '' Ally McBeal'' (2001–2002), Grayson Ellis on '' Cougar Town'' (2009–2015), and Liam O'Connor on '' Quantico'' ( ...

. The

was created by Bill Lawrence and

Kevin Biegel Kevin Biegel is a television writer/producer, the co-creator of ''Cougar Town'' and creator of '' Enlisted''.Kevin Biegel

. This is the final season to air on ABC before it moved to TBS.

Production

On January 10, 2011 ABC renewed ''Cougar Town'' for a third season, which was set to premiere sometime in midseason. In November 2011, ABC announced ''Cougar Towns third season would be cut from 22 episodes to 15. On January 17, 2012, ABC announced the series would return on Tuesday, February 14 at 8:30pm/7:30c, following

Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/ ...

's '' Last Man Standing''. The producers had been promoting the show by having the cast making cameos in other

shows, like '' Castle'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'', ''

Body of Proof ''Body of Proof'' is an American medical/crime comedy-drama television series that ran on ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt. The series was created by Christopher Murphey and ...

'', '' The Middle'', '' Happy Endings'', and ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

''. On January 9, 2012 Michael Ausiello, from

TV Line ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to est ...

, reported that the season finale would focus on Jules and Grayson's wedding day.

Casting

On September 9, 2011 it was reported that

Sarah Chalke Sarah Louise Christine Chalke (; born August 27, 1976) is a Canadian actress and model. She is known for portraying Elliot Reid on the NBC/ ABC comedy series '' Scrubs'', the second Becky Conner on the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'', Stella Zinman on ...

, who previously worked with the show's creators in Scrubs, will have a major arc as a photography professor at Travis' college and love interest for Bobby. On October 26, 2011, it was reported that other actors from Scrubs,

Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff'Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows ...

and

Robert Maschio Robert Maschio (born August 25, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for playing Dr. Todd 'The Todd' Quinlan in the American comedy drama '' Scrubs''. Early life He graduated from Columbia University in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in Ame ...

, will also guest star in the show, while

Sam Lloyd Sam Lloyd (November 12, 1963 – April 30, 2020) was an American actor and singer, best known for his portrayal of lawyer Ted Buckland on the comedy-drama series '' Scrubs'' and the sitcom ''Cougar Town''. Early life Lloyd was born in Sp ...

and

Ken Jenkins Ken Jenkins (born August 28, 1940) is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the chief of medicine on the American comedy series '' Scrubs'' (2001–2009). He has also had notable appearances in many popular TV shows. Ea ...

will be reprising their roles from the previous season. On December 19, 2011 it was reported that

Edwin Hodge Edwin Martel Basil Hodge (born January 26, 1985) is an American actor. He is recognized for portraying Dante Bishop in ''The Purge'' film series, and is the only actor to appear in all of the first three films. Early life Hodge was born on Jan ...

was cast as a love interest for Laurie, a military man whom Laurie dates through

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

. On January 27, 2012 it was announced that Courteney Cox's ex-husband and executive producer of the series

David Arquette David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster En ...

will guest star in the season finale as a helpful hotel concierge. This would mark the 6th collaboration between Cox and Arquette, as they both starred in the 1996 horror flick ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

'' and its three sequels and Arquette guest starred in the third season of '' Friends''.

Reception

The third season of ''Cougar Town'' received generally favorable reviews from critics. The season currently holds an average score of 80 out of 100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, based on 5 reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'.

Episodes

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

References

;General references * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cougar Town (Season 3) 2012 American television seasons Cougar Town seasons