Commentary
A Nicer Name For A TV Show Seemingly About 'Nailing Younger Guys'
- by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, May 14, 2010
A veteran TV producer, and possibly the network itself, wants to take a moderately successful network TV show, and do the unthinkable: change its name.
My suggestion: In this tough TV marketplace, be happy you got the show on the air to begin with.
Bill Lawrence, executive producer of ABC's "Cougar Town," is worried his show's name has perhaps limited viewer potential -- and that it turns off others. That people might say, according to Lawrence: "I don't want to see some show about a 40-year-old woman nailing younger guys."
To be fair, the show isn't really about that any longer. It's an ensemble piece, about a woman who's kind of den mother to an unusual collection of characters.
TV shows have a certain trajectory once they are up and running. It's difficult, if not impossible to add a different dimension of viewers. It's a credit to ABC and Lawrence the show has done well despite its name.
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Lawrence, somewhat kiddingly, wants to give "Cougar Town" the less-specific title "Friends and Neighbors" (In part as an homage to star Courtney Cox' past TV network success).
Lawrence perhaps realizes the name "Cougar Town" was a big part of the reason that people tuned into the show in the first place - even if older women aren't always having sex with younger guys on the show. The problem, he says, is that new shows always have a bit of identity crisis in the first couple of episodes.
ABC, according to Lawrence, has been toying with a name change for the show. This could be dangerous, now that its "brand" has been established. Whatever audience one might pick up, one could surely lose more, or worse: leave fans confused.
As TV shows move through their life spans, some take on other names as a kind of shorthand: Fox' original "Beverly Hills: 90210" became "90210"; the WB's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" morphed to just "Buffy."
How would a network explain a name change, anyway, to an increasingly savvy TV consumer - especially for a relatively new show? Ira Berger, director of national broadcast for The Richards Group, suggests at best ABC might consider a hyphenated approach.
I'm guessing: "Cougar Town: It Takes A Village."
Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost. You can reach Wayne at wayne@mediapost.com.
Wayne --
I read your columns every day -- and often use them in the writing classes I teach at UCLA. But, as the former Executive Producer and head writer of the 144 hours of "Beverly Hills,90210", including all the high school episodes, I have to take exception to your contention that the relationship of "90210" to our show is comparable to "Cougar Town" and "Buffy". The fact is those shows had their creative teams in tact, while "90210" was mostly a cynical attempt by a corporation to capitalize on the good will we build with our audience. Fox treated us with no respect, and now it is Viacom's turn.
btw, I really don't know if "90210" has improved since its inception because I admittedly don't watch it -- but it is not the show we did for five years (190-95) because, in the era of obama, the series has no social conscience at all.
Respectfully, Charles Rosin
and, in case you are wondering, here is what I am up to now.
http://www.showbizzle.com/firsttime
Remember this name change:
Valerie, then Valerie's Family, then The Hogan Family.
Charles, I think you may have missed Wayne's point - that viewers came to use the shortcut names for those original series.
I spent more than a decade involved in the network development process and watched many shows got through name changes, sometimes more than one. It's common, though less so once the show airs. Ellen DeGeneres' ABC prime time series began life as "These Friends of Mine" and eventually actually officially changed titles.
Would a show called "Oil" have generated the same interest as "Dynasty?" I still have the development presentation that touts George Peppard as the dashing tycoon.
Things change, we adapt. These days, there might even be an advantage to a new name bringing new viewers.
Apparently the show has already jumped the shark, if indeed it's no longer about what it set out to be, so maybe the new title should be "fortysomething"
If Ellen DeGeneres could have the original title of her sitcom changed to her name, why can't we simply tune in "The Courteney Cox Show"? It think that's how the audience already refers to it...
Unfortunately, the average viewer does not know to trust Bill Lawrence and his track record of elegant evolution from Spin City and Scrubs. I hated the title, endured the critical lambasting and my wife's ridicule, but I faithfully DVR'd Cougar Town knowing figuring it would improve as the writers and actors found their voices. It was worth the wait. Now the name must evolve too. "Cougar Town: Friends and Neighbors" could become simply "Friends and Neighbors" by season three.
Love the show, and I can understand why Lawrence thinks it needs a name change, although I don't think it does. But if he's set on changing it, what about "Lovers and Friends"? Maybe he can even get the rights to the Beatles' "In My Life" as the opening theme song.