18. Cougar Town
Members: Even though Cougar Town wasn’t initially conceptualized as a “group of friends” sitcom, it evolved into a series about the Cul-de-sac Crew: Jules (Courteney Cox), Ellie (Christa Miller), Laurie (Busy Philipps), Travis (Dan Byrd), Grayson (Josh Hopkins), Andy (Ian Gomez), and Bobby (Brian Van Holt). For a tall glass of red wine and a good time, Cougar Town’s crew ranks as one of the all-time best sitcom friend groups.
Memorable moments: The most memorable moment for the Cul-de-sac Crew happened off-camera, behind the scenes. After ABC canceled Cougar Town at the conclusion of season 3, TBS saved the gang from sipping their last red wine. Shows scoring high-profile resuscitation from other networks wasn’t a common practice, whereas now, a show gets canned and the internet screams at Netflix. At any rate, the underrated series featured some amazing moments, such as the guest roles of Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, and Matthew Perry; an homage to The Breakfast Club; a hurricane party and so many more wild times you could only have with the Cul-de-sac Crew.
Running gags: Obviously, the number one running gag of Cougar Town was the subtitle of the opening title’s sequence. After the first season, the series outgrew its title, since it became about more than the initial concept of a “cougar” dating younger men. While there were talks of renaming the series, the opening titles featured subtitles like, “Yeah. It’s still called Cougar Town. We’re not happy about it either,” and “Season 6! Is it too late to change the title?” Other running gas included the gang’s excessive wine drinking, Jules’ names for her wine glasses, Penny Can, and the group’s social rules and changes to the meaning of words.
Key episodes: “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “Here Comes My Girl,” “Rhino Skin,” “Finding Out,” “Let Yourself Go,” “Lost Children,” “Lonesome Sundown,” “A One Story Town,” “Down South,” “My Life,” “Restless,” “The Criminal Kind,” “Like A Diamond,” “We Stand a Chance,” “Even the Losers,” “The Wild One, Forever,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”