After being scarily close to television oblivion the ABC comedy was picked up and rescued by TBS. Today the network announced the show’s renewal for a fifth season. TBS/TNT president Michael Wright states, “Cougar Town has been everything we hoped it would be: a smart, big-hearted, laugh-out-loud comedy that shines a bright light on the TBS brand. This season, the brilliant cast and immensely creative production team on Cougar Town have crafted their best episodes yet, and we couldn’t be happier inviting them back for more.” The network has ordered thirteen episodes for the fifth season and will air in 2014. The current season is set to end on April 9.
Since the leap from ABC, the show has averaged 2.8 million viewers and a 1.7 million in the 18-49 demographic in Live+ 7. It ranks as TBS’s top original primetime series. While those numbers would probably be underwhelming for a network like ABC, it is certainly successful for TBS plus the show has also drawn in younger viewers than when it aired on ABC. The move to save the show from impending cancellation has proven to be greatly beneficial to TBS as there is great potential for the program to continue on this wave of success. The series has maintained the same quality and tone that made it a cult-ish hit in the change for one network to another and its loyal fan base has made it a hit for TBS. The suburban comedy airs Tuesday nights at 10/9c on TBS.
