Cougar Town (Trivia)
- In season 2 episode 21, Danny Pudi appears in the background. In the NBC show “Community,” Pudi plays Abed, who is a huge fan of “Cougar Town” and talked about being an extra after being invited to visit the set. In the season 2 finale of “Community,” the “Cougar Town” actors who play Laurie and Travis make a cameo in the background of a crowd scene.
- In season 4, Jules takes her father to the doctor for a check up. In this episode, a sign for a private practice can be seen, which is owned by Doctors Dorian, Reid and Turk. Those three are all main characters from Scrubs (2001) (Dr. John Dorian = Zach Braff, Dr. Elliot Reid = Sarah Chalke, Dr. Chris Turk = Donald Faison)
- In at least one episode, Jules (Courteney Cox) is watching Scrubs (2001). Bill Lawrence also created Scrubs, and his wife Christa Miller is in both shows.
- The show is set in Florida. With the exception of the pilot and episode 1.19, all episodes are named after Tom Petty songs. Petty is a Florida native.
- In May 2010, the series’ creator Bill Lawrence announced that he was considering changing the series’ title. Among the titles considered were “Friends & Family,” “Friends & Neighbors,” “Neighborhood Jules,” “The Cul de Sac,” “The End of the Street,” “The Neighborhood,” and “Neighborhooding.” He almost settled on “Sunshine State,” but decided against it when Matthew Perry’s upcoming series was revealed to be titled “Mr. Sunshine.” Lawrence eventually decided to keep the original title.
- Sam Lloyd’s character from Scrubs (2001), Theodore “Ted” Buckland, also appears on Cougar Town (2009). The first time when the cul-de-sac crew travels to Hawaii to bring Travis back. Ted tells Jules that he came to Hawaii because his girlfriend Gooch, who was also on Scrubs (2001), left him for Hooch, a surgeon from Sacred Heart Hospital where Scrubs (2001) takes place. Ted appears a second time with his band “The Worthless Peons”, who also appeared several times on Scrubs (2001).
- By their own admission, creators Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel realized after the first episodes that the central plot of the show (a woman on her 40s starts dating 20 year-olds) wasn’t working as much as they hoped, and also noticed that the ensemble scenes were a lot of fun to write and shoot. So they ditched the ‘cougar’ aspect and focused on the main group of characters.
- On 10 May 2012, news broke that the show would be leaving ABC and returning with a new season on TBS. Repeats of the first three seasons aired on TBS as well.
- In at least one scene, a sign for the fictional “Coffee Bucks” franchise can be seen in the background. Coffee Bucks was also featured in Scrubs (2001), which was also created by Bill Lawrence.
- By the end of the show, four of the main cast members had directed episodes: Courteney Cox (12), Busy Philipps (one), Josh Hopkins (two) and Brian Van Holt (one). Cox started directing from the third season and continued right through the end of the show, even directing the finale.
- Christa Miller and Ian Gomez who play married on the show were formerly on the Drew Carey show together as co-workers.
- In the pilot episode, the set of the cul de sac is different from the rest of the series.
- Courteney Cox (Jules) and Scott Foley (Jeff) had previously costarred together in Scream 3 (2000).
- Every episode is named after a Tom Petty song.
- Brian Van Holt and Josh Hopkins also starred in CSI: Miami: And They’re Offed (2009) although they never shared any scenes together.
- Three of Courteney Cox’s Friends (1994) co-stars (Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry) appeared Cougar Town (2009). David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc did not.
- Several actors from the brother series Scrubs (2001) have seen a crossover to Cougar Town (2009). Courteney Cox who portrays Dr. Maddox in Scrubs (2001) is the lead character Jules. Christa Miller who portrays Jordan Sullivan in Scrubs (2001) plays the main character Ellie. Ken Jenkins who portrays Dr. Kelso in Scrubs (2001) has a recurring role as Chick, Jules’ father. Bob Clendenin who portrays Dr. Zeltzer in Scrubs (2001) is the recurring character Tom Gazelian. Zach Braff who portrays J.D. in Scrubs (2001) appeared in Season Three as a Pizza Delivery Guy. He also appears in a Smartphone app which tells you what appetizer to order. Scott Foley who portrays Sean Kelly in Scrubs (2001) appeared in four episodes in Season One as Jules’ then-boyfriend, Jeff. Windell Middlebrooks who portrays Melvis Duncook in Scrubs (2001) appeared in a Season One episode as Gerald, a floor tiler, when Jules creates a new master bathroom. Nicole Sullivan who portrays Jill Tracy in Scrubs (2001) appeared in seven episodes as Jules’ therapist, Lynn. Shaughn Buchholz who portrays “Cabbage” in Scrubs (2001) appeared in two episodes in Season Two. Sarah Chalke who portrays Elliot in Scrubs (2001) appeared in four episodes as Travis’ art teacher and Bobby’s girlfriend, Angie. Robert Maschio who portrays Todd Quinlan in Scrubs (2001) appeared as a pool guy.