Countdown to Cougar Town (Only Three More Sleeps!)

I have missed this show terribly. I was so worried by the increasingly ambiguous launch date that I actually needed to curb my wine intake until I knew for sure the premier date was set in stone. (I'm not joking, I really did cut back on Syrah and Bordeaux because drinking it made me anxious/sad about the lack of  a premier date. Remember me? Drama Queen? [We remember! ])  Well open those bottles of red and fill up those giant decanters because Cougar Town Season Three premiers Tuesday, February 14th on ABC (8:30/7:30c)!

What a perfect day to usher in the new season.   I have missed our friends in Gulf Haven, Florida.  Valentine's Day is not just about chocolate and cards (or lingerie, jewelry or sex), It's about relationships.  The relationships between the characters on this show are some of the most cleverly written, smartly acted and truly sentimental and hysterical relationships on sitcom TV today (only my humble opion, of course).   Whether the life circumstances that have been created for them are farcical or melodramatic, the writers and actors keep everything they do grounded in truth. This makes the show magical and the character's relatable. The best Valentine ever!

These are the people I missed (in case, for some weird reason, you aren't familiar just yet):

I really missed Jules' and Grayson's ever undualting relationship. What's going to happen this season? What "adventure" has Jules signed up for with him?  Children?  Do I even want them to stay together?  Am I pro-Jules or pro-Grayson?  I need answers!

I'm fascinated by Jules' remarkably sentimental, yet uncomfortably contentious, relationship with her neighbor, Ellie. And what about Ellie's hate-spite-love relationship with Laurie (Jules' employee at the real estate office, for those of you who don't know)?  The love that comes out in the hateful, scarastic lines between these ladies is endless entertainment for me.

Next, the ex-husband Bobby.  As goofy and "out of it" as he may seem (or actually is), you can't not love or not root for him.  Honest and true, but also naive, you want him to make it on his own.  You can't help but ADORE him and want to kick him in the ass at the same time. (Penny Can!!!)

Jules' and Bobby's son, Travis, is a perfect mix of Jules and Bobby (kudos to the actors and writers).  Watching Travis go through the transition of adolescence to adulthood has not only been portrayed as obviously funny and awkward is it can be, but truthfully painful and heartbreaking as well. I also LOVE that his parents are such a source of awkward embarrassment and lunacy on one hand but on the other, a real solid source of love and support no matter what. (If I could have a TV mom, it would be Courteney-- awesome!)

Last but not least, Ellie's husband Andy.  I love him.  I do.  I have a giant crush on him.  I forget he's even married when Ellie isn't in a scene.  Andy's humor and devotion to his family (despite his and Ellie's mismatched temperments and her spousal abuse) makes me love him even more.  

I guess what it comes down to for me, besides how obviously (hopefully not irritatingly) thrilled I am that the show is coming back, is that these characters really do mean something to me. (Why else would I care about the show? Duh!) But the REASON the characters mean so much to me is because of the tremendous work done by the people who create them and live them for us every week.  You have to have outstanding creators, writers, directors and actors to make good TV.   Cougar Town has all of those things and HEART.  That's why I love you and am so glad you are (almost) back! 

Tomorrow: I'll tell you some of my favorite moments from the first two seasons and we definitely want to know yours! 

Rememeber you can now follow Courteney on Twitter @CourteneyCox

(Follow me too, @BryanStendahl)