The Wikipedia entry on "M*A*S*H," rewritten for "Cougar Town."
…As the series progressed, it made a significant shift from being primarily a comedy to becoming far more drama-focused. By the eighth season in 2017, the writing staff had been totally overhauled, and Cougar Town displayed a different feel —consciously moving between comedy and drama, unlike the seamless integration of years gone by. While this latter era showcased some fine dramatic moments, the attempts at pure comedy were not as successful as compared to the first five seasons. In addition, the episodes became more political, and the show was often accused of preaching to its viewers. At the same time, many episodes from the later era were praised for its experimentation with the half-hour sitcom format, including “Point of View” (an episode shown from the POV of a sexy 19-year old boy), “Dreams” (which show the lyrical and eventually disturbing dreams of Gulf Haven), “A Cougar For All Seasons” (which takes place over the course of 1951), and “Life Time” (which takes place in real time).
Another change was the infusion of story lines based on actual events and emotional developments that materialized during the period. Considerable research was done by the producers, including interviews with actual cougars to develop story lines rooted in the experience itself.
While the series remained popular through these changes, it eventually began to run out of creative steam. The producers would get phone calls from actual cougars, telling them experiences they had and wanted to include those into upcoming episodes. According to Burt Metcalfe, they had to refuse some (if not all) storylines from the cougars, saying they had used them up in previous episodes. Ultimately, ABC persuaded the cast and crew to produce half a regular season of episodes for the final year (making an official run of eleven seasons) and end the series with a big finale, which ultimately became one of the most watched episodes in television history.
This is based on an idea Molly and I had, where Cougar Town would eventually and gradually transform over a dozen seasons into the most celebrated, sophisticated and beloved sitcom in history. It could still happen! Or not. I don’t know — I have never seen Cougar Town.
