The show was created by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel and was produced by Doozer and Coquette Productions in association with ABC Studios.

Set in the fictional town of Gulfhaven, Florida, which is nicknamed "Cougar Town" because its high-school team mascot is a cougar,[14] the series focuses on Jules Cobb, a recently divorced woman in her 40s facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls, and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her teenage son, her ex-husband, and her wine-loving[15] friends who together make up her dysfunctional but supportive and caring extended family.

Many of the show's guest stars were either regulars or had recurring roles on Bill Lawrence's two previous television series Spin City and Scrubs – Barry Bostwick, Bob Clendenin, Michael McDonald, Scott Foley and Ken Jenkins – to name a few.

The final scene of season 3's "A One Story Town" featured several actors from Scrubs including Robert Maschio, Sarah Chalke, Sam Lloyd, with an uncredited cameo by Zach Braff.

[32] While developing the concept of the show, Lawrence thought he would do a tryout with Cox on Scrubs,[33] by guest starring in the first three episodes of the eighth season.

[34] Lawrence and Biegel, who worked together writing episodes on Scrubs, came up with the concept of the show with Cox as a 40-year-old newly single woman because he thought that it was a real "zeitgeist-y topic".

He has the ability to make score music sound current, like it was just lifted off the radio, and yet, it still services the show perfectly ... As a group we're confident that WAZ will be the next singer/songwriter that we try to claim credit for.

"[42] Songs such as Phoenix's "Lisztomania", Foghat's "Slow Ride", and La Roux's "Bulletproof (Remix)" were all used in the pilot episode.

[43] In the season 1 episodes, the title sequence zooms in from the outline of Florida to show Sarasota with a "Welcome to Cougar Town" sign.

"[38] Jeanne Corcoran, the director of the Sarasota County Film commission, spoke to the show's production assistants to be able to use the locality as the setting and including it on the opening sequence.

[46][47] On May 27, 2011, Bill Lawrence announced through his Twitter account that the name of the show would change for season 3 with input from the fans, but did not give any further details.

On May 10, 2012, TBS announced that Cougar Town would join its lineup in the beginning of 2013 for 15 episodes, after ABC canceled the series.

[56] Cougar Town became frequently mentioned starting with season two of the NBC comedy series Community, as the favorite show of Abed Nadir.

This culminates in a gag in the episode "Critical Film Studies" where Abed reveals that he had a walk-on role as an extra that he internally named "Chad".

While not accurately depicted like his account, Danny Pudi makes a cameo on Cougar Town in the episode "Something Good Coming, Part 1" where he is listening in on a conversation between Laurie and Travis, before getting up and running away.

[83] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the pilot episode a B, commenting that the show mixes "clinical realism (when did you last hear a C-section scar used as a punchline?)

with ridiculous slang (a new boob job is referred to as gorilla heads), Cougar Town is so brashly vulgar, it's endearing".

[84] Variety stated that the show "does feed into the dual sense of insecurity and self-empowerment that women harbor about getting older ... though, the execution here is consistently about as subtle as a kick to the groin".

[85] Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara said that the "maddening thing about Cougar Town is that it isn't completely unfunny or uncharming".

[88] Many critics have speculated that the show will only have a narrow target audience: older women; with Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times stating that the show's "plot description alone could drive away male viewers"[89] while the Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara opined that it "is fun and exciting for women over 40".

[94] In The Irish Times Kate Holmquist writes that "Cox is both a symbol and a red light warning for everything that is wrong with the Hollywood portrayal of middle-aged women, who are rarely wise or strong or naturally aged" and states that she is "the female version of the pervert in a dirty raincoat".

[96] Tim Stack from Entertainment Weekly regarded the season in a positive light, citing that "very few shows can get away with genuine moments of emotion while also incorporating the phrase 'dead-baby tacos'".

[98] RedEye gave the season a positive review, stating that it "returns with its wit, silliness and good-heartedness fully intact.

"[99] TV Guide concluded: "witty and wacky, this sharp-tongued, sweet-souled sitcom picks up without losing a (heart)beat.