‘The Cougar’, a new reality dating show in which young 20-something men vie for the love of a 40-year-old mother of four, premieres tonight on TV Land at 10 p.m. The following are a collection of reviews compiled by B&C. Scroll down to watch a clip ofThe Cougar.
The Cougar manages to feel neither original nor real. That said, given the channel’s demo, it’s probably not a bad fantasy for women able to ignore all that and live vicariously through Stacey’s choice — glancing at their paunchy, middle-aged, a-six-pack-is-for-drinking husbands and quietly thinking, “I am cougar. Hear me roar.”"
-Brian Lowry, Variety
“Flip the genders, and this might feel unreasonably, and uncomfortably predatory. But The Cougar gamely toes the line between breaking taboos on exploring the sexuality of older women and wantonly exploiting them.”
-Jon Caramanica, Los Angeles Times
“The Cougar should be hilarious. But the show takes itself so seriously that, instead, it feels impossibly sad.”
-Joanna Weiss, The Boston Globe
“Dating shows tend to be bottom feeders in the “reality” game, but not even the oiliest episodes of The Bachelor have ever felt as creepy as The Cougar.”
-David Hinckley, New York Daily News
“Sure, The Cougar is idiotic — these shows always are. That’s a large part of their appeal. But casting fouled up here. What was needed was a Rabid Cougar, who would chew up, then spit out these panting puppies one by one. Now that’s entertainment.”
-Verne Gay, Newsday
“The Cougar is not only oogy and repetitive, but also as behind the curve as TV Land‘s usual rerun fare.”
-Todd R. Ramlow, PopMatters.com
“Unlike similar series on sister services MTV and VHI, the introductions were not nearly as rude and crude, which may or may not play with the younger end of TV Land’s 40-54 target audience.”
-Mike Reynolds, Multichannel News
“TV Land, the network for aging baby boomers, gives us a show people of all ages can agree is silly. Too late to exploit a cultural blip, too stupid to be a feminist statement, The Cougar stars a 40-year-old on the prowl for love among 20 younger guys.”
-Mark A. Perigard, The Boston Herald
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTXJ1fto360[/embed]
