Return of the sitcom stars

The role: Jules Cobb, a desperate single mother who's more likely to sleep with her son's friends than make them after-school snacks in "Cougar Town" (8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, KSTP, Ch. 5)

The résumé: Neat freak Monica Gellar, "Friends"; Alex P. Keaton's million-dollar baby, "Family Ties"; Bruce Springsteen's boogie partner, "Dancing in the Dark."

Why she's showing off so much flesh in the series: "[Husband David Arquette] is always saying to me, 'Courteney, please put your shirt down and stop showing everybody your belly.' For some reason, ever since I had a kid, I've been fascinated by the whole thing. So, yeah, I do have that skin. That's just the way I look. People don't look the way they do on TV in real life."

Inside scoop: Cox dropped hints that real-life friend Jennifer Aniston may do a guest appearance, as she did on Cox's last series, "Dirt."

The role: Pierce, a self-made millionaire who's a whiz in business and a dunderhead in social graces in "Community" (8:30 p.m. Thursdays, KARE, Ch. 11).

The résumé: Breakout TV star, "Saturday Night Live"; breakout film star, "Foul Play"; brokedown talk-show host, "The Chevy Chase Show."

Why he finally agreed to do a sitcom: "I honestly think that the films lately aren't as good as most of the stuff on TV. I never thought that I would be involved in a situation comedy until I read the script. I was delighted to go in and say, 'Please hire me.'"

The role: Hank Pryor, a once successful sports salesman who must return to a triple-AAA lifestyle after his business tanks in "Hank" (7 p.m. Wednesdays, KSTP, Ch. 5).

The résumé: Pompous clown, "Cheers"; pompous clown, "Frasier"; pompous clown, "Back to You;" pompous clown sidekick, "The Simpsons."

Why this character isn't quite as pompous as his past ones: "What might be seen as pompous in this character would really be just the fact that he's out of touch. Like the other day, I was trying to make a pot of coffee in my house and I have a particularly complicated coffeemaker. I actually had three friends trying to make it with me. None of us were successful. That might be a funny thing for Hank because he hasn't made coffee for probably 20 years."

Inside scoop: Grammer's thrilled that "Medium," a show he produces, is moving from NBC to CBS, but to hear him tell it, the show should have started there years ago. According to him, he pitched the idea to CBS brass four years ago, only to watch them develop an eerily similar project with Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The role: Billie, a thumbs-up friendly film critic who gets a little too friendly with a stranger and ends up preggers in "Accidentally on Purpose" (7:30 p.m. Mondays, WCCO, Ch. 4).

Why she kept returning to sitcoms after several failed attempts: "Boy, it was a real test of my endurance mentally. Many times I would go in my back yard, call my agent and say, 'I think I'm just going to move to Montana and quit. I swear. I can't take it.' It gets really frustrating. That just goes to show you how hard it is to find great comedies right now."

Inside scoop: The show was created by Claudia Lonow, best known for playing Diana Fairgate on "Knots Landing." "That was a very makeup-oriented show," said Lonow. "Instead of saying, 'Action!' the directors would say, 'Mirrors down, ladies.'"

The role: Frankie Heck, small-town Indiana mom burdened by kids, husband, job and small-town Indiana in "The Middle" (7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, KSTP, Ch. 5)

The résumé: Exasperated wife, "Everybody Loves Raymond"; exasperated anchor, "Back to You"; exasperated contestant, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

Why she'd be a good spokesperson for Target: "This is maybe something I have in common with Frankie. I buy my sweat clothes in the boys' section at Target and that's what I wear, sometimes three days in a row. Target is cheap anyways, and then if you shop in the boys' department, it's half the price. So if you see somebody really short with green polyester sweatpants on and a hoodie, that's me."