Season 1
The Cougar is an American reality television series created and produced by Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor and The Bachelorette) in which an older woman (aka The Cougar, 40-year old Stacey Anderson) searches for a "soulmate" from a group of 20 younger men, eliminating them weekly until only one remains.
The series premiered in the USA on TVLand on 15 April, 2009. It is hosted by actress/producer Vivica A. Fox.
The Cougar premiered in South Africa on M-Net on Friday 25 September 2009, at 19h00. New episodes air weekly. There are eight hour-long episodes in the first season.
Repeats
There are no repeats for this series.
Synopsis
40-year old Stacey Anderson is introduced to a group of men and, over a course of competitive challenges as well as group and one-on-one dates, she must gradually eliminate the group until she ultimately picks the one that she'll take as her mate.
While Stacey and the men may initially be reduced to eye candy, emotions quickly take hold. The men will have to prove that they have what it takes to satisfy a woman her age and avoid the kiss of death: a kiss on the cheek.
If she kisses a pup on the lips, he goes forward to the next round. If she turns the cheek, his cougar-hunting days on TV are over.
Watch as she narrows her choices from 20 to 10 to 5, ultimately choosing one lucky man to be her soul mate.
In the first episode, it doesn't take long before Stacey is introduced to the 20 twenty-somethings that will vie for her hand.
Though the guys share their excitement over how much of a "fox" Stacey is, what they do not initially know is that the Arizona-based real estate agent is also a divorced mother of four children, who are part of the package when/if they end up with Stacey.
How will the guys take that bit of news upon its revelation?
The first impression is put to the test is the first challenge the guys have with Stacey. While some of the guys are gracious and charming in their first introduction to Stacey, others come on a little stronger.
One contestant (Colt) brings along his guitar to sing a song he penned about 'the cougar.' Another offers a beautiful bouquet of flowers to the divorcee while Travis, just-turned 21, brings along a bottle of champagne and asks Stacey to share his first legal drink.
For each of these dapper men, however, there are a few that don't make the best first impression and endanger their chances of staying beyond the first cut of contestants.