Courteney Cox Opens Up About ‘Shining Vale’ and When She Felt Forgotten By Hollywood: ‘I Didn’t Feel Very Relevant’

variety.com:

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorCourteney Cox knows a thing or two about sitcoms. She shot to fame as Monica Geller on the iconic “Friends” and starred for six seasons on “Cougar Town.”It’s no surprise she gets pitched a lot of half-hour comedies.

However, it’s rare she finds anything that appealing.“Usually they’re not challenging enough, or I find sitcoms just not that funny anymore,” she tells me on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast.But then came “Shining Vale.” It’s not exactly a sitcom, but a horror comedy series on Starz.

She stars as Pat, a novelist with writers block who relocates with the family from New York City to Connecticut after her husband Terry (Greg Kinnear) learns she’s having an affair.

Pat, who is also a recovering alcoholic, believes their new home is haunted because she begins to see ghosts, including one played by Mira Sorvino. “Shining Vale” was co-created by “Friends” writer Jeff Astrof. “I’m pretty sure this character was written for someone in their 40’s … but then they changed it to a woman in their 50’s, which is great because that’s when your midlife crisis really happens,” Cox says. “That’s when menopause, the whole thing, that’s when they keep blaming it on ‘Oh, it’s hormones,’ but it’s a lot more than that, and you know, that’s what I am.” Cox’s new series comes on the heels of the Emmy-nominated “Friends” reunion television special and Paramount’s box office hit reboot of the “Scream” franchise.