Once Jennifer Aniston Revisits TV, Should She Stay There?

PopEater

Jennifer Aniston is moving back to the small screen and her timing couldn't be better. On the heels of Jen's box office disaster, 'The Switch,' it's been announced that Aniston will be teaming up with former 'Friend' Courteney Cox in the second season premiere of Courtney's hit sitcom 'Cougar Town.'

It's a good move for Jen to head back to a place where America first fell in love with her, in light of reviewers calling her "forgettable" and "depressing" in her latest failed rom-com. On television, Jen has to be hoping that she will get nothing but love.

"I think we feel like Jen is one of our best friends and you don't like to have a break from your best friend. You want them to come into your living room. I think America will embrace her when she rejoins Courteney Cox," says Hollywood Life Editor-in-Chief Bonnie Fuller.

Once Jen makes a visit to TV, should she maybe consider staying? Cox has had a successful post-'Friends' TV career, both in drama with 'Dirt' and now with comedy in 'Cougar Town,' where she essentially plays Monica 2.0. She's quirky and funny, she's just a little bit older and Chandler has dropped out of the picture. Plus, TV is where it's at these days, and Jen would be smart to start carving herself a niche.

"TV is where all the best writing is right now because cable networks provide the ever-so-coveted creative freedom that creators crave. They don't just need to produce huge blockbuster hits. As a result, TV actors don't just get handed scripts for roles that have boring, general appeal. 'The Switch' is so milquetoast -- most people probably forgot it came out this weekend," says New York Daily News television writer Cristina Kinon.

But what is the best niche for Jen to start carving? If she's looking to play something more alternative, less family-friendly, she can go somewhere like an FX or Showtime. If she misses that 'Friends' feeling, she can go back to network television. What could work is if she found a way to poke a little fun at her own situation that the tabloids have such a heyday with -- 40, divorced and looking for love.

"She needs a show built around her that makes the best of her comedic talents. She needs a role that parodies her situation, so that it isn't sad. I can see her as a Murphy Brown or a Mary Tyler Moore, a single woman taking the world by storm," Fuller says.

Jen can't afford another box office bomb. Hollywood operates on a three-strikes rule and she's got three stinkers behind her.

"Aniston doesn't need movie money. She needs industry respect. She can get that with the right show," Kinon says.