Matt Leblanc Returning in “Episodes”

In a show called Episodes which is being produced by Showtime/BBC, Matt Leblanc will be poking fun at the television industry.  It’s a half-hour comedy and will start being filmed in London and Los Angeles in the new year. 

The former Friends star will be starring as a slightly altered version of himself on the series which will be about “a successful British husband-and-wife comedy team thrilled by the prospect of producing an U.S. version of their hit series.”  Unfortunately, they have to replace their ideal British lead with a U.S. comedy star and find themselves navigating the often difficult terrain of the Hollywood TV business.

“We jumped at the chance to get involved with this cockeyed look at network television told through the eyes of unsuspecting British producers who don’t know what hit them when they enter the lion’s den of Hollywood,” said Robert Greenblatt, Showtime entertainment president.

Leblanc seems thrilled (and why wouldn’t he be?  What else is he doing?): “I am so glad I got the part; seeing someone else play Matt LeBlanc would have been devastating.”

It could be interesting but I’ll have to hear more about this before I get excited.  Maybe if Rickey Gervais was somehow involved since I loved Extras and many people seem to like The Office (I can’t get into that show for some reason).

Maybe, though, it will be more like 30 Rock which clearly makes fun at the complexities of network television and features Tracy Morgan (as Tracy Jordan) playing what seems to be an exaggerated form of himself.

image: Zuma Press