Matt LeBlanc

It was a slight surprise whenthis transatlantic sitcom was recommissioned for a second series. It had a clever enough concept. British screenwriters Sean and Beverly Lincoln (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig) were excited to see their successful television show snapped up to be remade for an American audience. However, their Hollywood dream turned sour when their subtle comedy about a boarding school headmaster, Lyman's Boys, was turned into a brash sitcom about an ice hockey coach called Pucks!, a vehicle for former Friends star Matt LeBlanc (playing an exaggerated version of himself).

It was smartly written and beautifully played but not the broadest of subjects, perhaps too knowingly in-jokey, and duly saw its audience fall to just over one million. Still, critical acclaim and the calibre of its stars has seen Episodes return for another run. It's four months later and Bev's still separated from Sean after her fling with Matt. The two men's friendship also seems unsalvageable. However, when Pucks! gets its premiere on US TV, the tense trio must find a way of working together. With genuine laughs, bittersweet moments and two rather rude scenes, Episodes might now be hitting its stride.

Video: Stephen Mangan on the real Matt LeBlanc

Actor Stephen Mangan has told BBC Breakfast he expected his Episodes co-star Matt LeBlanc to be a "monster" but he insists Matt LeBlanc is "really nice".

Former Friends actor LeBlanc is back for a second season as himself in the TV series alongside Mangan and Tamsin Greig.

Mangan says it is hard to tell the actor apart from the character in the show, especially with the insights from former friends writer David Crane - who now writes for Episodes.

The critical response to the first series of Episodes was mixed, to say the least, but not from me. I loved it unequivocally. I loved the combination of sweet and cynical, I loved the clever scripts that were consistently funny without ever feeling forced, I loved the deft touch of an impeccable cast who knew just how to underplay a line and I loved the skewed rom-com narrative, with its themes of friendship and sexual betrayal, that twisted through the series delivering shocks and surprises en route. But most of all, I loved Matt LeBlanc. His performance as Matt LeBlanc was a joyous study in conceit, charisma and Hollywood crap, shot through with pure charm.

I am delighted to say that Series 2 has simply picked up where the first left off, and I have my Friday nights sorted for the next six weeks.
We rejoin the production team behind troubled US sitcom Pucks as their baby makes its TV network debut to coruscating reviews - "Pucks Sucks!" - but more than healthy audience figures and approval ratings. Next week they will be up against a rival network's new sitcom featuring a talking dog, but what kind of competition is that going to offer?

LeBlanc, meanwhile, has other things on his mind following a surprise erotic encounter with the producer's wife at the show's private screening.
"Getting jerked off while watching yourself on TV - actors work their whole lives for this!"
As the Americans say, 'what's not to like?'

Matt LeBlanc: F*** all that, I'm having a good time

Digital Spy caught up with Matt LeBlanc to talk about season two of Episodes, letting go of Friends and putting salami in Stephen Mangan's scripts.

Interview: Matt LeBlanc, actor

As Matt LeBlanc prepares to return to our TV screens in episodes, the actor explains why he's happy to embrace his dark side.

Did you stick with the first series of this show-within-a-show starring Matt LeBlanc, Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan? No, neither did I, although apparently it got better. This is the second season and it begins with the "prem-eer", as the Americans would have it, of Pucks! amid all the off-screen drama of Bev (Greig) having bonked the big US star. Sean (Mangan) reads out the first-night reviews, typical of which is: "I was totally prepared to hate Pucks! Well, the good news is I was prepared." That's pretty funny, as is "Pucks! sucks. LeBlanc shoots le blank", so maybe Episodes doesn't suck after all. Then the ratings come in: they're great. "No 1 show of the night," smirks LeBlanc. "This is gonna kill Schwimmer." But can the husband-and-wife writing team continue on a business-only footing?

Simon Amstell as himself beats Matt LeBlanc as himself

Even if one day he becomes the first man to set foot on Mars, Matt LeBlanc will always be better known as "former Friends star Matt LeBlanc".

Episodes: LeBlanc admits he's loving new lease of life

It must be a funny old life being Matt LeBlanc. As one of the six best known TV stars in the world, there's not a street he can walk down without someone thinking it's hilarious and original to greet him with "How you doin'?", or yelling out "Joey".

Did you stick with the first series of this show-within-a-show starring Matt LeBlanc, Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan? No, neither did I, although apparently it got better. This is the second season and it begins with the "prem-eer", as the Americans would have it, of Pucks! amid all the off-screen drama of Bev (Greig) having bonked the big US star. Sean (Mangan) reads out the first-night reviews, typical of which is: "I was totally prepared to hate Pucks! Well, the good news is I was prepared." That's pretty funny, as is "Pucks! sucks. LeBlanc shoots le blank", so maybe Episodes doesn't suck after all. Then the ratings come in: they're great. "No 1 show of the night," smirks LeBlanc. "This is gonna kill Schwimmer." But can the husband-and-wife writing team continue on a business-only footing?

Matt LeBlanc: 'people think I'm depressed'

Matt LeBlanc on playing 'Matt LeBlanc' in hit comedy drama Episodes, shaving his body hair - and how his role in Friends has defined him