Matt LeBlanc

Video: Tamsin Greig interview

Tamsin Greig stars in a new BBC2 comedy 'Episodes' with Matt LeBlanc.

The sitcom looks at the pitfalls of trying to adapt a UK comedy to suit American tastes. It follows two British writers who are sent to LA to remake their award winning comedy.

Soon their school room setting is swapped for an ice hockey locker room and their lead actor has been replaced by the Friends star, Matt LeBlanc.

Tamsin Greig plays Beverley alongside Stephen Mangan as Sean. She told BBC Breakfast what it was like to work with Matt LeBlanc.

Navel-gazing comedy series starring Matt LeBlanc as himself, about a British sitcom-writing team (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig) and the humiliations they endure when the show is remade for American television. Written by David Crane (Friends) and co-produced with Showtime in America, it sounds like a recipe for disaster but is actually very funny.

Matt LeBlanc has fun with image in 'Episodes'

If you were a network that had a show with the pedigree that "Episodes" does, you'd probably expect to have a hit on your hands.

Fancy a peek at Matt LeBlanc's new show?

If you're still mourning the comedy classics Friends and Green Wing, you may want to take a look at Episodes!

"Episodes" concerns a pair of brittle - but improbably naïve - British writers (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig). They are lured to Hollywood with the promise that their successful UK series about an elderly, erudite school headmaster and his charges will translate fabulously to the U.S. They are assured the show will happen with only minimal changes. Not! The stunned pair is forced to accept Matt LeBlanc (playing himself) as the series star. LeBlanc is deadpan and adorable riffing on his own image/reality as an actor whose best days were a decade ago (when he was one of the stars of "Friends"). Matt's got guts, and he can act. He is strikingly comfortable allowing himself to appear unsympathetic and cynical. And handsomer now; he has allowed the gray in his hair to grow in.

But the heart of "Episodes" is the dry, withering rat-tat-tat between Mangan and Greig. It's Nick and Nora Charles, it's Maggie Smith and Michael Caine in "California Suite." It's the real deal for anybody who has had to negotiate vicious showbiz bullshit. And even if you haven't had to do that, it is fabulous to watch, and to listen to. The writing is super-clever and spot on.

LeBlanc: 'Episodes character is not me'

Matt LeBlanc has insisted that the version of himself he plays in upcoming Showtime sitcom Episodes does not reflect his real personality.

On Our Short List: Episodes

So when is Matt LeBlanc not really Matt LeBlanc? And how can a show called Episodes, about the development of a television series, not actually be about television?

Matt LeBlanc Talks About Playing Himself on 'Episodes'

With the new comedy 'Episodes,' Showtime seemingly has a potential hit a la 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' on its hands. But instead of 'Seinfeld' creator Larry David playing "Larry David," 'Friends' star Matt LeBlanc will be playing "Matt LeBlanc. Sort of.

It Would Be HILARIOUS If Joey Turfed It

Former Friends co-star, Matt LeBlanc, who is now starring in the new Showtime comedy, Episodes was on the stage with his co-stars talking about the show. Here was a brief exchange between him and co-star Tamsin Greig (pictured) about the nature of comedy that got us in stitches.

Church, Forlani quit Matt LeBlanc show

Two stars have reportedly quit Matt LeBlanc's new programme Episodes.