Matt LeBlanc in “Episodes”; photo courtesy of SHOWTIME
“Episodes” (SHOWTIME)
“Episodes” is returning for its third season and has also been promised a fourth season. This is good news for Matt LeBlanc who is the star of the SHOWTIME show. For those who have not yet watched this half hour comedy it has Matt LeBlanc playing an actor named Matt LeBlanc. And believe me LeBlanc is great fun as Matt LeBlanc. The problem is they don’t use him enough in the show but rather fill most of the time with minor characters who don’t have LeBlanc’s talent or charm.
The main focus appears to be on a pair of married writers on LeBlanc’s TV show inside this series TV show. They are Sean and Beverly Lincoln (Stephen Mangan and Tamsen Grieg), a couple of Britishers who created the show in their home country and then saw it brought to the USA to be “Americanized.”
The ups and downs in their romantic lives are given much attention in this series, and as charming as Grieg is the focus of the show should be on LeBlanc. There is also a good bit of focus on Carol Rance (Kathleen Rose Perkins) who is one of the higher ups at the studio where Leblanc’s sitcom “Pucks” is filmed. She has an on again off again romance with Merc Lapidus (John Pankow), the head of the studio. Who cares!
LeBlanc has a huge fan base thanks to his run on “Friends” plus he is a talented actor who holds your attention while he is on screen. In the new season of the show he is seen in each and every episode but he does not have the main storyline. That belongs to the characters of Sean and Beverly Lincoln. They have hit a bumpy spot in their marriage and are now trying to put it all back together.
While the Lincolns work on their marriage and Carol works on dumping Merc, LeBlanc’s character has little to do but be an outside observer and commentator. Most viewers will want more than that from him. It is to be hoped that he gets more of a star turn in future episodes of “Episodes.”
“Episodes” premieres January 12 at 10:30 PM on SHOWTIME
For a free look at the first episode click here: : http://youtu.be/5Sf36WXGPEQ
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