Matt LeBlanc Talks About Playing Himself on Showtime's 'Episodes' - TCA Report

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's not really myself. It's a character that David [Crane] and Jeffrey [Klarik] wrote that happens to have the same name as me," he said. "There are some similarities, but for the most part it's a fictitious character."

LeBlanc, Crane, Klarik joined stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan, John Pankow, Mircea Monroe and Kathleen Rose Perkins, as well as co-producer John Mulville, to answer questions from TV critics about their new show.
The show, which will debut in January, centers on a British husband-and-wife screenwriting team who attempt to create an American remake of their hit show about a distinguished boarding school. But when they land in L.A., the project takes a few twists and turns. First, the boarding school becomes a hockey team. Then, the title is changed from 'Lyman's Boys' to 'Pucks!' And finally, the role of the wise headmaster? The network wants to turn it into a hockey coach to be played by ... Matt LeBlanc.

Welcome to Hollywood! The writers then have to work with the fictitious LeBlanc to make the show happen.

As Mulville wryly noted, "The journey of taking an English show to America -- believe me, things can go wrong." (He should know; he experienced remaking a show with 'Game On' in the '90s. It did not end well.)

Some highlights from the panel:

- There will be seven episodes in season 1. "We're still editing it," Crane said, explaining why critics hadn't received screeners, "so that's why we don't have episodes to show you."

- As for whether it's too "inside baseball" about the television industry, the panelists mentioned the success of 'Entourage.' "It's sort of about show business like 'I Love Lucy' was," they said. "The story is really about the three of them and about their dynamic."

- How did LeBlanc win the part of "Matt LeBlanc"? "Schwimmer said no," he joked.

- And of course, the inevitable question came up: Will any 'Friends' stars appear on the show? Definitely not in season 1, as it's already in the can. Maybe in the future ... (nobody seemed to be psyched about it, though).

- Greig on her character's adjustment to the Hollywood machine: "Steve's character sees the glass as half full. Beverly sees the glass as an idiot."

- The real Matt LeBlanc might want to claim at least one major similarity to the fictional version. In the trailer, Mangan's character says "LeBlanc" has a package of "Jules Verne sea creature" proportions. Was this perhaps a factor for the real LeBlanc to do the show? "Well, yeah," he joked.