matt leblanc

Parts of the first-season finale of 'Episodes' (9:30PM ET Sunday, Showtime) are very funny.

But it takes a long time for 'Episodes,' which chronicles the adventures of an English couple adapting their hit British show for an American network, to get to places that are consistently amusing or emotionally nuanced, despite first-rate work from the show's cast.

Creators Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane, who've written for everything from 'Friends' to 'Mad About You' to 'The Class,' have endured their share of frustrations while they labored in the network sitcom trenches, and 'Episodes,' which stars a sly and skilled Matt LeBlanc as a self-absorbed version of himself, is clearly their revenge on narcissistic actors and an entire army of network suits.

The thing is, if Crane and Klarik were trying to avoid and mock the limitations of traditional sitcoms, why make a comedy that is often obvious and broad? Why create characters that are, for much of the show's seven-episode run, one-dimensional and disposable?

Happy New Year! I hope 2011 is treating you right so far.

For those of us covering TV, the new year ushered in one of the busiest mid-seasons in recent memory. A lot of new shows are debuting, many notable shows are returning and Ryan McGee and I tried to cover quite a few of early January's offerings in this week's super-sized Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan podcast.

We gave our impressions of 'V' (and you can find my season 2 review of that ABC show here), 'Southland,' 'Downton Abbey,' 'Bob's Burgers,' 'Shameless,' 'The Cape' and Matt LeBlanc's new Showtime series, 'Episodes.' Just for fun, we also talked a bit about the recent 'Doctor Who' special that aired on Christmas Day.

Please note that in the next few days, I'll be posting full reviews of many of these programs (though not for 'Bob's Burgers' or 'Southland'). Read on for the running times of the various podcast dicussions, and also for news on notable reruns beginning this week.

Matt LeBlanc will soon grace our TV screens again, and this time he won't be playing Joey Tribbiani -- he'll be appearing as himself. Sort of.

When 'Episodes' debuts on Showtime in January, the 'Friends' alum will play himself in the series, about a British couple whose popular TV show is remade for American audiences with LeBlanc in the lead.

"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 told journalists at the TCA press tour this summer. "There are some similarities, but for the most part it's a fictitious character."

The first 'Episodes' trailer hit the web today, and the series premieres on Jan. 10. Watch it after the jump.

Looking over the cast lists of TV shows airing this coming season, you'll find a lot of familiar names that have been lying low of late.

Some are returning just before becoming a "whatever happened to ..."; others seem to be virtually emerging from witness protection. And we're not talking 'I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here,' either. These comeback stories are lined up with some of the hottest projects headed our way.

Matt LeBlanc
The 'Friends' spinoff 'Joey' was primetime's highest profile flop of the '00s (OK, maybe it was 'The XFL'). Now we find LeBlanc thousands of miles away from Hollywood, but that might be a very good thing.

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.

In January, we ran an item ranking the career paths of the 'Friends' cast members since the show ended in 2004. Back then, the only solid news we had was the early renewal of Courtney Cox's 'Cougar Town.' Meanwhile, there was some speculation on new TV projects coming up from Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc.

Turns out five months makes a lot of difference! Since that time Perry, Kudrow, and LeBlanc have all been given greenlights for their shows. Over the next year, four out of the six 'Friends' cast members could have programs on either the major networks or pay cable.

Here's an updated status of who's involved where, plus some additional information on the supporting characters that were connected with the show during its decade on the air.

Citing a scheduling conflict with an indie film he's working on, Oscar-nominated actor Thomas Haden Church has bowed out of Showtime's upcoming original series 'Episodes,' the Hollywood Reporter is reporting.

Also making an exit: Claire Forlani ('Meet Joe Black'), though no word yet on the reason behind her exit. In the meantime, Forlani has been unceremoniously replaced by British actress Tasmin Greig.

Currently in pre-production in London with a start date set for mid-May, 'Episodes' stars Matt LeBlanc as, surprise, Matt LeBlanc. The single-camera show from 'Friends' creator David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik has the erstwhile 'Joey' parodying himself as he vies to be cast in a U.S. version of a hit U.K. sitcom.

You gotta hand it to Matt LeBlanc. The guy must have a pretty good sense of humor to star as himself in a show where he's essentially nothing but a punchline.

The former 'Friends' cast member is the joke (or at least one of the jokes) in the new Showtime/BBC comedy series 'Episodes', about a successful UK comedy duo forced to cast LeBlanc as the lead in a crappy US version of their hit show.

Bob posted a promo for the show last month, in which LeBlanc is humiliated having to audition to play himself ("You want Matt LeBlanc, you get Matt Leblanc!"). Judging by the funny promo, it looks like 'Episodes' could appeal to fans of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', 'Entourage', and 'Pilot Season'.

We don't have a premiere date for the series yet, but THR is reporting that three actors have signed to co-star alongside the one-time Joey Tribbiani.

So where has Matt Leblanc been since Joey left the air? I'm not sure, but he has a new show coming up on Showtime that has an interesting premise and could become one of those clever, quirky cable comedies that everyone tells you to watch. In it he plays Matt Leblanc, who has to audition to play, well, Matt Leblanc in a new series for Showtime.

Here's a clip that explains a bit more. Looks like Leblanc is having a fun time spoofing himself.

Could it be a better day for fans of 'Friends'?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC has greenlit the new comedy series 'Mr. Sunshine,' starring Chandler Bing himself, Matthew Perry.

The single-camera show was conceived and written by Perry, alongside Alex Barnow and Marc Firek, who together worked on shows like ''Til Death' and 'Family Guy.'

The show centers around a 40-year-old San Diegan having a mid-life crisis. Perry joins 'Friends' alum Courteney Cox on the newtork, whose show, 'Cougar Town,' was recently renewed for a second season.

With news of another 'Friend' potentially making their way back into our primetime lives, we thought about the different career trajectories that each cast member has experienced since the show ended in 2004. In lieu of anything scientific, here's our rankings of how they've fared over the years.

See our rankings after the jump.

When CBS promoted the 60 Minutes interview with Andre Agassi that aired this past Sunday, they said that he was only talking to one person, Katie Couric, as if this was the only place you'd be able to hear Agassi talk about his new book (Open) and the revelations that have surfaced (especially his crystal meth use in the late 90s).

So what exactly was so "only talking to one person" about this interview? KVBC did an interview with him about the book, he's on Live with Regis & Kelly tomorrow morning, on The Late Show tomorrow night, and he's on Jimmy Kimmel Live on November 23. He also did an interview with People.

A lot of people have wondered what happened to Matt LeBlanc. After Joey died, he seemed to fall off the face of the Earth. Even Friends cast members who aren't in the public eye a lot (like David Schwimmer) have been keeping busy and you often hear about them being in a movie or performing on stage. But no one really knew what LeBlanc. was up to (besides wondering about a Friends reunion movie).

Now we know. LeBlanc has signed on to star in a new comedy for Showtime titled Episodes. It will be one of those behind-the-scenes looks at a television show and will be produced by Friends co-creator David Crane and Mad About You producer Jeffrey Klarik.

Matt LeBlanc plans a return to television, CBS plans a 'Criminal Minds' spinoff, 'NCIS' continues to dominate in the ratings and more of today's top TV headlines.

You know, ever since Friends went off the air, rumors have cropped up again and again that there would be a big screen version of the show, presumably picking up the storylines from the grand finale. Of course, if you remember the great stories on Joey, maybe post-Friends storytelling isn't such a grand idea after all.

However, at least one person is sure that a feature film is coming. James Michael Tyler, who poured the coffee at Central Perk as Gunther (he also ogled Rachel), was asked about the movie version and Tyler said that Friends: The Movie is definitely on.

So no one told him life was going to be this way, but it was, at least for a few days. A gentleman in Brixton, South London named Steve Misiura watched every single episode of Friends in a non-stop marathon. That's 84 hours of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe loving, fighting, and drinking coffee. He actually broke the world record for watching TV, which was at 72 hours straight. I think this is a record someone here at TV Squad should try to break.

Of course, this being the age of the web, he kept a blog about it and uploaded pictures from the event. The picture above is Steve about 80 hours into his marathon. He began to hallucinate and get various ailments.

I think it would have been OK, record-wise, if he had interrupted his marathon at some point. He could have just used the excuse "I was on a break!"