‘Friends’ star Matt LeBlanc returns to TV for new Showtime series ‘Episodes’

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Showtime has ordered ‘Episodes,’ a six-episode series starring ‘Friends’ star Matt LeBlanc in a send-up of the TV business.

The show from creators David Crane (‘Friends’) and Jeffrey Klarik (‘Mad About You’) will revolve around a British couple whose hit U.K. comedy is turned into a dumbed-down American sitcom starring Le Blanc, who will play himself.

Production will begin this winter in London and Hollywood. ‘Episodes,’ a co-production of Showtime and the BBC, is set to premiere sometime next year. Crane, Klarik and Jimmy Mulville executive produce.

‘What a thrill to have two giants of the comedy world like Klarik and Crane to satirize what they know best: the making (or un-making) of art,’ Showtime President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt said in a statement. ‘We jumped at the chance to get involved with this cock-eyed look at network television told through the eyes of unsuspecting British producers who don’t know what hit them when they enter the lion’s den of Hollywood. And Matt LeBlanc -- wryly sending up his own image -- is icing on the cake.’

LeBlanc added: ‘I am so glad I got the part, seeing someone else play Matt LeBlanc would have been devastating.’

-- Denise Martin