Episodes (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The series premiered in Australia on Nine on 3 July 2012.
• The fifth and final season premiered on streaming provider Stan in 2017.
• LeBlanc made his regular return to television for the first time since he was on NBC's Joey.

Episodes

Sean and Beverly Lincoln, creators of the British sitcom Lyman's Boys, take home another BAFTA. Network president Merc Lapidus and his lover Carol Rance persuade the couple to relocate to Los Angeles and adapt the show for American TV. The network insists on casting Matt LeBlanc as the lead; Matt wins over the Lincolns with his charm, but they remain convinced he is miscast. The original premise—a refined comedy about a boarding school headmaster—is overhauled into Pucks!, a slapstick show about a hockey coach. Morning Randolph joins the main cast. During pilot production, Sean and Matt grow close. Conflict arises when Matt suggests Morning’s character should be heterosexual instead of a lesbian; Sean backs the change. Beverly grows suspicious that Sean has feelings for Morning, which he denies. At a gala, Matt tries and fails to set Sean up with Morning. Beverly discovers Sean masturbating to Morning’s sex tape, then misreads a hug between them. She packs to leave Sean but crashes into Matt’s car. While recovering at his house, Beverly and Matt sleep together. Matt later admits that nothing happened between Sean and Morning. Beverly returns home and apologizes for her outburst. Sean learns of the affair and tells Beverly he plans to divorce her once they return to London. Test audiences respond enthusiastically to Pucks!, and the network orders a full season.

Cast and characters

Matt LeBlanc plays a fictionalized version of himself: a wealthy, charming, but arrogant actor persuaded by a high salary to take the starring role of Coach Lyman in Pucks. He has a short attention span and need for immediate gratification, and has two sons who spend most of their time with their mother Diane, with whom Matt has an antagonistic yet protective relationship. Stephen Mangan portrays Sean Lincoln, co-creator of Pucks, who moves from London to Hollywood with his wife and co-creator Beverly to adapt their award-winning show Lyman's Boys for American audiences. Sean adapts to Hollywood better than Beverly, bonding with Matt on some level, and stays because the paychecks are much bigger despite growing to loathe Hollywood. Tamsin Greig plays Beverly Lincoln, co-creator of Pucks, who is quickly overwhelmed by the new lifestyle and struggles to adjust; the only person she feels close to is network executive Carol Rance, with whom she often hikes in Griffith Park and smokes pot. John Pankow portrays Merc Lapidus, the network president who purchases the American rights to Lyman's Boys without watching it, insists on major changes, and is boorish and arrogant, cheating on his blind wife with Carol. Kathleen Rose Perkins plays Carol Rance, the network's head of programming, who is good at her job but undermines herself professionally due to a fetish for people with authority over her, leading to affairs with her bosses; she becomes good friends with Beverly.

Development and production

The BBC ordered seven episodes of the series in May 2010, with James Griffiths directing as filming began. Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig, who had previously worked together on the British sitcom Green Wing, played Sean and Beverly Lincoln. Claire Forlani was originally cast as Beverly but left in April 2010 during pre-production. Matt LeBlanc portrayed a fictionalized, exaggerated version of himself. Thomas Haden Church was initially set to play Merc Lapidus, the American TV executive who commissions the remake, but scheduling conflicts forced him out, and John Pankow took over the role. Though the story is set mostly in Los Angeles, the first season was largely filmed in the UK, including the 103-room Updown Court where the Lincolns briefly stay. Some inserts were shot on location in LA, and LeBlanc's Malibu mansion was also built in the UK. Seasons two through five were filmed mainly in Los Angeles.

Reception

American critics largely enjoyed the first season. Robert Bianco of USA Today described it as the finest new sitcom of its season, while Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe found each of the seven episodes to be a small delight. Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald offered a more reserved take, worrying it might never find a wide audience. David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle admired the acting but thought the show simply lacked humor. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix was harsher, calling it one of the worst TV moments of 2011. Across the Atlantic, UK critics were cautiously optimistic about the first episode, with Brian Viner of The Independent hoping that giving Matt LeBlanc more screen time could strengthen the series.

The second season earned more favorable notices. Henry Goldblatt of Entertainment Weekly praised it as a strong follow-up for a sitcom set in the television industry. USA Today noted the show’s sharp writing and the contrast between LeBlanc’s broad comedy and the subtler humor, suggesting his talent was undervalued during his Friends years. Ed Bark of Uncle Barky called the season a thoroughly entertaining ride through the television business. However, on the Firewall & Iceberg podcast, Alan Sepinwall and Dan Fienberg offered a mixed view: they found the season self-congratulatory and obvious, oddly out of touch with the industry it aimed to satirize, and ultimately about nothing—which they felt made it better, even though it remained groaningly unfunny.