The Office may be a phenomenon on both sides of the Pond, but for every successful Americanization of a British show, there are a dozen tragedies along the lines of the American Coupling. Broadcasting and Cable reports that Showtime and the BBC are using that sad truth as a launching pad for a new series they’re partnering up on, and they’re bringing Friends star Matt LeBlanc along for the ride.
Created by TV vets David Crane (Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You), Episodes will follow the plight of two British producers whose show gets tapped for an American remake. LeBlanc will play a fictionalized version of himself who is cast as the star of the show. Six episodes of Episodes will air on Showtime and BBC 2 sometime in 2010.
This isn’t the first time recently that a former Friend named Matt has set their eye on Showtime. Back in April, the network passed on The End of Steve, a promising-sounding sitcom pilot starring Matthew Perry and created by Peter Tolan. Even though LeBlanc will be parodying his own persona in Episodes, maybe we’ll finally learn whether he can do more than play variations on Joey Tribbiani or baseball with apes.
