The BBC has announced that it will be bringing back Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg for a surprise fourth series of British American comedy, Episodes. With series three seemingly closing the book on the Hollywood roller-coaster ride of a story it had looked as though creators David Crane (Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You) had finished things with a happy ending, but it looks like there’s more bitter sweet bitter tinsel town craziness in store for lead characters Sean and Beverly.
Air date
The first of the nine episodes of series 4 had its debut air date on the 11th May 2015, and the remaining installments are due to air weekly every Monday at 10pm. They’ll also be available to catch up on with BBC iPlayer, but only for a limited period, so you’ll need to get a move on if you don’t want to miss it.
Storyline
Having had three series of being raked over the coals of LA’s TV production mill, where the writing couple’s hit UK sitcom had been repackages into the disastrous Pucks! starring Matt LeBlanc, they’d eventually salvaged the vestiges of their rocky marriage and escaped back to London. However, contractual obligations are about to force them back Stateside to create yet more episodes of the Frankenstein’s monster of a show that they’ve come to hate with a passion.
Once again Matt will be back as the twisted fictional version of himself, building on the series of bad decisions about women, driving and his slightly estranged family with the addition of financial difficulty in series 4. Having slept with his stalker, much to the anger of his ex wife, and taken up with Merc’s blind wife, much to the anger of Merc, he’s now managed to get himself into a financial crisis, so this series will see him learning how to tighten his belt as his money woes start to pinch as much as his womanising ways have previously.
Sean and Beverly will inevitably bear the brunt of Matt’s latest series of predicaments, as ever, but it’s hard to imagine it being much worse that the drunken tryst he had with Beverley in series 1, which led to two full series of relationship problems. However, they’ll also have to contend with life back in LA, along with a brand new head of network who’s bound to add even more misery to their long lust of woes following Castor Sotto’s bout of insanity at the end of series 3.
Cast
In addition to Matt, Stephen and Tamsin, we also know that most of the original cast will be returning to the show, as well as the new additions. John Pankow will be back as Merc Lapidus along with Kathleen Rose Perkins as Carol Rance, Mircea Monroe as Morning Randolph, Joseph May as Andy Button and Daisy Haggard as head of comedy Myra Licht. Andrea Savage will also be joining the cast as the new head of network, Helen Basch, and Andrea Rosen continues her role as Eileen Jaffee, the agent trying to eork with Sesn and Beverly on their other big project, The Opposite Of Us.
Production
The Crane and Klarik show is produced by Hat Trick Productions and directed by Ian B. Macdonald (Bluestone 42). In addition to airing on BBC 2, the show has also got a popular following in the States and series has already gone out on Showtime, with its premier taking place on the 11th January 2015.
Review
For Episodes Series 4, the creators look set to cover the full range of ups and downs in Hollywood. Expect fortunes to be lost, hearts to be broken, egos to be fluffed and then crushed mercilessly, careers to be trounced and sex tapes to find their way out into the public. If you’ve ever read it in a tat magazine then it’s probably going to get parodied to severe death in David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik’s fourth outing for the show. With the first episode already aired and delivering another slice of tinsel town crazy the fourth series looks like it could be one of the best yet.
