Probably gonna cover more post-friends shows occasionally. Studio 60 on the sunset strip is particularly interesting

My favourite joke in Episodes was when we discover that Matt has a vineyard, and his wine label is “Le Blanc de LeBlanc”. I think about that a lot…

The show won Matt LeBlanc his only Golden Globe award. That never happened for him in Friends

Personally I always thought of "Episodes" as the closets thing to a live action "Bo Jack Horseman". Mostly with how the character of Matt Leblanc is portrayed and explored in the second half of the show. Also have to give credit to Daisy Haggard for her portrayal Myra. I was really blown away when I found out that not only is she British, but she voices Hilda's Mom in the Netflix adaptation.

One of my favorite jokes in this show was Sean and Beverly telling Matt how the network did a lot of research about how Pucks is going to be a hit and Matt said “They did research Joey was going to be a hit” which scared Sean and Beverly 😂

I almost gave this one a pass because of Matt LeBlanc, but it turned out to be the best thing he was ever in and one of the best shows I'd seen in years. Hats off to Matt for playing himself as a despicable yet lovable jerk. The characters are superb, hysterically funny.

Episodes is to Friends what The Boys is to Justice League.

I think you're missing half of "Matt's" argument regarding the lesbian librarian. He was also pointing out the different # of episodes a successful Hollywood tv show runs for vs a successful BBC show. This has started to change, but at the time Hollywood tv shows generally had 22 episode season. While BBC shows often had less than 10. This meant that a story that spanned 4 seasons of BBC tv wouldn't even fill 2 seasons of Hollywood television. And a 2 season show was rarely considered a success. Reaching 100 episodes (the minimum for syndication) was an important benchmark for success and that usually took almost 5 complete seasons. It's a lot easier to stretch a will-they-won't-they for 100 episodes than a they-never-will-isn't-that-poignent.

Episodes did for Matt Leblanc what Punch Drunk Love did for Adam Sandler. In Sandler's breakthrough drama, he was still in essence playing a manchild but removed from the context of a slobs vs snobs comedy, revealing someone prone to extreme emotions due to not being mature enough to temper them.

Episodes was underrated AF! It's a hilarious pisstake/mockumentary on Hollywood when you think about it, and we kind of needed that. Yes it references Friends a fair bit, but it's about (the fictional) Matt Le Blanc's career afterwards. It's bound to do so.

For context, back in the 2010-11 era when Episodes was being made, US remakes of UK shows were all the rage. _Skins, The Inbetweeners, IT Crowd, Peep Show, Gavin & Stacey, Coupling, Spaced, Broadchurch,_ - so many shows were seen as remake-able material, all the way till 2014-16, and they all failed disastrously. _The Office, Queer as Folk_ and _Shameless_ reboots might have been the only ones to work? (As well as some reality tv shows like _Dancing with the Stars_ based on Strictly). Interestingly, HBO's _Veep_ was actually a second attempt at an American spinoff of _The Thick of It_ and the first one hadn't involved creator Armando Ianucci at all, apparently, and had failed at the pilot stage.

I'm reminded of a story told by David Cross. When "Arrested Development" was in the early stages of production, Gail Berman, an executive at Fox, issued a stern memo against facial hair, baseball caps, and puffy shirt sleeves. Cross fought tooth & nail and successfully subverted all three prohibitions during the first season.

I really liked this show. It's not exactly original, being the old 'Hollywood Dream/Nightmare' thing, but the fact it kept turning the thumbscrews made it really interesting. A lot of the side characters gave great performances too, especially Kathleen Rose Perkins because I fancy her. Must watch it again.

God this is just soul-crushing hearing about second-hand

I love that you managed to accurately portray his hair onto the devouring monster.

ohmygod you're covering it, this is one of my fave shows ever!!

I agree with 99% of this, only disagree that it shouldn't be labelled a comedy, If it weren't labelled a comedy then the matt Leblanc/joey comparison disparity wouldn't work, it needs to be labelled a comedy to keeo you associating the 2

Episodes is brilliant, it's weirdest element is actually from the production side - that it took them about 7 years to tell a story that in-universe only takes place over about 6 months.

I recommend Jennette McCurdy memoir I'm Glad my Mom Died if you want more of how fucked up Hollywood is.

I had completely forgotten that I actually watched this show! Wow, memory unlock.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the UK sitcom Extras from 2006-07, which is essentially the same premise as Episodes and features the same dark humour about the vacuousness and ruthlessness of the TV industry. You go in all excited to see Ricky Gervais’s cynical take on the sitcom business and for the self-deprecating celebrity cameos, but you come away feeling bleak and uncomfortable. Also it continues the meta-gag established by Friends by naming every episode after the A-List celebrity cameo that they know audiences will remember it by 😂

So what I'm hearing is... Episodes is the new Bojack Horseman? Supposedly a comedy that's actually a tragic story that exposes a lot of the disgusting parts of making media and torturing the main cast with what happens to them in their stories.

Reminds me of the arc of Extras.

Dirk Gently & Fran from Black Books were very good in this show.

Having only heard of Episodes for the first time today, no, I did not predict the ending, so that felt a bit harsh. Not that I’m mad about the spoiler. It’d be a bit odd to get that far in the video and suddenly proclaim “HOW DARE” to spoilers.

Loved this show. Truly excellent.

@ 8:35 I know you are saying how soul-crushing it is, and summing it up brilliantly, but that is so the reason why I've watched this show five or six times! I recommend it to EVERYONE for just how...stuck the two leads are. Stuck! With Joey! Better title for a spin-off.

Can we talk about how awful it is that Carol and Helen end up together at the end after Helen showed she was basically a crazy and abusive partner who, had she been a male character, would have probably rightly called out as awful? My gal deserved better!

I always thought that matt leblanc is underrated i watched this show before i ever watched friends and loved it

Matt Leblanc is a great comedic actor , I loved episodes and the way he played his character. Sadly friends is now very dated but episodes always seems fresh. Matt always seems a decent guy , hope his success continues and he has a happy life.

Me, after one minute: I might check out that show! Me, one more minute later: wait a minute... Another minute later: yes. I've DEFINITELY already seen it. ...I watch too many shows.

I watched this entire thing, and it was always an unsettling experience. I especially got worn down by Carol’s storyline.

I’ve never seen this but you talking about makes me want to watch it so thank you!

Okay, Stubagful. I am probably not washing my hair tonight.

While watching the show as it aired I don’t think the ending was obvious, but certainly while watching the final season for the first time I saw it heading that way so it is kind of a spoiler, but it doesn’t spoil the show in any way.

I love this show. Watched it multiple times

That's a great video! I loved Episodes, all the meta stuff. The only thing I regret is that there seem to be a lot of inside jokes and references that only people who work in the industry probably understand. By the way, I really dislike Friends to this day, because most characters are very toxic. I have no idea why people liked them so much. I found Episodes much more honest in this respect and that's what made people like Sean and Beverly much more relatable.

How did I not know about this show? This sounds awesome. Thanks for the great video!

It's an interesting way of looking at it but I'm not entirely sure it is accurate, I loved Matt in this, he was likeable and smart because he had to be to manipulate the situation to his advantage but most times he wasn't wrong either. I didn't see Joey because he was a character he played and he was so different to that character in this.

I still use that same ringtone. No one ever gets it. Ever. I will be using the ringtone until someone recognizes it and says “heeeeyyyyyyy”

AAAAAAAAAH I binged this in the depths of covid and trama holed it I forgot what the name of the show was thank you.

fucking love Episodes, i really like it when actors give real effort and a good performance in portraying a asshole version of them selfs.

So what I'm hearing is that Episodes is playing in the same key as Bojack

I loved this series when it came out, proper toe/teeth curling stuff.

this video gave me an idea for a video about comparing various self insert characters in drama shows, how the self awareness, ability to mock themselves, or lack their of for any self insert or direct "actor playing themselves" parts in dramas and comedies reflects on differant actors. feel free to steal it anyone reading this comment im never gonna finish that idea.

"while there is occasionally funny dialogue, I didn't laugh that much" I definitely see where you're coming from overall but I almost ran out of air when Shaun wobbled on his knees to attack Matt with a cactus.

This video made me interested in watching Episodes, and it was genuinely one of the best things I have watched in awhile. I doubt you'll see this but this show was super impactful to me and I want to thank you for covering it, I would never have heard of it without this video.

I’ve already watched it twice. Wonderful recommendation

My mum and dad love this show

I can do without the existential misery of this. Being English in Australia is bad enough.

I truly did not expect this video to have as much depth into the creative/toxic environment of hollywood and film as awhole. Spectacular.

interesting sounding show. ill never watch it but I did enjoy this video

Episodes is Excellent! And even better that it is all filmed in the UK pretending to be the Hollywood!

Even though I'm in my 40s, this always seemed like something for my parents. Very meta, but not actually that interesting. I might give it another look.

stu art

I have a question, and it may be a dumb one: Am I dumb for not knowing in advance what the last episode of "Episodes" is about as someone who has only seen this video up until the point when you mention the last episode of "Episodes", or would I have been dumb had I watched the show and not realised what the last episode would be about before watching it?

After watching the video I’m pleasantly surprised that you mean soul crushing in a good way

Matt Le Blanc is genial, all of his lines here killed me.

Great video. The classic Comic Strip Presents TV film, “The Strike” from 1988, treads similar ground if you can find it. 👍

1:08 I forgot I was watching stu and got jumpscared to high hell

Nobody mention THAT talking dog show!

Brilliant series

This whole concept was kind of covered in an episode of Larry Sanders where Wallace Langham character, Phil, gets a deal to write a pilot and it gets brutally modified to the point its not his vision anymore.

Another excellent analysis Stu. As a writer, just starting out on the journey of starting a nano-publishing business, I found it fascinating. That conflict between scratching a living and creative truth. Thank you for highlighting this sitcom, it's great to have another video from you. Have you seen the philosophical sitcom The Good Place? It's unique and I would be interested to hear your analysis. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to your videos on Season 14 of Dr Who. Are you going to carry on with them? Best wishes and thank for your work.

Well, of course it's depressing Do you really think that Caroline and Guy Secretan would live happily?

God I loved that show. Thanks for this!

Excellent show and LeBlanc's best work.

Great essay

The fact Stephen mangan, or whatever his name is, and the other woman are in this means I'm definitely going to watch this. Green Wing was a favourite show

I'm not sure I ever saw the last one or two seasons of this, I must catch up with it.

This idea was done great with the comic strips the strike. Having al pacino play Arthur skargill was great. They did the glc as well where Charles Branson plays Ken livingstone

a great way to critique friends, it wanted to be seinfeld without being seinfeld, and ultimately in friends they made them bad people without acknowledging it like they did in seinfeld

6:00 I don't think Mathew Perry is going to do that anytime soon...

Ah yes, the age old 'let's take something successful then remove everything that made it successful and wonder why it didn't work whilst blaming the production crew and pocketing a huge bonus as the C suite!'

I love Episodes!

Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in the fictional version of Episodes is brilliant when you know their history

I would love to know the date of the episode where Matt pitched the pimp who cares about his girls show or movie because I think he might have came up with the idea of “Hustle and Flow” minus the rap…then again, depending on the year, maybe still with the rap. People would have paid to hear Joey Tribbiani yell “Whoop that Trick”

I hope more people watch Episodes! It's a biting satire and hard to watch at times because of how often Sean and Beverly fail, but the show does have real heart. It's the marriage between Sean and Bev and their creative partnership. Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg have so much chemistry and you really root for them to make it work. Even their odd dysfunctional "friendship" with Matt LeBlanc (the character) is quite earnest from time to time, when he isn't ruining their careers. IIRC, the creators David Crane (co-creator of Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (his husband, who is also a writer) based Sean and Beverly on themselves respectively with their contrasting personalities and writing styles. The two clearly love each other and working together after being at it for decades now, so that's probably why it feels so real.

So, for me, I never really cared for Friends despite it being “the it show” when it aired etc. maybe because my family never watched it or whatever but I’ve never really got into it despite trying. However I do respect the actors and always thought LeBlanc came away the most typecasted which is a shame, so seeing something like this is honestly nice. It makes me think of the recent Nic Cage film where he plays a fictional version of himself, it works because it plays off the public perception we have of these characters.

I only ever watched the first half of the first episode years ago and all I remember is them waiting forever for the big spa bath to fill up lol

I love episodes

It's a black comedy.

Was anyone else reminded of the Christopher Guest movie 'For Your Consideration' while watching this?

Nobody ever talks about how much like bojack horseman he is

If you want to see other comedies that are brutally cruel to the characters of the movie I may recommend He Was a Quiet Man, Burn After Reading, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, In Bruges, The Banshees of Inishirin, The Favourite, The Lobster, Saltburn, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Cottage, Severance, You're Next, Brazil, Kill Your Friends, Voices, Super, Kick-Ass 2, Parasite, The Thick of It, and Moral Orel.

I love it.

I am on S 2 of Episodes. I think it is really good. I am taking a break from watching it right now but plan to get back to it. Hot take: I like this show much better than Joey.

Stubagful, at 9:03 there's some sax / blues music playing. Do you know what it's called? I've heard it before and now it's bugging me -_- loved the video and now im giving Episodes a watch

I enjoyed this show is was very witty

i loooved Episodes

Stephen Mangan is sooo good at telly.

talking about series about television , I had enjoyed Reboot with Keegan-Michael Key on Hulu too bad it was cancelled after the first season

I always get episodes and extras mixed up

I'm really disappointed I've never heard of this show, seems great!

Soul crushing horror is comedy.... :) British comedy

If you have never watched a comedy that it was crueler to their characters, that means that you haven't watched Bojack Horseman.

Episodes was brilliant Leblanc was great You really felt bad for Sean and Bev, This was at the time things like the Inbetweeners was being Americanised poorly so the joke of The Smart intelligent show becoming Joey 2 was great.

Really cool video! Never heard of it but as a guy who’s not exactly a fan per se of friends, so this def strikes me as something to consider. I love the idea of what “what if Joey was your co-worker?” And yeah, I like how you point out that Friends, as a sitcom, ALWAYS showed real life problems in a “cuddly” manner even when VERY CLEARLY they were unrealistic, and were somewhat disturbing. Like Ross’s crush on rachel was very obsessive, very detrimental to both, and to quote another KZfaq video, borderline harassment when he kept bothering rachel at work. And Joey himself, if you actually took a serious look, would be a nightmare in real life lol. He’s a slob, easy to distract, hooked on stupid ideas, and very rarely grows up (I mean the finale shows that he never actually did anything different). Plus his constant lust for his female friends and generally women WOULDNT go well in real life. So friends was a a nice way to solve all your problems in a half hour while Ignoring the actual consequences. Seinfeld got away with this as the people were horrible to each other, even king of queen has drama where the couple break up over a legitimate fight only to TALK it over. Like doug and Carrie REALLY did seem they were gonna end it all.

A 'big UK award' this days probably means something like 'the most handsome goat in London' lmao

Most British comedy is incredibly bleak like this. Red Dwarf is about the last human in existence, lost in space with his only company being the person he finds most annoying.