'Episodes' Returns For Season 4

BBC Two has confirmed the sitcom Episodes is to return for a fourth season.

The Anglo-American comedy series stars Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning Matt LeBlanc as Matt LeBlanc, a fictionalised version of himself.

In the first three seasons, Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Greig) were lured to Hollywood to adapt their much-loved British boarding-school comedy Lyman's Boys, only to have it mangled by their American network into Pucks! – a sitcom about a high school hockey coach starring the miscast Matt LeBlanc. Not surprisingly, the show was met with scathing reviews and poor ratings.

To make matters worse, when Beverly sleeps with Matt in a moment of drunken madness, her marriage is left as battered as the state of their TV show. Over time, both Beverly and Matt are able to repair the damage they've done, and slowly win their way back into Sean's good books. Season three ends with Sean and Beverly back together and back home in London.

Meanwhile, Matt has continued to create more problems for himself. He's slept with his stalker, upset his ex-wife and his on-going affair with the blind wife of the network president Merc Lapidus (John Pankow) has landed him in trouble.

This season, Matt's love life continues to lead him in the wrong direction and he faces a financial crisis for the first time, forcing him to make some tough decisions. Meanwhile, Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Greig) have been dragged back to L.A. with a reprieve for Pucks! – an unexpected order to shoot more episodes of their sitcom. Neither the writers nor the talent want anything to do with the show, but they are contractually obligated to deliver. Their other project, The Opposite Of Us, refuses to go away and there's a new network head who will, in all likelihood, make life more complicated for everyone.

Episodes is created and executive produced by David Crane (Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You). It is also executive produced by Jimmy Mulville, through his Hat Trick production company.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP)