Television series

Episodes

Name: Episodes
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2011
Cast: Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Greig, Kathleen Rose Perkins, John Pankow

Episodes is a wry Anglo-American culture-clash comedy about a British husband-and-wife writing team watching their acclaimed show get flattened by American network television — and cast, disastrously, with Matt LeBlanc playing a grotesque version of himself. It's sharp, bitter-funny industry satire dressed as a marriage comedy, for anyone who's ever watched a good idea die by committee, one meeting at a time.

TVMaze rating

7.9

If you liked this

The Larry Sanders Show1992

The blueprint for showbiz-eats-itself comedy — Garry Shandling's talk-show host is charming and awful in equal measure, and every industry cliché Episodes skewers, this did first, funnier and meaner.

But Early-90s pacing and studio-era production values feel dated next to the glossy Showtime look you're used to.

The Comeback2005

Lisa Kudrow plays a faded sitcom star clawing back relevance through a reality show, and the cringe is so exact it's genuinely hard to watch — in the best way.

But The humiliation is relentless and rarely played for easy laughs; it's a tougher, sadder watch than Episodes.

Extras2005

Ricky Gervais's follow-up to The Office skewers fame from the bottom rung, with A-listers gleefully playing monstrous versions of themselves — the same trick Episodes pulls with Matt LeBlanc.

But Gervais's persona is more abrasive here than LeBlanc's easy charm, and the cameo gimmick can feel dated now.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Sunset Boulevard1950

Episodes is a comedy about Hollywood chewing up artistic integrity; Sunset Boulevard is the tragic, noir-black original telling of the same story — a faded star and a writer both destroyed by the industry's appetite for illusion.

Billy Wilder's merciless, gorgeous noir about a has-been star and a hungry screenwriter remains the definitive statement on what Hollywood does to people who need it too much.

But It's a tragedy, not a comedy — go in expecting doom, not jokes, however sharp the wit along the way.

30 Rock2006

A joke-per-second sprint through network television's absurdities, with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin turning corporate nonsense into some of the best sitcom writing of the 2000s.

But The rapid-fire, reference-heavy style is a world away from Episodes' slower, more character-driven comedy.

Curb Your Enthusiasm2000

Larry David plays a fictionalised, insufferable version of himself navigating Hollywood's social minefields — the same real-actor-as-character trick Episodes runs with LeBlanc, just meaner and more anxious.

But Improvised, cringe-driven and often uncomfortable by design; not for anyone who finds secondhand embarrassment unbearable.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip2006

Aaron Sorkin's earnest, walk-and-talk take on the chaos behind a late-night sketch show, with all his trademark idealism about people trying to make good work under pressure.

But Sincere where Episodes is cynical — Sorkin wants you to believe in television, not laugh at its stupidity.

Slings & Arrows2003

A Canadian gem about a chaotic theatre festival, following creative partnerships strained by compromise, ego and commerce — the same tension between vision and money that eats Sean and Beverly alive.

But Three short seasons and a theatre setting mean less star power and a smaller, quieter kind of comedy.

Party Down2009

A crew of failed actors and writers cater Hollywood parties between auditions, and the humiliation of chasing a dream in this town has never been funnier or bleaker.

But Ensemble-driven and low-key rather than plot-heavy; it wanders more than Episodes does.

Entourage2004

The glossy, wish-fulfilment flip side of industry satire — a movie star's entourage living large off his success, for when you want the Hollywood fantasy instead of the nightmare.

But Shallower and more self-satisfied than Episodes; treats the excess it depicts as aspirational rather than absurd.

BoJack Horseman2014

Both use a sitcom-industry setting to ask what fame does to people (or horses) who've lost the plot of their own lives; BoJack just follows the despair Episodes only hints at all the way through.

An animated sitcom about a washed-up horse actor that starts as broad showbiz parody and turns into one of the most devastating studies of self-sabotage ever put on television.

But Tonal whiplash is the whole point — expect genuine grief and depression alongside the talking-animal jokes, which won't suit everyone.

A Cock and Bull Story2005

Like Episodes, it's built entirely from the chaos of adapting one thing into another, with actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves undone by ego and vanity during production.

Michael Winterbottom's endlessly clever film about failing to adapt an 'unfilmable' novel collapses into a documentary about its own stars bickering — a sharper, stranger cousin to Episodes' central joke.

But Structurally loose and deliberately shaggy; if you want a clean plot rather than a film eating its own tail, this will frustrate you.