Navel-gazing comedy series starring Matt LeBlanc as himself, about a British sitcom-writing team (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig) and the humiliations they endure when the show is remade for American television. Written by David Crane (Friends) and co-produced with Showtime in America, it sounds like a recipe for disaster but is actually very funny.

"Episodes" concerns a pair of brittle - but improbably naïve - British writers (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig). They are lured to Hollywood with the promise that their successful UK series about an elderly, erudite school headmaster and his charges will translate fabulously to the U.S. They are assured the show will happen with only minimal changes. Not! The stunned pair is forced to accept Matt LeBlanc (playing himself) as the series star. LeBlanc is deadpan and adorable riffing on his own image/reality as an actor whose best days were a decade ago (when he was one of the stars of "Friends"). Matt's got guts, and he can act. He is strikingly comfortable allowing himself to appear unsympathetic and cynical. And handsomer now; he has allowed the gray in his hair to grow in.

But the heart of "Episodes" is the dry, withering rat-tat-tat between Mangan and Greig. It's Nick and Nora Charles, it's Maggie Smith and Michael Caine in "California Suite." It's the real deal for anybody who has had to negotiate vicious showbiz bullshit. And even if you haven't had to do that, it is fabulous to watch, and to listen to. The writing is super-clever and spot on.

My perfect weekend: Tamsin Greig

Tamsin Greig enjoys taking a train to the countryside before analysing the perfect cream tea and communing with blackbirds.

Middle earth: Interview with Tamsin Greig

Tamsin Greig is very familiar with everyday stories of country folk after spending nearly 20 years as Debbie Aldridge in radio's The Archers. Now she's down on the farm once more, this time on the big screen in her first major film role.

It Would Be HILARIOUS If Joey Turfed It

Former Friends co-star, Matt LeBlanc, who is now starring in the new Showtime comedy, Episodes was on the stage with his co-stars talking about the show. Here was a brief exchange between him and co-star Tamsin Greig (pictured) about the nature of comedy that got us in stitches.

Sky may not have the resources to churn out top home-grown drama on a routine basis, but when it does decide to throw its weight behind a production, as it's done for this latest Terry Pratchett Discworld adventure, then it certainly does it in style.

Shot in HD, and with a fabulous British cast that includes David Suchet, Richard Coyle, Charles Dance, Claire Foy, Andrew Sachs, Steve Pemberton and Tamsin Greig, this Bank Holiday two-parter (concluding at the same time tomorrow) is a typically outlandish Pratchett tale about a lifelong con man who's given one last chance to avert the death sentence. The deal? He must take on the seemingly cursed task of trying to rescue Discworld's Post Office, under threat from their equivalent of the internet.

Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter to star in C4 comedy

Single-camera family comedy Friday Night Dinner to be written by Look Around You co-creator Robert Popper.

Video Interview: Tamsin Greig on latest challenge

Actress Tamsin Greig talks about her latest West End play The Little Dog Laughed, in which she plays a pushy agent.

She spoke to BBC Breakfast about what she loves about acting and why she thinks the public sometimes take too much interest in the private lives of celebrities.

Tamsin Greig: 'I think I'm a little bit odd'

When it comes to acting work, Tamsin Greig admits that the phone has never stopped ringing. So why does she still feel inadequate?

The BBC has its own credit crunch so repeats are piling up (five, not counting regulars, on Radio 4 alone today). But, as someone once said, it's not a repeat if you missed it first time. So, if this first radio play by Peter Souter escaped you originally, don't let it pass unnoticed now. It's funny, romantic, recognisable. Also beautifully acted (Tamsin Greig, Rory Kinnear, Nicky Henson, Kerry Shale) and directed (by Gordon House). And it heralded the start of Souter's truly promising career. If BBC radio drama funds permit, of course.