EPISODES Hilariously Hanging On

Article first published as EPISODES Hilariously Hanging On on TheTVKing.

Showtime's Episodes is a series that always delivers the laughs, every single time. It is the story of two Brits, Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly Lincoln (Tamsin Greig), who come to America to remake their hit show from across the pond, only to find L.A. a horrible place that ruins both their work and their marriage. This week, the third season wrapped up, building towards a happy ending, then having it yanked back at the last moment.

The show within a show is called Pucks, and Pucks is just one misstep after another. The network forces Matt LeBlanc (himself) onto the Lincolns, and then the format of the show changes, and then it is retooled, and it soon resembles the original not at all. It's no wonder Sean and Beverly get fed up. By the time Pucks is canceled, we're right there with them, glad to see it go. There's no way this farce should stay on the air, and no one is watching it anyway, unlike the farce of Episodes, which should be watched by everyone.

Yet, at the end of the season finale, Elliot Salad (Michael Brandon), the big boss at the network, renews it for six more episodes. How did this happen? Like much of Episodes, it has little to do with what it should, and is instead about petty things. Salad hates NBC, which has cast LeBlanc as the lead in their new buzzy drama, so Salad refuses to cancel LeBlanc's contract. Sean, Beverly, and Matt, the three main players, have nothing to do with the decision, and are only victims of the situation.

That's much how Episodes plays out. It's a sitcom in the most traditional sense in that the situation leads to the comedy. The characters are absolutely fantastic, but they don't have to be in these messes so fully. Sure, Matt makes his own trouble, but Bev and Sean rarely do, which makes the show a comedy of errors, flaps that keep interfering with the life they want to live.

It's kind of cool that this happens, though. I mean, it would take some contrivances to bring everyone back together for a fourth season, which has already been ordered, so by having Pucks arise from the grave, it keeps the characters together, something that would have been a stretch to believe otherwise. While it does happen with an unexpected twist, it makes sense in the world of the show, so doesn't feel too false. They are also all extremely reluctant to return, which means we'll get to see a new side of them in making the show, and Pucks could potentially turn into something good when its creators stop caring. So bad it's good, perhaps?

I'm not sure if this season finale was designed to be a series finale or not, but it very well could have had Pucks not been picked up. Sean and Beverly suddenly become the most sought-after writers in Hollywood when Eileen Jaffee (Andrea Rosen) puts a script they wrote out into the world and a bidding war erupts between FOX, CBS, and Carol (Kathleen Rose Perkins), who needs the new program to save her job. While Sean is tempted to take the bait, Beverly firmly resists, and in the end, he agrees. They leave on top, with Matt coming only to say goodbye to his friends, unlike everyone else who wants something from them. It's sweet and it's satisfying and it's triumphant.

If Pucks didn't get renewed, it's hard to imagine what would draw the Lincolns back to California. Matt is on another show. Carol may very well be out of work after losing them, or if she's not, she's running a last place network. Merc (John Pankow) is still out on the street, pretending to be friendly to all the people he hates. How could this group come back together?

With Sean wanting to stay and do the new show, though, it almost looks like it will go that way for a moment. The Hollywood types promise Beverly she can do everything her way and they'll land her a big star. It's easy to see how this tempts Sean, a chance to do things on their own terms, a do-over. But Bev is probably right, any other project would get ruined like Pucks did, so the happy ending snatched away from the couple here is most likely the one they will be trying to get back to in subsequent seasons, rather than a successful career in La La Land.

Episodes is clever, with plenty of great one-liners and cartoonish characters in a hyper-realized setting, that actually seems sort of real. Everyone on the show is so damn entertaining, and the stories are well thought out. I very eagerly anticipate another round with these folks.

Episodes will return to Showtime next year.

More EPISODES On Showtime

Article first written for Seat42F.

Showtime’s EPISODES, which, funnily enough, doesn’t use episode titles, begins its third outing this week. Picking up the morning after the events of season two’s finale, much has changed for the characters, while at the same time, life continues as normal, too. Some jobs have shifted and some decisions have been made, but the show called Pucks must go on, and so they get back to work.

Merc (John Pankow) vows to cancel Pucks, if you remember, but that was when he thought he would continue to head up the network, which obviously is no longer the position he holds. Nor does he have a woman to stand by his side, his wife, Jamie (Genevieve O’Reilly), having gone home with Matt (Matt LeBlanc), and Carol (Kathleen Rose Perkins) dumping him when she finally accepts just what a selfish jerk Merc is.

Thus, Merc begins the new year on a terrible note, desperate and alone. I don’t think he’s going anywhere, as Pankow is too valuable a player to lose, and Merc is still a figure in too many people’s lives. But he won’t be the same Merc we’ve grown used to, or at least he won’t have the same power and control.

Carol spends the first half hour trying to get a hold of Elliot (Michael Brandon) so she can accept Merc’s job, which Elliot offered her. But, as we know, Elliot is leaving town and intends to name the new network head before he goes. Did Carol wait too long to change her mind?

If so, that’s too bad. Yes, she’s a little self-centered, as we see again in a lunch scene during the season premiere, but Carol is a good person, by and large. At least she’s honest about who she is, including the lies she tells, and those around her know what they’re getting with her. She deserves the job more than Merc did, and she can certainly do better than Merc in choosing her next lover. Whether she takes the office now or later, it seems like a strong possibility that it will happen at some point.

One question not so up in the air is that of Beverly (Tamsin Greig) and Sean’s (Stephen Mangan) relationship. After all, Sean comes to Beverly’s defense in the finale, and so the two are a couple again as season three begins.

But how long might that last? They both slept with other people, to be sure, and that could continue to hang over them. They must confess their sins, forgive one another, and move on. Keeping things from one another will destroy them when those hidden bits come out, as they inevitably will. However, fans of the show know how neurotic the two Brits can be, so forgiving and forgetting may be easier said than done.

I can actually live with a little tension between Beverly and Sean. What’s more important to the series is the dynamic between Sean, Beverly, and Matt as a trio. This fell apart quite a bit last year, and it’s nice to see it back on track now. They can have conflict, as that is entertaining, but things between the three can never be allowed to get so bad that they go their separate ways. That’s what would kill the show, but I think the writers are smart enough to realize that, pushing the characters as far as they can go, then pulling back just before permanent damage is done.

EPISODES is very, very funny. All these relationships above make up the story, but not necessarily the reason to tune in. Every installment has joke after joke that lands in the best of ways. From a secret that quickly spreads out of hand at the wrong time, to Sean helping Matt write an apology to his wife, to Matt’s charades behind Jamie as Merc attempts to win his wife back, there are amusing bits constantly in the most recent outing. Many of these are minor and lots are inappropriate, but the frequency, tone, and flow of them are what kick EPISODES up to a top-notch comedy series. This has not changed in the season three premiere.

Plus, unlike in previous seasons, there is no fretting about whether the often-on-the-bubble show will continue. It has already been renewed for a fourth season.

EPISODES premieres Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET on Showtime.