Episodes (TV series)

Premise

Development and production

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Matt LeBlanc as Matt LeBlanc – a fictionalized version of himself. Matt is a wealthy, charming, but arrogant actor, who was persuaded by the high salary to take the starring role of Coach Lyman in Pucks. His short attention span and need for immediate gratification tends to cause problems with his relationships, especially with Sean and Beverly, but also in any long-term romance he attempts. Matt has two sons, who spend most of their time with their mother Diane, with whom Matt has an antagonistic yet ultimately protective relationship.
• Stephen Mangan as Sean Lincoln – co-creator of Pucks. Sean moves from London to Hollywood with wife/co-creator Beverly to adapt their award-winning show Lyman's Boys for American audiences. Sean initially adapts to Hollywood better than Beverly, finding it easier to bond with Matt on some level than she does. Although he grows to loathe Hollywood and professes to want to return home, Sean stays because the paychecks are much bigger. He has a terrible relationship with any member of his family who has been mentioned.
• Tamsin Greig as Beverly Lincoln – co-creator of Pucks. When Beverly and Sean move to Hollywood, she is quickly overwhelmed by the new business. Unlike Sean, Beverly struggles to adjust to life in Los Angeles – and the only person she feels close to is network executive Carol Rance, with whom she often goes hiking in Griffith Park and smokes pot. The only thing about Hollywood which she likes is the gift baskets, because Beverly loves getting things for free, whether she wants the things or not.
• John Pankow as Merc Lapidus – the president of the network. He purchases the American rights to Lyman's Boys without watching it, based on the acclaim it has received, but immediately insists on major changes which ultimately have a significant impact on the quality of the show. While he is boorish and arrogant, lies to everybody to avoid responsibility and has a very short attention span, his main quirk happens to be cheating on his blind wife with his network subordinate, Carol. He also has a penchant for greeting friends and strangers alike with a hug.
• Kathleen Rose Perkins as Carol Rance – the network's head of programming. She is Merc's second-in-command. Carol is incredibly good at her job, but she often undermines herself professionally because she has a fetish for people who have authority over her, leading her to engage in a series of affairs with her bosses. She becomes good friends with Beverly, with whom she often goes hiking and smokes pot.
• Mircea Monroe as Morning Randolph – the leading actress employed by the network to play Nicola McCutcheon opposite Matt's character on Pucks. A running gag throughout the show is that Morning's age, while never explicitly revealed, is significantly older than her appearance suggests. She has frequent plastic surgery to maintain the appearance of youth which she feels Hollywood insists on from actresses. Morning perceives herself as a household name equal to Matt because she was "Kelly" on the show Kelly Girl many years ago. She has a 19-year-old daughter, Dawn, who she pretends is her younger sister.

  Recurring cast

• Joseph May as Andy Button – the head of casting of the network. By the end of Season 1, he is fired by Merc because he likes the talking dog show Merc hates. In Season 2, he is re-hired when he threatens a lawsuit against the network.
• Daisy Haggard as Myra Licht – the head of comedy of the network. She constantly makes negative facial expressions and utters disapproving noises. In Season 4, she obliviously becomes pregnant and ultimately gives birth.
• Genevieve O'Reilly as Jamie Lapidus – Merc's third wife who is blind, but can surprisingly get around. She is aware of Merc's affair with Carol and eventually leaves him for Matt.
• Sophie Rundle as Labia – Matt's stalker who has been stalking Matt for 15 years. She was a Make-A-Wish child whose wish had Matt take her to Disneyland, but she survives cancer and starts stalking him, leading to him getting a restraining order against her. Nevertheless, he has slept with her more than once. She subsequently outgrows Matt in Season 3.
• Fiona Glascott as Diane – Matt's ex-wife who is often angry at Matt, but still feels some affection for him. She is overprotective of their two sons.
• Michael Brandon as Elliot Salad – the chairman of the network.
• Chris Diamantopoulos as Castor Sotto – Merc's replacement as network executive. Castor has significant psychological issues and bold ideas for changes at the network.
• Andrea Savage as Helen Basch – Castor's replacement as network executive. Helen is a lesbian who demonstrates good instincts about creative ideas, but is prone to jealousy.
• Alex Rocco as Dick LeBlanc – Matt's father from whom he is estranged, although he supports him financially.
• Caroline Aaron as Linda – Dick's crotchety girlfriend who takes care of and lives with him. She keeps Matt in the loop about his father, although she and Matt don't really get along well.
• Rhoda Gemignani as Mrs. LeBlanc – Matt's almost-deaf mother who requires hearing aids in order to hear better.
• Oliver Kieran-Jones as Andrew Lesley – Sean and Beverly's former personal assistant who becomes smug towards them due to his rapid rise in show business.
• Bruce Mackinnon as Tim Whittick – Sean's former writing partner, with whom he stopped writing with after beginning a creative and romantic relationship with Beverly. According to Beverly, Tim refers to her as Yoko Ono by somehow adding the phrase "oh no" into their conversations.
• Nigel Planer as Sanford Shamiro – Matt's lawyer. He always handles the ramifications of Matt's actions and tends to be very frustrated with Matt as a result.
• Roger Bart as Roger Riskin – Matt's agent, who generally pitches him ideas that are high-paying but humiliating.
• Andrea Rosen as Eileen Jaffee – an agent at William Morris Endeavor who takes in Sean and Beverly as her clients. She always goes out of her way to act on Sean and Beverly's projects without their consent.
• Ella Kenion as Beth – Matt's publicist. She handles Matt's public statements whenever news of Matt's controversial actions break out.
• Geoff McGivern as Bob – Matt's finance manager. He gives Matt woes whenever he calls him, with Matt knowing that it usually involves his money, yielding the two words the latter dreads the most, "It's Bob."
• James Purefoy as Rob – Morning's younger brother, who briefly dates Beverly.
• Scarlett Rose Patterson as Wendy – Sean and Beverly's monotonous personal assistant. She never concentrates on her work and often tries to leave early.
• Sam Palladio as Stoke Stamon – a 31-year old actor who plays the ice hockey team player Howie in Pucks! He does well in Hollywood because he is the one "with the hair".
• Harry McEntire as Jason Julius – a 27-year old actor who plays the ice hockey team player Max in Pucks! In Season 2, he reveals to Sean and Beverly that he, Stoke and Kevin are much older than they look and that he's entering his second marriage.
• Jacob Anderson as Kevin Garillo – a 29-year old actor who plays the ice hockey team player Kyle in Pucks! His character in the show has two gay fathers.
• Rufus Jones as Anthony Powner Smith – a British actor who initially replaces Matt in Andrew's NBC pilot but gets temporarily paralyzed after a kickboxing accident.
• Lou Hirsch as Wallace – the security guard at the gates of the Beverly Hills estates where Sean and Beverly live in Season 1. He never remembers the two and often gives them trouble in letting them inside the gates. Fed up with his memory loss for a third time, Beverly succeeds in making a profanity-laced demand for him to open the gate.

  Reception

Broadcast

Awards and nominations

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