The show also returns him to the multicamera format that made him famous.
EW caught up with LeBlanc to hear about hisPlanand to see, you know, how hes doin.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:Episodesis an edgier cable comedy.
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS
What appealed to you about doing a internet family comedy?
I took about five years off prior to doingEpisodes.
The schedule is good if you have kids.
Im home for dinner every night.
I can help my daughter with her homework.
I havent done that before.
It seems like the right time to shift gears into that.
How fast did the multicam muscles come back?
The first run-through, I was like, Oh yeah, I remember this.
Just kind of chucked the script.
You know if the jokes are working, because if theyre not laughing then its probably not funny.
You play an exaggerated version of Matt LeBlanc onEpisodes.
What is the most Matt LeBlanc thing about Adam?Hes a guys guy.
Hes a contractor; I was a carpenter.
How does your parenting style differ from Adams?
Adams a little more of a bull in a china shop.
Ive been doing it longer.
And I dont make as many mistakes as I used to.
Thats what makes it fun.
Jenna Fischer starred as your wife in the pilot but was replaced with Liza Snyder.
Jennas a good actor.
She did a good job.
Shes got enough sitcom experience so she knows what shes doing.
She knows her way around a joke.
Kevin Nealon plays your brother.
Whats one thing you have learned about him since you started working together?
I didnt know he was as tall as he is.
The lighting department has to adjust the lights because hes always casting a shadow.
And he has the innate ability to smell where the joke should be.
Hes just got this rhythm of speech thats fun to listen to.
Whats the first thing he said to you when you were back on set?
Oh, I thought you were doing construction these days.
I fought to go after Jimmy.
Hes a great problem identifier and a great problem solver.
He has a great ability to establish characters.
Whats the most underrated episode or moment that doesnt get its due?
It feels like people bring up just about everything weve done.
People bring stuff up to me, and Im like, What are you talking about?
I dont remember that one.
We did around 250 episodes, and I can never remember what stories were together in which episode.
I can remember stories but if you were to say what else happened in that episode?…
I dont really watch it that much.
If Im flipping through the channel guide and its on, Ill stop to see which one it was.
Its a decade of my life documented.
It seemed to work out okay.
Yeah, not bad.
Would you sum up the situation as Theyll be there for you or Were on a break?
Were on a break.
Because theres no plan to have anything like that.
Theres been a lot ofquestionsabout that…
Whats the strangest place that anyone has brought upFriendsto you?
I was in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, shooting a thing forTop Gear.
I mean, we were far away from civilization.
And these people were wearing robes, and they live in caves and stuff.
They called me Joey and said How you doin?
in a really butchered accent.
It was like, Oh, wow.
Did not seethatone coming.
The show is everywhere.
It still holds up.
How much debate was there about endingEpisodes?
Or did it feel like the right time?
It really started with David and Jeffrey [Crane and Klarik, the shows creators].
They felt like they had told their story, and the five seasons were enough.
It kind of ends in a very organic, nice way.
Its really hard to keep those three people in the same room together.
Not impossible, but they felt that it was time, so I was like, Okay.
We always had a deal, the three of us: David, Jeffrey, and I.
When the time has come, the time comes, and we all support that.
Can you give us one cryptic tease about the final season ofEpisodes?
Its probably the most poignant season.
Hows that for cryptic?
What was the craziest or worst pitch that you got after it was announced thatEpisodeswas ending?
There was one about a guy who just nothing went right for, ever.
I mean,ever.
It was just so morbid.
I was like, I dont want to watch that show, thats so depressing.
He didnt win at anything, anytime, anywhere, anyplace.
I was like, This is?
Yeah, thats what it is!
I was like, Well, then it aint me!
I aint in that, Ill tell that right now.
You gotta have some punch in of a victory, however small.
There has to besomethingto root for.
If you could guest star on any show you wanted to, what would it be?
Its set in Boston, Im from Boston.
Its so well-written and so well-acted, I would love to be on that show sometime.
Ill do it in a heartbeat… Maybe [Id play] an old friend of Rays.
Id like to work with Liev [Schreiber].
IfMan with a Plandid a crossover episode with any show on TV, which one would you choose?
That way I could get paid twice for being in the same place.
Take the family on a 200 mile-an-hour road trip across the Bonneville Salt Flats.
