The fifth and final season of acclaimed comedy series EPISODES  premiered on Sunday, August 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. EPISODES stars Matt LeBlanc in his four-time Emmy®-nominated and Golden Globe®-winning role playing a fictionalized version of himself. At the start of the final season of EPISODES, several months have passed and the game show hosted by Matt is now a runaway hit. Unfortunately for Matt, this means his years as an actor are completely forgotten. Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Greig) are equally miserable. Sean’s loathsome ex-partner is now in charge of their new series, The Opposite of Us, and Sean and Beverly must now endure his utter lack of humor or talent as they watch him slowly destroy their show. EPISODES also stars John Pankow, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Mircea Monroe, Andrea Savage and Andrea Rosen. EPISODES is created, written and executive produced by award-winning writing partners David Crane (Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You). Klarik directed the entire final season. The series is also executive produced by Jimmy Mulville through his Hat Trick production company.    

 

EPISODES Synopses - Season 5

“EPISODE 501”

Written by David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik

Directed by Jeffrey Klarik

 

LOGLINE:

Everyone is at rock bottom. Then Matt makes things worse.

 

SYNOPSIS:

Several months have passed since the end of the last episode. Matt’s show “The Box” is

now a runaway hit. Unfortunately for Matt, this means he is now only thought of as a

gameshow host, his years as an actor completely forgotten. Matt’s agent tries to persuade

him this is all for the best: “Can’t you just think of it as reinventing yourself?” Matt shoots

back: “As a shittier version of me?!”

 

The success of “The Box” also means that Matt must have daily contact with Merc

Lapidus. If anything, the animosity between the two has only gotten worse over time. As

Matt is the star of the show, he would seem to have some leverage over his producer. But

then he makes a decision that puts him right in the palm of Merc’s sweaty hand.

Sean and Beverly are forced to work for Sean’s loathsome ex-partner Tim. Helen has put

Tim in charge of “The Opposite of Us”. So Sean and Beverly must endure his utter lack of

humor or talent as they watch him slowly destroy their show.

Carol has been in a tailspin since she walked away from her position at the network.

Unable to find another job, she spends her days at home smoking dope and watching real

estate shows. No amount of urging from Beverly can get her to leave the house. So

Beverly brings her bagels.

 

“EPISODE 502”

Written by David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik

Directed by Jeffrey Klarik

 

LOGLINE:

The video of Matt’s escapade with the girl in the box goes viral.

 

SYNOPSIS:

Matt’s tryst with the Danika, the girl in the box, has gone viral. By the next morning, the

sex tape has already gotten millions of hits. The network is freaking out. No amount of

damage control can contain this. Sponsors are pulling their ads. The FCC is threatening

to take action against “The Box”. And yet it’s Christmas morning for Merc who hopes to

use this as the excuse to get rid of Matt once and for all.

 

At first Matt refuses to accept the gravity of the situation. It’s all his agent and publicist can

do to make him realize his little dalliance may cost him both his job and his reputation.

Matt tries to take matters into his own hands by calling Elliot Salad, the head of the

network, to plead his case. He ends up getting much more than he bargained for.

Meanwhile, life goes on for the rest of the world. Sean and Beverly endure a disastrous

casting session with Tim. And Carol gets stoned with her maid.

 

“EPISODE 503”

Written by David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik

Directed by Jeffrey Klarik

 

LOGLINE:

Matt tries to convince Sean and Beverly to leave “The Opposite of Us” and create his next

show. Carol hits rock bottom. But she finds solace in the most unlikely of places.

 

SYNOPSIS:

Matt is back on top. He’s leveraged his newfound celebrity to get a guaranteed new series

from the network. He tries taking pitches from various writers, but ends up convinced that

his best chance for success is to do another show with Sean and Beverly. The Brits are

reluctant to abandon “The Opposite of Us”, even though they’re still miserable working for

Tim. So Matt continues to woo them. A large stuffed gorilla is involved.

 

Meanwhile, the fallout from Matt’s tryst with the girl from “The Box” isn’t over. He gets a

call from his ex-wife Diane. It seems his two young sons have seen the sex tape on line.

Diane insists that Matt talk about it with his boys. It quickly becomes clear that father-son

chats are not Matt’s strength.

 

Beverly convinces Carol to finally leave her house. After weeks curled up on the sofa,

nursing her depression, watching real estate shows, Carol ventures outside.

Unfortunately, a simple trip to the donut shop ends up being more traumatizing than she

ever could have imagined. Carol is convinced her life is over. However, a misdialed

phone call leads to a life-changing evening.

 

“EPISODE 504”

Written by David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik

Directed by Jeffrey Klarik

 

LONLINE:

Sean and Beverly spend a weekend with Matt at his ranch trying to come up with an idea

for a new show. Gunplay ensues.

 

SYNOPSIS:

Back on the hiking trail for the first time in months, Carol confesses to Beverly that she has

again found happiness in Merc Lapidus’s arms. As appalled as Beverly is, she agrees to

support her friend. Her support is quickly challenged when she discovers that Merc is twotiming

Carol with surgically-enhanced actress Morning Randolph. To make matters worse,

Morning reveals that she and Merc have recently become engaged. Beverly can’t imagine

how she’s going to break this news to Carol. Sean insists that she shouldn’t tell Carol at

all. It can only end badly. As Sean tells Beverly, “There’s a reason ‘hug the messenger’ is

not an expression.”

 

It’s a work weekend for Sean and Beverly. Matt takes them to his ranch to try and come

up with a new series for him. No surprise, having Matt as part of their creative process in

no way makes it easier for the two writers. The weekend quickly devolves into rural chaos,

involving gunplay, horse dung and Matt’s ranch nemesis, a wild boar.

 

“EPISODE 505”

Written by David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik

Directed by Jeffrey Klarik

 

LOGLINE:

Beverly is forced to tell Carol the truth about Merc. Matt also gets some devastating news.

 

SYNOPSIS:

Carol reveals to Beverly that she’s pregnant. Even more significant, she’s planning on

keeping the baby. Beverly now feels she has no choice: she breaks the news to Carol that

Merc is not only sleeping with, but engaged to Morning Randolph. Carol is obviously

distraught, but much of her anger is directed at Beverly for withholding this information for

over a week.

 

Meanwhile, Matt, Sean and Beverly are still struggling to come up with an idea for a new

show. In the midst of their brainstorming, Matt’s phone rings. It’s his father’s girlfriend

calling with news that Matt’s father has just dropped dead while shopping at Target. Matt

is suddenly thrust into a nightmare of logistics, as he — and a reluctant Sean and Beverly

— try to deal with the disposal of his father’s remains. Whatever pain or grief Matt might

be feeling must take a back seat to the enormous hassle of his father’s passing. Death

was never more of a pain in the ass.

 

“EPISODE 506”

Written by David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik

Directed by Jeffrey Klarik

 

LOGLINE:

Sean and Beverly find themselves in an ugly dispute with Matt when he demands a writing

credit on their new show. Carol decides to sue Helen and the network for sexual

harassment.

 

SYNOPSIS:

Sean and Beverly pitch their new show to Helen who buys it on the spot. The celebration

is short-lived when they find out that Matt is demanding a credit as co-creator. Sean and

Beverly refuse to give it to him. They insist he doesn’t deserve it. They came up with the

premise for the show, created the characters, developed the storyline; Matt just supplied

office supplies! Matt is equally incensed when he hears they’re balking. He feels

completely entitled as he was in the room when they came up with it. Also he bought all

the pads and pens! Neither side is willing to give in. The conflict becomes increasingly

fraught, finally coming to a head in a very public way.

 

Even though Carol’s affair with Merc is over, she’s determined to keep the baby. She’s

decided to leave television, move home to Michigan and raise the child on her own. What

will she do for money? She’s suing Helen and the network for sexual harassment.

 

“EPISODE 507”

Written by David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik

Directed by Jeffrey Klarik

 

LOGLINE:

The series finale. After Matt “passes” on the new show that he developed with Sean and

Beverly, the British writers are forced to figure out what lies ahead without him. Carol

purses her lawsuit against Helen and the network with surprising results.

 

SYNOPSIS:

Sean and Beverly have just learned that Matt has passed on the show they created for

him. However, he has offered them no explanation. He refuses to answer their calls or

emails or texts. So Sean and Beverly are forced to go to “The Box” to confront him in

person. When it becomes clear that their show with Matt is truly dead, the two Brits must

figure out what lies ahead for their careers and their lives.

Carol continues to pursue her lawsuit against Helen and the network. But an encounter at

her deposition may take her life in an entirely unexpected direction.