It’s good to see Episodes back on the box again for a third series. Stephen Mangan is a terrific comic actor, Tamsin Greig is an all-time favourite and I even quite liked Matt LeBlanc in Friends. For the uninitiated, Episodes follows the transatlantic travails of two award-winning British writers as they get the chance to work in Hollywood on the American version of their hit show – a taste of the changes in store came in the very first episode of season, sorry, series one, when Richard Griffiths, who played the teacher in the UK version Lyman's Boys, was replaced by LeBlanc in the American version, promptly renamed Pucks!

So it’s good to see Episodes back, but also perplexing. The action now seems to focus more than ever on the main characters’ relationships, complete with bed-hopping, betrayal and duplicitous studio executives. The on/off Sean (Mangan) and Beverly (Greig) partnership in particular seems to want to turn into a sparky Spencer Tracey/Katherine Hepburn dynamic, with witty backchat flying between them at every opportunity.

This show is a hybrid from start to finish, unconsciously or maybe consciously reflecting its Anglo-American origins (created by seasoned US writers David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik and produced by UK company Hat Trick, aired on Showtime in America, BBC here – nine episodes, an unusual number for a BBC sitcom). LeBlanc still seems to think he is in Friends at times, every now and again pulling his old Joey face – used to particularly good effect in the first episode of series three when he is hauled up on a drinking/speeding charge and tries to use his dumb lunk charm to get off.

The supporting cast confuses little old me though. There are Americans in it playing Americans, but then there is also Daisy Haggard – last seen in BBC3’s Uncle alongside Nick Helm – as a US exec who pulls a lot of brilliant faces but hardly ever says anything. And then there are the locations, which cut from sun-kissed Hollywood exteriors to designer apartment internal scenes, which may have been filmed in north London (or Windlesham in Surrey according to Wikipedia). It’s amazing what you can do with CGI and a decent internet connection these days. 

But if you can get over the humps in the Episodes road, there is much to enjoy here. It’s obviously not as arch or knowing as W1A, inevitably not as subtle as Curb Your Enthusiasm or as quickfire as Friends. But it’s got Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig in it and I could watch them sitting at a table reading out HTML code all night. Which is lucky, because a fourth series has already been commissioned.

Episodes is on BBC2, 10pm from May 14.