With “Friends” still popular 12 years after the show went off the air, it’s little wonder that former star Matt LeBlanc continues to induce chuckles on the small screen.
After five seasons on Showtime’s “Episodes,” Mr. LeBlanc is thrilled to be back on broadcast network television with the CBS family series “Man With a Plan,” which was recently ordered for a full season. Mr. LeBlanc plays Adam Burns, a contractor who takes on the challenge of extra parenting duties when his wife Andi (Liza Snyder of “Yes, Dear”) goes back to work after 13 years as a stay-at-home mother.
“I wanted to work more, and be a part of something bigger,” Mr. LeBlanc said at the recent Television Critics Press Tour of “Man With a Plan,” for which he also serves as an executive producer, and which has been nominated for People’s Choice Awards.
While “Episodes” was shot with a single camera, “Man With a Plan,” like “Friends,” applies a multicamera format, which Mr. LeBlanc drew him to the new show.
“I like the workweek on a multicam. I have a family and the hours are shorter,” he said. “You rehearse all week, and then you shoot in front of an audience, like a play. It’s like being part of an ensemble theater company.”
Mr. LeBlanc said that both his advancing age and his real-life parenthood have necessarily changed the roles he seeks out.
“I’m older now. And I am a parent, so I wanted to explore what that would be like as a character,” he said of playing Adam, who must care for preteen daughter Kate (Grace Kaufman), middle child Teddy (Matthew McCann) and baby of the brood Emme (Hala Finley) with Andi back on the workforce.
“This is a new character for me,” Mr. LeBlanc, who has a preteen daughter of his own in real life, said. “It’s a whole new side of me.”
While the show is a new experience for Mr. LeBlanc, there are connections to his “Friends” past: CBS Chairman Les Moonves was Warner Bros. Television’s president and CEO when he green-lit the much-loved ’90s series.
“Les developed ’Friends’ a long time ago. It’s great to work with him again indirectly,” the actor said.
And just as the “Friends” cast’s antics at Central Perk were staged before a live audience, “Man With a Plan” is also shot before a studio of laughing fans.
“’Friends’ was an unusually big stage. We had a lot of sets, so the crowd was a bit bigger,” Mr. LeBlanc said. “But all in all, it’s pretty much the same kind of thing. You tell a chronological story, and you have to hold for the laugh. The technique is pretty much the same.”
Former “Friends” castmate Matthew Perry also has a hit on CBS in the revamped version of “The Odd Couple,” now in its third season.
Because the actors’ shows tape one stage away from each other, there has naturally been talk about Mr. LeBlanc doing a crossover guest visit to “The Odd Couple,” but nothing has yet been confirmed.
“I love that guy,” Mr. LeBlanc said, adding that even though he and Mr. Perry still spend much time together, “if I could not see him for five years, and then put me in a room with him, it will be like I saw him yesterday. We still have this shorthand with one another. It’s amazing, really.
“Ten years in a building with no windows, with the door locked, we got to know each other pretty well.”
Away from the “Man With a Plan” set, Mr. LeBlanc will soon take a gig on BBC’s “Top Gear,” and in his downtime, he works on his cattle ranch outside of Santa Barbara, California. Mr. LeBlanc, who comes from a family of carpenters, said the refuge 100 miles north of Los Angeles allows him to be more hands-on versus in his chosen profession.
“To this day I like working on the house, with all my power tools — building and fixing things,” he said. “It’s a relaxing thing for me.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.