Matt LeBlanc is coming back to TV with a new series on Showtime. Episodes stars LeBlanc himself. On the show, the fictional Matt LeBlanc is cast in an American remake of a British series a la The Office.

And thought the show is a comedy, it was no laughing matter for LeBlanc to go back to a series full time a nd sacrifice time with his family.

“There was a few network shows that came and went that crossed my desk that I said no to,” LeBlanc said at the Television Critics Association fall press tour. “I just took the time, 12 years [of Friends and Joey] every day was a lot. It was a great time but I wanted to take some time off and spend time with my daughter, just take some time away from the business. It’s nice to be back with writing I have a real faith in, with a cast that’s really talented.”

Episodes is very different from Friends, it is shot more like a movie on a closed set, and definitely has some of the edge that other cable series display.

“It was a little different, this is single camera versus multi-camera. When the punchlines came up and you say the punchline and there’s no crowd laughing it’s a little unnerving. Besides that we had a great time and it shows.”

So how close is the fake Matt to the real Matt? “It’s not really myself I guess. It’s just a character that David [Crane] and Jeffrey [Klarik] wrote that happens to have the same name as me, pretty much. There are some similarities but for the most part it’s a fictitious character,” LeBlanc explained.