OUR PAL JOEY
By Frank DeCaro
When Matt LeBlanc first heard they were going to do a Friends spinoff featuring just his character, Joey, the actor says, "I thought we should call it Where the Hell Is Everybody?"
In fact, NBC didn't go with this title — there isn't one yet. Says LeBlanc, "The only thing I know about it is that I'm in it and the network and the studio [Warner Bros. Television] are really behind it." What we do know: Expectations are running high as the show inherits the coveted Friends 8 pm/ET time slot. It will be produced by Friends executive producers Kevin S. Bright, Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan.
The other Friends are supportive of LeBlanc and his upcoming project. "I think everyone is really thrilled for him," says David Schwimmer (Ross). "We love Matt. I love that I'll be able to enjoy him for months, if not years, to come. He is the spin-off character. He's already asked me to direct a few episodes so I'll still work with him, which I'm psyched about."
Adds Friends cocreator-executive producer Marta Kauffman, "I think Matt is wonderful and brilliant and just so damn funny. I would think if anyone could do it, he could." She adds that she isn't doing the spinoff because she needs a break and "I'm not ready to compete with myself."
But LeBlanc realizes going in what he's up against. "I know [the spinoff's] going to get compared to Friends. Is it going to be as good as Friends? Probably not. Friends was a once-in-a-lifetime. I'll do my best to ensure that it's a really good show. But when Friends is over, Friends is over.
"To all of the people out there who are going to compare it to Friends, please don't. Just bear with me."
For more on the end of Friends, pick up this week's issue of TV Guide magazine on newsstands.