'Friends' Finale Won't Plug 'Joey'
NBC will not use the final episode of Friends, which seems certain to attract one of the biggest audiences in history, as a launching pad for the new Matt LeBlanc spinoff Joey, USA Today reported today (Tuesday). "Our first priority now is to end this show in the best and most satisfying way possible," Scott Silveri, who is expected to co-write the series finale with Shana Goldberg-Meehan, told the newspaper. The pair will also be working on the new LeBlanc show. "It has to stand on its own," Goldberg-Meehan told USA Today. "We have to create a world that people want to see. It can't just be reminding you of what you miss about Friends."
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LeBlanc Will Reap 'Joey' Rewards Single-Handedly
Friends star Matt LeBlanc is set to earn big bucks from his character spin-off series, Joey - although none of his former cast mates will be involved. As Joey Tribbiani in the long-running American sitcom, Matt - and his five co- stars - each earn $1 million per episode, but the newlywed actor will receive just $500,000 for the spin-off. However, a deal entitling LeBlanc to a greater share of the show's profits will mean he ends up earning more than before, according to TV network NBC. LeBlanc's Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry will not appear in the new show. Executive producer Kevin Bright says, "It would be a mistake to start looking in that direction. This show needs to stand on its own." No script has yet been written for the spin-off yet, but sources say the show sees Joey move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career, where he will doubtless be joined by a love interest and ensemble cast.
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So Joey and Rachel Will Be Kaput, Huh?
Thursday's official announcement that Matt LeBlanc will star in a spin-off series on NBC next year based on his Joey character in Friends touched off questions by reporters Tuesday about whether it didn't amount to a "spoiler." "Since Jennifer Aniston won't be in the Joey spinoff, doesn't it sort of kill the suspense with the Joey-Rachel romance?" a TV Guide reporter asked NBC's Jeff Zucker. The NBC Entertainment president responded: "You know, we're not going to talk about what's going to happen in the Joey show because I don't want to give away what's going to happen in the final year of Friends. And let's just say we are aware of what the producers are planning in this final season, and without giving anything away, I think that there are still quite a few surprises in store." Asked about initial reports that the new show will be set in Los Angeles rather than New York, the setting of Friends, Zucker replied that although no final decision has been made, "We'd have to explain, if he stayed in New York, where everyone else is. ... The easiest way is to take him out of New York." Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that in order to land LeBlanc for the spin-off (at a reported $500,000 per episode), Warner Bros., which will produce the show, had to agree to star LeBlanc in two feature films.
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A Friend In Deed
NBC has struck a deal with Matt LeBlanc for him to star in Joey, based on his Friends character, beginning in September 2004, USA Today reported today (Thursday). The newspaper said that the deal will be announced today. According to the newspaper, no pilot script has been written, the deal having apparently been struck following a pitch in which it was suggested that the LeBlanc character move to the West Coast to pursue his acting career, where he would be joined by a love interest and an ensemble cast. USA Today also reported that LeBlanc will take a significant pay cut from the $1-million-per-episode salary he now commands for Friends.
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NBC May Spin Off 'Friends' Character Joey
Matt LeBlanc is likely to star in a Friends spinoff based on his Joey Tribbiani character when the long-running sitcom finally fades after next season, published reports said today (Monday). The Hollywood Reporter reported that negotiations are "accelerating" between NBC and Warner Bros. TV on the one hand and LeBlanc on the other. Meanwhile, today's New York Times said that NBC plans to present several all-time-favorite Friends episodes, voted on by viewers, during the coming season, which will consist of only 18 original episodes versus a typical season's 24.

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