A fourth series of the BBC Two comedy Episodes has been given the green light - with the third one yet to air.

Starring Tamsin Greig as Beverly Lincoln, Stephen Mangan as Sean Lincoln, and Matt LeBlanc as a stylised version of himself, the co-production between the BBC and Showtime - an American TV company - will start shooting next year. As with the second and third series, it will comprise a run of nine episodes.

The show is about British husband-and-wife comedy-writing duo Sean and Beverly who travel to Hollywood to remake their successful British TV series, with disastrous results.

Series three - which sees the couple back together following Beverly's fling with Matt - will begin in the USA on Sunday 12th January. A date for its start on BBC Two is yet to be announced. The second series aired in the UK between 11th May and 6th July 2012.

The BBC One series Sherlock has topped the Radio Times critics' poll of the 40 best TV shows this year.

The listings publication has been gradually revealing the results since Christmas Day, with the final ten announced today. The BBC took six of the top ten places, including Twenty Twelve, starring Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman, and Jessica Hynes, at number three and The Thick Of It, starring Peter Capaldi, at number four. Doctor Who came in at 15, Being Human, starring Lenora Crichlow and Russell Tovey, at 36, and Episodes, starring Tamsin Greig, at 39.

A delighted Steven Moffat, who co-created Sherlock with Mark Gatiss, told Radio Times:


The full list is as follows:

• 1: Sherlock (BBC One)
• 2: Homeland (C4)
• 3: Twenty Twelve (BBC Two)
• 4: The Thick Of It (BBC Two)
• 5: Fresh Meat (C4)
• 6: Borgen (BBC Four)
• 7: The Great British Bake Off (BBC Two)
• 8: Downton Abbey (ITV1)
• 9: The Bridge (BBC Four)
• 10: Girls (Sky Atlantic)
• 11: Line of Duty (BBC Two)
• 12: 56 Up (ITV1)
• 13: The Hollow Crown (BBC Two)
• 14: The Cricklewood Greats (BBC Four)
• 15: Doctor Who (BBC One)
• 16: Alan Partridge: Welcome To The Places Of My Life (Sky Atlantic)
• 17: Grandma's House (BBC Two)
• 18: The Secret History Of Our Streets (BBC Two)
• 19: Murder (BBC Two)
• 20: Veep (Sky Atlantic)
• 21: Peep Show (C4)
• 22: Call The Midwife (BBC One)
• 23: Parade's End (BBC Two)
• 24: Stella (Sky1)
• 25: Tales Of Television Centre (BBC Four)
• 26: Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile (ITV1)
• 27: Moone Boy (Sky1)
• 28: Roger and Val Have Just Got In (BBC Two)
• 29: 24 Hours In A&E (C4)
• 30: Getting On (BBC Four)
• 31: Toast Of London (C4)
• 32: MasterChef: The Professionals (BBC Two)
• 33: She-Wolves: England's Early Queens (BBC Four)
• 34: Accused (BBC One)
• 35: A Mother's Son (ITV1)
• 36: Being Human (BBC Three)
• 37: Mad Men (BBC Four)
• 38: The Killing (BBC Four)
• 39: Episodes (BBC Two)
• 40: A Touch Of Cloth (Sky1)

The votes were cast by the magazine's print and online critics: Alison Graham, David Butcher, Tim Glanfield, Paul Jones, Jack Seale, Patrick Mulkern, Mark Braxton, Gill Crawford, James Gill, Claire Webb, David Crawford, Tom Cole, Susanna Lazarus, Ellie Walker-Arnott, David Brown, and Emma Sturgess.

A third series of the award-winning comedy Episodes has been commissioned by BBC Two.

The show - starring Tamsin Greig as Beverly Lincoln, Stephen Mangan as Sean Lincoln, and Matt LeBlanc as a stylised version of himself - will enter production in London and Los Angeles next year and will again be written by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik. As with the second series, it will comprise nine episodes.

BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said:
Gregor Sharp, executive editor for comedy, said: Series 2, which aired in the UK between 11th May and 6th July 2012, averaged a consolidated audience of 1.1 million (5.17 per cent share).

In January this year, LeBlanc won a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series - Comedy or Musical for the seven-part first series of Episodes, which was shown in the UK from 9th January to 20th February 2011. The programme was nominated for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical but lost out to Modern Family.

The show, which is a Hat Trick/Crane Klarik production for the BBC and Showtime Networks, will be executive-produced by Jimmy Mulville, Crane, Klarik, and Sharp.