'Joey' makes new Friends

It's been a miserable year for sit-com fans. First Sex and the City left TV screens for good, followed within weeks by Frasier and, worst of all, Friends.

But help may be at hand with the debut on American television last night of a new series starring one of the most popular characters from Friends. New sit-com Joey sees Matt LeBlanc carry on the role of the lovable but dim-witted Joey Tribbiani, after Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Rachel and Ross left to get married and bring up babies.

With millions of Americans watching the most eagerly anticipated comedy of 2004, the new series began promisingly to the biggest audience of the night and mostly glowing reviews from critics.

It also saw Joey leave New York for Los Angeles where the struggling actor is determined to make it big as a Hollywood star, despite mistakenly flying to Dallas even before the opening credits.

The show's producers hope they can repeat the success of Frasier which took barfly psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane from hit series, Cheers, and transplanted him from Boston to Seattle to create one of the most popular TV characters of all time.

But they also have the dreadful warning of Seinfeld, which broadcast its last episode in 1998. Six years later, the stars of the show, including Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, have flopped in a succession of failed comedies dubbed "The Curse of Seinfeld".

First indications are that Joey will be around for some time. Former Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer have both promised to make guest appearances to boost its appeal.

LeBlanc, who was nominated for an Emmy for Friends, admits that generally spin-off shows don't work, but insists: "This is a whole new show."

He said: "I'm surrounded by people I trust, people I believe in, who are extremely talented. I have no reservations about it."

The series also stars Drea de Matteo as Joey's brash sister Gina. The actress is best known as Adriana, Christopher's girlfriend in the Sopranos until she was whacked for attempting to betray the mob family to the FBI at the end of the last series.