Last episode they talked about the big name movie star who wanted to be in the adaptation of Six Characters in Search of an Author with David Tennant before dropping out to do a movie but they never identified him. This episode has him guest starring.

And it’s Sam Jackson.

As Samuel L. Jackson. Who talks just like it’s still Pulp Fiction. Jackson does enough with the expressions even if the dialogue’s not good. Also the “bitches” use comes off weird in 2020. Tennant has to call up Jackson to tell him he’s out on the play because Michael Sheen’s going to do it now. See, Jackson had the exact same idea as Simon Evans—Simon Evans the “Staged” character not Simon Evans the “Staged” creator (presumably)—do Zoom rehearsals and be ready to open when the lockdown’s over.

Tennant’s going to take care of it for Evans, who’s scared of Jackson, while Michael Sheen is being kept as oblivious as possible.

This episode gives us a scene between Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg where they get to talk about their husbands being kind of silly, pandemic lockdown life, and Georgia’s novel. She’s writing a novel during lockdown. It’s a fun scene, even if it doesn’t pass Bechdel (I don’t remember it passing Bechdel anyway), and the wives look almost identical.

We also get some developments on Sheen’s relationship with his neighbor—he’s now her errand boy due to his attempts to dump recycling in her bins.

There’s a great scene between Evans and Lucy Eaton where they just find a human moment in the lockdown.

And the finale to the episode is absolutely fantastic stuff. Everything from maybe fifteen minutes in to the end is just hilarious.