January is typically a dead time for film releases, with maybe one or two films that could possibly catch the public eye.

Mostly, this post-holiday winter month grinds out art house movies to be seen nowhere outside of limited urban pockets.

Television, and particularly cable, is ready to step into the breach with plenty of new movies and series. Hey, it’s cold outside, so let’s stay in for some cozy home theater. Having a few laughs is another good idea.

Just in time to sweep away the winter blues is the third season of Showtime’s “Episodes,” a delightfully offbeat comedy series of nine half-hour episodes about the foibles and follies of the television industry.

Right off the bat, if you value precious hours, nine viewings of a full season of “Episodes” is roughly half the extra amount of time necessary to sit through just one screening of “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The cost benefit analysis, to say nothing of sheer entertainment value, tells me that “Episodes” is a much better deal and a lot more fun because anything skewering the pretensions of Hollywood is nearly irresistible.

Coming into the third season requires you only to know a few things. It all began when the married British writing team of Beverly and Sean Lincoln (Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan) were lured to America by slippery network executive Merc Lapidus (John Pankow).

Back home, the Lincolns won critical acclaim for a hit TV series called “Lyman’s Boys” about the headmaster of an elite boarding school. Lapidus wants them to create an American version for the States. What could go wrong?

Not seeing a train wreck coming fast, the clueless Brits are soon mortified that their show is hijacked by fools and turned into an unrecognizable mess called “Pucks!,” the story of a hockey coach working at a boys’ school.

Even worse, they find the star of their new show is Matt LeBlanc, who portrays a twisted version of himself, still cashing in on his fame as Joey on “Friends” and acting very much like an egregiously bad tabloid version of a faded TV star.

Fast forward to Season Three, and the Lincolns have survived trouble in their marriage, namely that in Season Two Beverly succumbed to a sexual interlude with Matt LeBlanc, who proves to be a manipulative cad.

For his part, Sean has always been seduced by the trappings of Hollywood, while Beverly is easily repulsed by the deceit and trickery of the industry. This dynamic sets the stage for continuing conflict, as Beverly is eager to return to Britain after “Pucks!” plunges in the ratings.

Season Three of “Episodes” poses many challenges for its key players. Matt LeBlanc fights for custody of his kids, though his destructive behavior, such as a getting a DUI and sleeping with a stalker, undermines his efforts.

While Sean and Beverly remain aghast at Hollywood’s treatment of their TV show, Matt tries to get “Pucks!” cancelled so that he can selfishly pursue a more lucrative offer at another network.

TV executive Merc Lapidus is unceremoniously dumped from his post, only to be replaced by untested creative talent Castor Soto (Chris Diamantopoulous), who is suffering a dire mental state that may be controlled only if he stays on medications. And that’s a big if.

Meanwhile, Carol Rance (Kathleen Rose Perkins), the second-in-command to Lapidus, with whom she had an affair, remains the second fiddle to Castor Soto, for whom she holds an unrequited crush. Yeah, Hollywood is just like “Peyton Place.”

Oh, it’s even more twisted as Matt has been dating Merc’s blind ex-wife Jamie (Genevieve O’Reilly), a situation made worse when a vindictive Merc steals her valuable paintings, replacing them with graffiti-marked canvases.

As the season moves along, “Pucks!” teeters on the brink of cancellation, not just because Matt would wish it so. At least, this allows Castor a chance to go nuts at a board meeting as he pitches some crazy ideas to fix the network’s programming.

“Episodes” continues to strike the right notes as a wonderful spoof of the television industry, both behind and in front of the camera. The show is so good that Showtime has already announced a return for season four.

While the actors are terrific, good writing has a lot to do with the series’ success. The creative team behind the scenes is David Crane (co-creator of “Friends”) and Jeffrey Klarik (“Mad About You”) knows how the wheels turn in this business.

By the way, you could binge watch the first two seasons in less time than it would take to sit through “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and I think that’s going to be more fun.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.