Worried about the Ferns format running dry nine episodes in? Time, then, for a neat reversal and, arguably, the best episode to date, as Carell, wary of Zach’s insults and put-downs, goes on the offensive from the off, while Zach protests his innocence. “I hear the camera adds ten pounds – you must have eaten five cameras,” says Carell. And that’s just the start of an episode that has everything: a trade-off of flaming insults, a classic pratfall, and the heartbreaking sight of Galifianakis crying like a baby.
Best bit: The look of dead-eyed, defiant triumph in Zach’s eyes when Carell finally relents and allows him to insult him. “Like when you go to the beach and people yell ‘shark! Shark!’ and then they just realise it’s Steve Carell doing the backstroke…”