Friend comes around in time finally for early show (7)
I believe the answer is:
matinee
'early show' is the definition.
'friend comes around in time finally' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'mate' (mate is a kind of friend**).
'comes around' indicates putting letters inside.
'finally' indicates one should take the final letters.
The final letter of 'time' is 'e'.
'mate' placed around 'in' is 'matine'.
'matine'+'e'='MATINEE'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for matinee that I've seen before include "Afternoon show" , "Performance held in the afternoon" , "Daytime performance of play etc" , "After lunch, show" , "Afternoon performance (of play etc)" .)