''Friends with Benefits'' (stylized as friends ♥♥ith benefits) is an American romantic

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

television series created by

Scott Neustadter Scott Eric Neustadter (; born 1977) is an American screenwriter and producer. He often works with his writing partner, Michael H. Weber. The two writers are best known for writing the screenplay for the romantic comedy film ''500 Days of Summer' ...

and Michael H. Weber that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from August 5 to September 9, 2011. It was originally set to air on as a

mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a ...

during the 2010–11 television season, but was ultimately delayed until summer. The series ended after twelve episodes aired with the thirteenth being only available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

(until March 31, 2018).

Plot

The series follows a group of friends living in Chicago. It involves a very close friendship between two of the friends, who are each looking for the perfect mate, and the others who question their relationship, but at the same time, have their own romantic problems to deal with.

Cast

Ryan Hansen Ryan Hansen is an American actor, entrepreneur and comedian. He is best known for starring as Dick Casablancas on the noir drama series ''Veronica Mars'' (2004–2019), as Kyle Bradway on the Starz comedy series ''Party Down'' (2009–2010), and ...

as Ben Lewis, an office drone who is in no rush to find the right girl for him. He has been sleeping with his friend, Sara. * Danneel Harris as Sara Maxwell, an

OB/GYN Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

and Ben's closest friend. Unlike Ben, she is desperate to find the right guy. *

Jessica Lucas Jessica Lucas (born September 24, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in television, such as '' Edgemont'', ''Melrose Place'', ''Cult'', and '' Gotham'', and in the films '' The Covenant'', ''Cloverfield'' and the 2013 ''Evi ...

as Riley Elliot, a bartender and Sara's roommate. She is laid-back and lives a very casual love life. *

Zach Cregger Zachary Michael Cregger (born March 1, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and Twitch streamer. He first came to prominence as one of the three founding members, alongside Trevor Moore and Sam Brown, of the New Yo ...

as Aaron Greenway, a rich, nerdy engineer who wants to meet women but has trouble interacting with them. * Andre Holland as Julian 'Fitz' Fitzgerald, Aaron's roommate. He takes it upon himself to help Aaron with women and keep the group on good terms with each other.

Production and development

''Friends with Benefits'' was originally developed for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

with a script order given by the network in September 2009. However, the network did not

green-light To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...

a pilot for the potential series, allowing

to pick up the project. For the pilot episode,

Fran Kranz Francis Elliott Kranz (born July 13, 1981) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his portrayal of Topher Brink in the science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse''. He had prominent roles in the films ''The Cabin in the Woods'' and ...

was originally cast as Aaron, and Ian Reed Kesler portrayed Hoon (another version of Fitz). The series was officially picked up on May 16, 2010.

Episodes

All episode titles (apart from the pilot episode) begin with the phrase "The Benefit of..."

Nielson Ratings

The shows first episode had a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 2.34 million total viewers. As the series progressed it declined to a rating of 0.5 with 1.54 million viewers.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Friends With Benefits (Tv Series) 2010s American single-camera sitcoms 2011 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows set in Chicago 2010s American romantic comedy television series 2010s American sex comedy television series Television series by Imagine Entertainment