''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by
David Crane and
Marta Kauffman
Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' with her longtime friend, David Crane. Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive pr ...
, which aired on
NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting
ten seasons. With an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
starring
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
,
Courteney Cox,
Lisa Kudrow,
Matt LeBlanc,
Matthew Perry and
David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six friends in their 20s and 30s who live in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York City. The series was produced by
Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with
Warner Bros. Television. The original executive producers were
Kevin S. Bright
Kevin S. Bright (born November 15, 1954) is an American television executive producer and director whose credits include '' Dream On'' and '' Friends''.
Early life
Born to a Jewish-American family in New York City, Bright attended the East Sid ...
, Kauffman, and Crane.
Kauffman and Crane began developing ''Friends'' under the
working title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
''Insomnia Cafe'' between November and December 1993. They presented the idea to Bright, and together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the show to NBC. After several script rewrites and changes, including title changes to ''Six of One'' and ''Friends Like Us'', the series was finally named ''Friends''.
Filming took place at
Warner Bros. Studios
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
. The show ranked within the top ten of the final
television season ratings; it ultimately reached the number-one spot in its
eighth season. The
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
aired on May 6, 2004, and was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth-most-watched series finale in television history
and the most-watched television episode of the 2000s.
''Friends'' received acclaim throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time.
The series was nominated for 62
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
s, winning the
Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season. The show ranked no. 21 on
''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time,
and no. 5 on ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
In 1997, the episode "
The One with the Prom Video
"The One with the Prom Video" is the fourteenth episode of the second season, and the 38th episode overall, of the American television situation comedy ''Friends'', which first aired on NBC on February 1, 1996. The episode focuses on the main char ...
" was ranked 100 on
''TV Guide''s 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2013, ''Friends'' ranked no. 24 on the
Writers Guild of America's 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time,
and no. 28 on ''TV Guide''s 60 Best TV Series of All Time. The sitcom's cast members returned for a
reunion special aired on
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
on May 27, 2021.
Premise
Rachel Green
Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom ''Friends''. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and appeared in all of t ...
(
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
), a sheltered but friendly woman, flees her wedding day and wealthy yet unfulfilling life and finds childhood friend
Monica Geller
Monica E. Geller is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appears on the American sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and portrayed by actress Courteney Cox, Monica appears in all of ...
(
Courteney Cox), a tightly wound but caring chef. Rachel becomes a waitress at
West Village coffee house Central Perk after she moves into Monica's apartment above Central Perk and joins Monica's group of single friends in their mid-20s: previous roommate
Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American sitcom, ''Friends''. She is created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow.
In the series' universe, Phoebe was born on February 16 and is the d ...
(
Lisa Kudrow), an eccentric
masseuse and musician; neighbor
Joey Tribbiani (
Matt LeBlanc), a dim-witted yet loyal struggling actor and womanizer; Joey's roommate
Chandler Bing (
Matthew Perry), a sarcastic, self-deprecating data processor; and Monica's older brother and Chandler's college roommate
Ross Geller (
David Schwimmer), a sweet-natured but insecure
paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
.
Episodes depict the friends' comedic and romantic adventures and career issues, such as Joey auditioning for roles or Rachel seeking jobs in the fashion industry. The six characters each have many dates and serious relationships, such as Monica with
Richard Burke (
Tom Selleck
Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...
) and Ross with
Emily Waltham
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
(
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale (born 7 June 1970) is an English actress of stage and television, known for her roles as Rachel Bradley in the British comedy drama '' Cold Feet'' (1997–2003), and Emily Waltham in the American sitcom '' Friends'' (19 ...
). Ross and Rachel's intermittent relationship is the most often-recurring storyline. During the ten seasons of the show, they repeatedly date and break up.
Over the course of the series, Ross briefly marries Emily, Ross and Rachel have a child together after a
one-night stand, Chandler and Monica date and marry each other, and Phoebe marries
Mike Hannigan
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
(
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
). Other frequently recurring characters include Ross and Monica's parents
Jack and Judy Geller
Various characters appeared in the sitcom ''Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer A ...
(
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s.
Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...
and
Christina Pickles
Christina Pickles (born 17 February 1935) is a British-American actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the NBC medical drama '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Em ...
) from
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
; Ross's ex-wife
Carol Willick
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
(
Jane Sibbett
Jane Moore Sibbett is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Heddy Newman on the Fox television series ''Herman's Head'' and Carol Willick on the television series ''Friends''.
Early life
Sibbett was born in Berkeley, California, th ...
), their son
Ben Geller
Various characters appeared in the sitcom ''Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
(
Cole Sprouse), and Carol's lesbian partner
Susan Bunch
Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...
(
Jessica Hecht); Central Perk barista
Gunther
Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther ( gmh, Gunther) or Gunnar ( non, Gunnarr), was a historical king of Burgundy in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they ...
(
James Michael Tyler
James Michael Tyler (May 28, 1962 – October 24, 2021) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Gunther on the NBC sitcom '' Friends''. Prior to acting, he was an assistant film editor and production assistant. His early works in ...
); Chandler's extremely annoying and obnoxious but good-natured ex-girlfriend
Janice Goralnik
Various characters appeared in the sitcom ''Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
(
Maggie Wheeler); and Phoebe's
evil twin sister
Ursula (also played by Kudrow).
Cast and characters
File:Jennifer Aniston 08.jpg, alt=Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
as
Rachel Green
Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom ''Friends''. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and appeared in all of t ...
File:CourteneyCoxFeb09.jpg, alt=Courteney Cox, Courteney Cox as
Monica Geller
Monica E. Geller is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appears on the American sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and portrayed by actress Courteney Cox, Monica appears in all of ...
File:Lisa Kudrow crop.jpg, alt=Lisa Kudrow, Lisa Kudrow as
Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American sitcom, ''Friends''. She is created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow.
In the series' universe, Phoebe was born on February 16 and is the d ...
File:Matt LeBlanc, Arqiva British Academy Television Awards, 2013.jpg, alt=Matt LeBlanc, Matt LeBlanc as
Joey Tribbiani
File:Matthew Perry 2013.jpg, alt=Matthew Perry, Matthew Perry as
Chandler Bing
File:David Schwimmer (5208598833).jpg, alt=David Schwimmer, David Schwimmer as
Ross Geller
*
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
as
Rachel Green
Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom ''Friends''. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and appeared in all of t ...
:
A fashion enthusiast and Monica Geller's best friend from childhood. Rachel first
moves in with Monica in
season one Season One may refer to:
Albums
* ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004
* ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012
* ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012
See also
*
*
* Season 2 (disambiguation)
* Season 4 (disambiguat ...
after nearly marrying
Barry Farber. Rachel and Ross Geller are later involved in an
on-again, off-again relationship throughout the series. Rachel dates other men during the series, such as Italian neighbor,
Paolo
Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Paolo
Art
*Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter
*Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American s ...
, in season one; Joshua Bergin, a client from
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...
, in
season four
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
;
Tag Jones, her assistant, in
season seven; and Joey Tribbiani, one of her close friends, in
season ten. Rachel's first job is as a waitress at the coffee house Central Perk, but she later becomes an assistant buyer at
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...
in
season three, and a buyer at
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...
in
season five
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
. Rachel and Ross have a daughter named Emma in "
The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two
The eighth season of '' Friends'', an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 27, 2001. ''Friends'' was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television ...
" at the end of
season eight. In
the final episode of the series, Ross and Rachel confess their love for each other, and Rachel gives up a dream fashion job at
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...
in Paris to be with him. It is heavily implied in the spin-off series, ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
'', that Rachel married Ross after the series finale.
*
Courteney Cox as
Monica Geller
Monica E. Geller is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appears on the American sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and portrayed by actress Courteney Cox, Monica appears in all of ...
:
The "mother hen" of the group and a chef, known for her
perfectionist, bossy, competitive, and
obsessive-compulsive nature. Monica was
overweight
Being overweight or fat is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is especially common where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary.
, excess weight reached epidemic proportions globally, with mo ...
as a child. She works as a chef in various restaurants throughout the show. Monica's first serious relationship is with a long-time family friend
Richard Burke, who is twenty-one years her senior. The two maintain a strong relationship for some time until Richard expresses that he does not want to have children. Monica and Chandler, one of her best friends, later start a relationship after spending a night with each other in London in the
season four finale, leading to
their marriage in
season seven and the
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
of
twins at
the end of the series.
*
Lisa Kudrow as
Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American sitcom, ''Friends''. She is created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow.
In the series' universe, Phoebe was born on February 16 and is the d ...
:
A
masseuse and
self-taught
Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...
musician. As a child, Phoebe lived in
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
with her mother, until her mother committed suicide and Phoebe took to the streets. She
writes and sings her own strange songs, accompanying herself on the guitar. She has an
identical twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
named
Ursula, who shares few of Phoebe's traits. Phoebe has three serious relationships over the show's run: David, a scientist, in
season one Season One may refer to:
Albums
* ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004
* ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012
* ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012
See also
*
*
* Season 2 (disambiguation)
* Season 4 (disambiguat ...
, with whom she breaks up when he moves to
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
on a research
grant; Gary, a police officer whose badge she finds, in
season five
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
; and an
on-and-off relationship
An on-again, off-again relationship (also known as an on–off or off–on relationship) is a form of personal relationship between two persons who keep breaking up only to reconcile afterwards, thus repeating a cycle.
Researcher Kale Monk, an a ...
with
Mike Hannigan
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
in
seasons nine and
ten
Ten, TEN or 10 may refer to:
* 10, an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11
* one of the years 10 BC, AD 10, 1910 and 2010
* October, the tenth month of the year
Places
* Mount Ten, in Vietnam
* Tongren Fenghuang Airport (IATA code ...
. In season nine, Phoebe and Mike break up due to his desire not to marry. David returns from Minsk, leading to the two getting back together, but she eventually rejects him for Mike when both of them propose to her. Phoebe and Mike marry in season ten.
*
Matt LeBlanc as
Joey Tribbiani:
A struggling actor and food lover who becomes famous for his role on soap opera ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey has many short-term girlfriends. Despite his womanizing, Joey is innocent, caring, and well-intentioned. Joey often uses the catchphrase pick-up line "How you doin'?" in his attempts to win over most of the women he meets. Joey rooms with his best friend Chandler for years, and later with Rachel. He falls in love with Rachel in season eight, but Rachel politely tells Joey that she does not share his feelings. They eventually date briefly in season ten, but after realizing it will not work due to their friendship and Rachel's complicated relationship with Ross, they return to being friends. At the end of the series, he is the only remaining single member of the group, and becomes the main protagonist of the sequel series ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
''.
*
Matthew Perry as
Chandler Bing:
An executive in
statistical analysis
Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying distribution of probability.Upton, G., Cook, I. (2008) ''Oxford Dictionary of Statistics'', OUP. . Inferential statistical analysis infers propertie ...
and data reconfiguration for a large,
multinational corporation
A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
. Chandler hates this job, although it pays well. He attempts to quit during season one but is lured back with a new office and a pay raise. He eventually quits this job in season nine due to a transfer to
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
. He becomes a junior
copywriter
Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...
at an
advertising agency
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
later that season. Chandler has a peculiar family history being the son of an erotic novelist mother and a gay,
cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself.
Cross-dressing has play ...
Las Vegas star father. Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor and bad luck in relationships. Chandler marries Monica, one of his best friends, in season seven, and they adopt twins at the end of the series. Before his relationship with Monica, Chandler dated
Janice Hosenstein
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
in season one and subsequently broke up with her many times.
*
David Schwimmer as
Ross Geller:
Monica's "geeky" older brother, a
palaeontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
working at the
Museum of Natural History
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
, and later a tenured professor of palaeontology at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. Ross is involved in an
on-again, off-again relationship with Rachel throughout the series. He has three failed marriages during the series:
Carol Willick
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
, a lesbian who is also the mother of his son,
Ben Geller
Various characters appeared in the sitcom ''Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
;
Emily Waltham
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
, who divorces him after he accidentally says Rachel's name instead of hers during their wedding vows; and Rachel, as the two drunkenly marry in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. His divorces become a running joke within the series. Following a one-night stand, he and Rachel have a daughter, Emma, by the end of season eight. They finally confess that they are still in love with each other in the
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
. It is heavily implied in the spin-off series, ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
'', that Ross married Rachel after the series finale.
James Michael Tyler
James Michael Tyler (May 28, 1962 – October 24, 2021) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Gunther on the NBC sitcom '' Friends''. Prior to acting, he was an assistant film editor and production assistant. His early works in ...
appears as
Gunther
Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther ( gmh, Gunther) or Gunnar ( non, Gunnarr), was a historical king of Burgundy in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they ...
, a
barista
A barista (; ; from the Italian/Spanish for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.
Etymology and inflection
The word ''barista'' comes from Italian where it means a male ...
at Central Perk, in every season of the show, but is only ever credited as a
guest star
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
. Gunther has a mostly secret profound love for Rachel throughout the entire series. At one point he becomes the manager of the coffee house. It is revealed that Gunther speaks
Dutch in addition to English, as well as being a former soap opera actor.
In their original contracts for the first season, cast members were paid $22,500 per episode.
The cast members received different salaries in the second season, beginning from the $20,000 range to $40,000 per episode.
Before their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros.' preference for individual deals. The actors were given the salary of the least paid cast member. The stars were paid $75,000 per episode in season three, $85,000 in season four, $100,000 in season five, $125,000 in season six, $750,000 in seasons seven and eight, and $1 million in seasons nine and ten, making Aniston, Cox, and Kudrow the highest-paid TV actresses of all time.
The cast also received syndication royalties beginning in 2000 after renegotiations. At the time, that financial benefit of a piece of the show's lucrative back-end profits had only been given out to stars who had ownership rights in a show, like
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...
and
Bill Cosby.
Series creator David Crane wanted all six actors to be equally prominent,
and the series was lauded as being "the first true '
ensemble
Ensemble may refer to:
Art
* Architectural ensemble
* ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album
* Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary
* Ensemble cast (drama, comedy)
* Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus
* ''En ...
' show."
The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate;
they entered themselves in the same acting categories for awards,
opted for collective salary negotiations,
and asked to appear together on magazine cover photos in the first season.
The cast members also became best friends off-screen,
so much so that recurring guest star
Tom Selleck
Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...
reported that he sometimes felt left out.
The cast remained good friends after the series run, most notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and
David Arquette's daughter, Coco. In the official farewell commemorative book ''
Friends 'Til the End
''Friends 'Til the End'' is a 1997 television film directed by Jack Bender. It was originally broadcast January 20, 1997, on NBC.
Plot
Heather Romley (Shannen Doherty) and Suzanne Boxer (Jennifer Blanc) are both singers who have been competing a ...
'', each separately acknowledged in interviews that the cast had become their family.
Season synopsis
Season 1
The first season introduces the six main characters who live in New York City: Rachel Green, a waitress; professional chef Monica Geller; her paleontologist brother, Ross Geller; free-spirited masseuse Phoebe Buffay; struggling actor Joey Tribbiani, and Ross's college friend, Chandler Bing, whose precise occupation at a corporation is unknown. Rachel arrives at Central Perk, wearing her wedding dress, after leaving her fiancé,
Barry Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
, an orthodontist, at the altar. She moves into her high school friend Monica's apartment, and gets a waitress job at Central Perk.
Ross, who has had a crush on Rachel since high school, often attempts to declare his feelings for her. However many obstacles stand in his way, including his insecurities, Rachel dating an Italian neighbour named Paolo, and the fact that he is expecting a baby with his lesbian ex-wife, Carol, who gives birth to Ben later in the season. Joey never has a steady girlfriend and constantly sleeps with a variety of women. Phoebe is rather quirky and eccentric, mostly due to her mother's suicide when Phoebe was a child and having lived on the streets for a time. However, the gang loves her regardless.
Chandler breaks up with his girlfriend, Janice (
Maggie Wheeler), only to find himself reconnecting with her throughout the series. Near the end of the season, while Ross is at a paleontology dig in China, Chandler accidentally lets slip that Ross loves Rachel, who then realizes that she also cares for him. The season ends with Rachel waiting at the airport for Ross, who is returning from China.
Season 2
Rachel greets Ross at the airport only to discover that he has returned with Julie (
Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. Her roles include Lena St. Clair in '' The Joy Luck Club'', Julie in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', Dot in the final season of ''Grace Under Fire'', and the voices for Amy Wong in ''Futurama'' ...
), someone he knew from graduate school. Rachel's attempts to tell Ross that she loves him initially mirror his failed attempts in the first season. After he breaks up with Julie for Rachel, friction between them develops when Rachel discovers Ross's list of the cons of dating her. They eventually begin a relationship after Rachel sees an old home video from her and Monica's prom night and realizes Ross was going to stand in for her prom date who nearly stood her up.
Monica is promoted to head chef at the Iridium restaurant, then gets fired for accepting gifts from a supplier, which is against company policy. Needing money, she is forced to take an embarrassing job as a waitress at a 1950s-style diner. She begins dating Richard Burke (
Tom Selleck
Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...
), a recently divorced family friend who is 21 years her senior. They eventually break up when Monica realizes that Richard, already a father, does not want more children. Joey is cast in a fictional version of the soap opera, ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' as neurosurgeon Dr. Drake Ramoray. He moves out of his and Chandler's apartment, forcing Chandler to get a new roommate, Eddie (
Adam Goldberg).
However, Eddie is annoying and somewhat deranged. When Joey claims in a soap opera magazine interview that he writes many of his own lines, offending the show's writer, his character is killed off. No longer able to afford his expensive new apartment, Joey moves back in with Chandler, kicking Eddie out in the process. In the season finale, Chandler talks to an anonymous woman in an online chat room. When they agree to meet in person, the woman turns out to be Janice.
Season 3
Season 3 takes on a significantly more serialized format. Chandler and Janice date for several episodes until Joey catches Janice kissing her soon-to-be ex-husband. Not wanting to destroy her family, Chandler urges Janice to go back to her husband, then becomes depressed over the breakup for several episodes. Rachel quits her job at Central Perk and begins working at
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...
, an upscale department store chain. Ross soon becomes jealous of her colleague Mark and frustrated by Rachel's long work hours. She is tired of his constant jealousy and insecurity, and decides they need a relationship break.
Ross, hurt and somewhat drunk, immediately sleeps with Chloe, "the hot girl from the Xerox place," causing Rachel to break up with him completely. Although Phoebe initially believes she has no family except her twin sister Ursula (
Lisa Kudrow), she learns she has a half-brother, Frank Jr. (
Giovanni Ribisi
Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), ''Ted'' (2012) and its sequel ''Ted 2'' (201 ...
) and discovers her birth mother, Phoebe Abbott (
Teri Garr) over the course of the season. Joey falls in love with his acting partner Kate (
Dina Meyer), but is jealous of her dating the director of their play. They begin a brief relationship that ends when she takes an acting job in Los Angeles.
Monica dates millionaire Pete Becker (
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
), despite her initially not being attracted to him. However, she breaks up with Pete after he is seriously hurt trying to become the
Ultimate Fighting Champion
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
and refuses to quit. Phoebe sets Ross up on a date with her friend, Bonnie (
Christine Taylor
Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', ''The Wedding Singer'', ''Z ...
), inciting Rachel's jealousy. She tries sabotaging the relationship by coercing Bonnie to shave her head bald, and eventually admits to Ross that she still has feelings for him. The season closes with Ross having to choose between Rachel and Bonnie.
Season 4
In the season 4 premiere, after Ross breaks up with Bonnie, he and Rachel briefly reconcile after Ross pretends to read a long letter that Rachel wrote for him. However, Ross continues to insist that the two were on a break when he slept with Chloe, so they break up again. Joey dates Kathy (
Paget Brewster), a girl that Chandler has a crush on. Kathy and Chandler later kiss, which causes drama between Chandler and Joey. Joey only forgives Chandler and allows him to date Kathy after Chandler spends Thanksgiving in a box as punishment.
Chandler's relationship with Kathy ends after he discovers that she cheated on him due to an argument. Phoebe loses her job as a masseuse after making out with one of her clients and she accompanies Monica, who has become a caterer for hire. They soon start a catering business together but Monica, after negatively reviewing a restaurant, Allesandro's, is offered the position of head chef. Despite initially being pressured by the wrath of her co-workers, Monica eventually asserts her dominance in the kitchen. Phoebe becomes a
surrogate
A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to:
Relationships
* Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...
for her brother and his wife, Alice (
Debra Jo Rupp
Debra Jo Rupp (born February 24, 1951) is an American actress best known for her roles as Kitty Forman on the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'' and its sequel series ''That '90s Show'', and Alice Knight-Buffay on the third through fifth seasons of ...
).
Monica and Rachel are forced to switch apartments with Joey and Chandler after losing a bet during a quiz game, but manage to switch back by bribing them with
Knicks season tickets and a one-minute kiss (off-screen) between each other. After her boss dies, Rachel is demoted to personal shopping and meets and later dates a customer named Joshua (
Tate Donovan). Ross begins dating an English woman named Emily (
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale (born 7 June 1970) is an English actress of stage and television, known for her roles as Rachel Bradley in the British comedy drama '' Cold Feet'' (1997–2003), and Emily Waltham in the American sitcom '' Friends'' (19 ...
), and they quickly get engaged. Rachel struggles to cope and hastily suggests to Joshua that they marry, after which he rejects her. In the
season finale
A season finale (British English: last in the series; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will try to ...
, the group, apart from a heavily pregnant Phoebe and Rachel, travel to Ross and Emily's wedding in London. Chandler and Monica sleep together, and Rachel, realizing that she is still in love with Ross, rushes to London to stop Ross and Emily's wedding, but changes her mind when she sees them happy together. While saying his vows, Ross accidentally says Rachel's name at the altar, shocking his bride and the guests.
Season 5
Ross and Emily marry, but an angry and humiliated Emily flees the reception. Rachel soon admits her love for Ross, but realizing how ridiculous this is, advises him to work on his marriage to Emily. She develops a crush on her neighbor Danny and they date briefly, until she realizes that he is too close with his sister. Monica and Chandler try to keep their new relationship a secret from their friends. Phoebe gives birth to triplets in the show's 100th episode. She gives birth to a boy, Frank Jr. Jr., and two girls, Leslie and Chandler, the latter of whom was supposed to be a boy, but was later revealed to be a girl.
After weeks of trying to contact her, Emily agrees to reconcile with Ross and move to New York if he breaks off all communication with Rachel. Ross agrees, but later attends a dinner with all his friends, Rachel included. Emily phones Ross, discovers Rachel is there, realizes she does not trust him and ends their marriage. Ross takes out his anger at work, resulting in him being indefinitely suspended from the museum, and he moves in with Chandler and Joey until eventually getting a new apartment across the street from them.
Rachel gets a new job at Ralph Lauren. Phoebe has a brief relationship with a police officer, Gary (
Michael Rapaport), after finding his badge and using it as her own. Monica and Chandler go public with their relationship, to the surprise and delight of their friends. They decide to get married on a trip to Las Vegas, but change their plans after witnessing Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumbling out of the wedding chapel.
Season 6
In the season 6 premiere, Ross and Rachel's marriage turns out to be a drunken mistake that neither remembers until the other friends mention it. Ross promises Rachel he will get them an annulment, then secretly does nothing because he cannot face having three failed marriages. By the time Rachel discovers they are still married, an annulment is impossible due to their history; they are forced to get a divorce. After ignoring the numerous signs that they should get married, Monica and Chandler decide to live together, forcing Rachel to move in with Phoebe. Joey gets a new roommate, Janine (
Elle Macpherson).
They develop feelings for each other and date briefly until Janine criticizes Monica and Chandler, ending the relationship. After Janine moves out, Joey struggles with paying his bills so he takes a job at Central Perk. He soon lands a role on a cable TV series called ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.'', starring alongside a crime-fighting robot. Ross gets a teaching job at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. He dates Elizabeth (
Alexandra Holden), a student, despite it being against university policy. Elizabeth's father, Paul (
Bruce Willis), disapproves of Ross but falls for Rachel, and they start dating.
Both relationships soon end: Elizabeth is too immature for Ross, and previously reserved Paul opens up emotionally and is more than Rachel can handle. Phoebe and Rachel's apartment catches fire, and Rachel moves in with Joey, while Phoebe stays with Chandler and Monica, though they later switch. While at a museum that has a two-year wait for weddings, Monica puts her name on the reservation list as a joke. When Chandler intercepts the museum's phone call about a cancellation, he panics; however, Chandler has been planning to propose while pretending he may never want to marry.
While dining at a fancy restaurant, Chandler's planned proposal is subverted by Monica's ex-boyfriend Richard Burke, who unexpectedly shows up. Richard later tells Monica he wants to marry her and have children. Monica becomes upset at Chandler, believing his ruse about not wanting to marry. Chandler believes Monica has left him until he comes home to find their apartment decorated with candles and her waiting to propose to him. When she becomes too emotional to continue, Chandler proposes and she accepts.
Season 7
The seventh season mainly follows Monica and Chandler as they plan their wedding amid various problems. Joey's television series, ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E'' is canceled, but he is offered his old role on ''Days of Our Lives''; the show is
retconned with the revelation that Dr. Drake Ramoray has been in a four-year coma and is revived with a brain transplant from another character. Phoebe's repaired apartment now has one large bedroom instead of the original two, so Rachel permanently stays at Joey's. Rachel is promoted at Ralph Lauren and impulsively hires a young assistant, Tag Jones (
Eddie Cahill
Edmund Patrick Cahill (born January 15, 1978) is an American actor known for portraying "Miracle on Ice" goalie Jim Craig in the 2004 film ''Miracle'', and for playing the roles of Tag Jones in ''Friends'' and Detective Don Flack in ''CSI: NY.' ...
), based on his looks, passing over a more qualified woman. Tag discovers her feelings about him at Thanksgiving dinner, and they begin dating, hiding it from co-workers. However, on her 30th birthday, Rachel ends their relationship, realizing Tag is too young and immature, particularly if she intends to follow her marriage schedule.
Hours before Monica and Chandler's wedding ceremony, Chandler panics and goes into hiding just as Phoebe and Rachel find a positive pregnancy test in Monica and Chandler's bathroom. They assume Monica is pregnant. Ross and Phoebe find Chandler and convince him to return for the ceremony, though he briefly bolts again after overhearing Phoebe and Rachel discussing the pregnancy test. He quickly returns, embracing the idea of fatherhood. After the ceremony, Monica denies she is pregnant; unbeknown to everyone, the positive pregnancy test is Rachel's.
Season 8
Season 8 begins at Monica and Chandler's wedding reception. Phoebe and Monica discover Rachel's pregnancy and persuade her to take another test to confirm it. Phoebe initially claims the test is negative, badly disappointing Rachel, then reveals it is positive, saying Rachel now knows how she really feels about having a baby. Ross is eventually revealed to be the father, and the season revolves around Rachel's pregnancy. Rachel and Ross agree to be co-parents without resuming their romantic relationship; Ross begins dating Mona (
Bonnie Somerville), who is Monica's co-worker from Allesandro's.
Joey takes Rachel out to quell her fears about motherhood, and realizes he has romantic feelings for her. While suppressing his feelings, he encourages Rachel to stay at Ross's apartment so he can be involved in the pregnancy. The arrangement is too much for Mona, and she breaks up with Ross. Joey tells Ross about his feelings for Rachel. Ross initially is angry, then gives his blessing. Joey tells Rachel that he loves her, but she realizes she does not feel the same way, and they remain friends. When Rachel goes into labor, Ross's mother gives him a family heirloom ring and encourages him to propose to Rachel. Ross hesitates, and puts the ring in his jacket, which he later leaves in Rachel's room.
After Monica jokes about having kids, she and Chandler decide to have a baby, starting while they are still at the hospital. After a prolonged labor, during which numerous other expectant mothers, including Janice, are taken to the delivery room, Rachel gives birth to baby Emma. She is left saddened and afraid after Janice later says that Ross may not always be there for her and the baby. When Joey comforts Rachel, the ring falls from Ross's jacket to the floor. Joey kneels to pick it up, and Rachel, believing he is proposing, impulsively says yes. Meanwhile, Ross intends to ask Rachel if she wants to resume their relationship.
Season 9
Season nine begins with Ross and Rachel cohabitating with their daughter Emma, after Joey and Rachel clear up the proposal misunderstanding. Monica and Chandler run into obstacles as they try for a baby: Chandler unknowingly agrees to a work transfer to Tulsa just as Monica is offered a head chef job at a new restaurant, Javu, resulting in Chandler commuting back and forth. After being apart from Monica during Christmas, Chandler quits to pursue a new career in advertising, starting as an unpaid intern at an ad agency, and eventually being hired as a junior copywriter. Monica and Chandler discover they are physically incompatible to conceive and after considering multiple options, decide to adopt.
Phoebe begins dating Mike Hannigan (
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
) for most of the season until Mike says that he never wants to marry again. Phoebe dates her ex-boyfriend from season 1, David (
Hank Azaria) who plans on proposing to her, but Mike proposes first. Phoebe rejects both proposals but gets back together with Mike, only needing the reassurance that they have a future together. Rachel, believing that her co-worker Gavin (
Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...
) is trying to steal her job while she is on maternity leave, returns to Ralph Lauren early. She discovers at her birthday party that Gavin has feelings for her. They kiss but do not pursue a relationship due to her history with Ross.
Meanwhile, Ross, having seen the kiss, retaliates by dating other women. After realizing that her and Ross's living situation is too weird, Rachel and Emma move in with Joey. Rachel develops a crush on him, only to be disheartened when he starts dating Charlie (
Aisha Tyler), a new paleontology professor who Ross is attracted to. In the finale, the group travels to
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
for Ross's keynote speech at a conference. Joey and Charlie break up upon realizing they have nothing in common. Joey then learns about Rachel's feelings for him, but says they cannot pursue this because of Ross. However, upon seeing Ross and Charlie kiss each other, he goes to Rachel's hotel room, and the finale ends with them kissing.
Season 10
The tenth season brings several long-running story lines to a close. Joey and Rachel try to contend with Ross's feelings about their relationship, and after disastrous attempts to consummate, decide it is best they remain friends. Charlie breaks up with Ross to get back together with her ex-boyfriend. Mid-season, Joey officiates Phoebe and Mike's wedding outside the Central Perk coffee house after a snow storm paralyzes the city, preventing them and guests getting to the wedding venue. Monica and Chandler are chosen by a pregnant woman named Erica (
Anna Faris
Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number o ...
) to adopt her baby.
Following this, Monica and Chandler prepare to move to a house in the suburbs to raise their family, saddening everyone, particularly Joey, who is coping with all the changes in his life. In the series finale, Erica gives birth to fraternal twins, much to Monica and Chandler's surprise. Rachel is fired from Ralph Lauren after her boss overhears her interviewing for a job at Gucci. She encounters her former Bloomingdale co-worker Mark, who offers her a new job at Louis Vuitton in Paris. Ross, believing Rachel wants to stay, tries bribing Mr. Zelner to rehire her until he realizes Rachel wants to go to Paris. When Rachel says a tearful personal goodbye to everyone except Ross at her going away party, a hurt and angry Ross confronts Rachel, and they end up sleeping together.
Rachel leaves, and Ross – realizing how much he loves Rachel – chases her to the airport. When he reaches her, Rachel says she has to go to Paris. Before the plane takes off, Rachel calls Ross's home phone and leaves a voice mail, apologizing for the way it ended. While speaking, she realizes that she loves him too, and gets off the plane at the last minute. The series ends with all the friends, plus Monica and Chandler's new babies, leaving the empty apartment together for a final cup of coffee at Central Perk. The show ends first with a shot of everyone's keys to Monica and Chandler's apartment left on the counter top, and then pans to a shot of the apartment's purple door.
Production
Conception
David Crane and
Marta Kauffman
Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' with her longtime friend, David Crane. Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive pr ...
began developing three new television pilots that would premiere in 1994 after their sitcom ''
Family Album Family album may refer to:
* A photo album containing family photographs
Literature
* ''Family Album'' (novel), a 1985 novel by Danielle Steel
* ''Family Album'' (play) a 1935 short play by Noël Coward
Music
* ''Family Album'' (David Allan ...
'' was cancelled by CBS in 1993. Kauffman and Crane decided to pitch the series about "six people in their 20s making their way in Manhattan" to NBC since they thought it would fit best there.
[Kolbert, Elizabeth (March 8, 1994)]
"Birth of a TV Show: A Drama All Its Own"
. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on January 19, 2008. Crane and Kauffman presented the idea to their production partner
Kevin Bright
Kevin S. Bright (born November 15, 1954) is an American television executive producer and director whose credits include '' Dream On'' and '' Friends''.
Early life
Born to a Jewish-American family in New York City, Bright attended the East Sid ...
, who had served as executive producer on their
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
Dream On''. The idea for the series was conceived when Crane and Kauffman began thinking about the time when they had finished college and started living by themselves in New York; Kauffman believed they were looking at a time when the future was "more of a question mark."
They found the concept to be interesting, as they believed "everybody knows that feeling",
and because it was also how they felt about their own lives at the time.
The team titled the series ''Insomnia Cafe'' and pitched the idea as a seven-page treatment to NBC in December 1993.
At the same time,
Warren Littlefield, the then-president of
NBC Entertainment, was seeking a comedy involving young people living together and sharing expenses. Littlefield wanted the group to share memorable periods of their lives with friends, who had become "new, surrogate family members."
However, Littlefield found difficulty in bringing the concept to life and found the scripts developed by NBC to be terrible. When Kauffman, Crane and Bright pitched ''Insomnia Cafe'', Littlefield was impressed that they knew who their characters were.
NBC bought the idea as a
put pilot, meaning they risked financial penalties if the pilot was not filmed.
Kauffman and Crane took three days to write the pilot script for a show they titled ''Friends Like Us.''
Littlefield wanted the series to "represent
Generation X
Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...
and explore a new kind of tribal bonding", but the rest disagreed. Crane argued that it was not a series for one generation, and wanted to produce a series that everyone would enjoy watching.
NBC liked the script and ordered the series. They changed the title to ''Six of One'', mainly because they felt ''Friends Like Us'' was too similar to the ABC sitcom ''
These Friends of Mine''.
Casting
![Courteney Cox '10 PaleyFest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Courteney_Cox_%2710_PaleyFest.jpg)
Once it became apparent that the series was a favored project at NBC, Littlefield reported that he was getting calls from every agent in town, wanting their client to be a part of the series.
Auditions for the lead roles took place in New York and Los Angeles.
The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors who had applied for each role down to 75. Those who received a callback read in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. At the end of March, the number of potential actors had been reduced to three or four for each part, and these actors were asked to read for
Les Moonves, then president of
Warner Bros. Television.
[Kolbert, Elizabeth (April 6, 1994).]
Finding the Absolutely Perfect Actor: The High-Stress Business of Casting
", ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.
Having worked with David Schwimmer in the past,
the series creators wrote the character of Ross with him in mind, and he was the first actor cast. Cox wanted to play the role of Monica because she liked the "strong" character, but the producers had her in mind to play Rachel because of her "cheery, upbeat energy", which was not how they envisioned Monica; after Cox's audition, though, Kauffman agreed with Cox, and she got the role.
When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for Joey, he put a "different spin" on the character.
He played Joey more simple-minded than intended and gave the character heart. Although Crane and Kauffman did not want LeBlanc for the role at the time, they were told by the network to cast him.
Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast based on their auditions.
More changes occurred to the series's storylines during the casting process. The writers found that they had to adjust the characters they had written to suit the actors, and the discovery process of the characters occurred throughout the first season. Kauffman acknowledged that Joey's character became "this whole new being", and that "it wasn't until we did the first Thanksgiving episode that we realized how much fun Monica's neuroses are."
Writing
In the weeks after NBC's pick up of ''Friends'', Crane, Kauffman and Bright reviewed sent-in scripts that writers had originally prepared for other series, mainly unproduced ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' episodes.
Kauffman and Crane hired a team of seven young writers because "When you're 40, you can't do it anymore. The networks and studios are looking for young people coming in out of college." The creators felt that using six equal characters, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for "myriad storylines and give the show legs."
The majority of the storyline ideas came from the writers, although the actors added ideas.
Although the writers originally planned the big love story to be between Joey and Monica, the idea of a romantic interest between Ross and Rachel emerged during the period when Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot script.
During the production of the pilot, NBC requested that the script be changed to feature one dominant storyline and several minor ones, but the writers refused, wanting to keep three storylines of equal weight.
NBC also wanted the writers to include an older character to balance out the young ones. Crane and Kauffman were forced to comply and wrote a draft of an early episode that featured "Pat the Cop." who would be used to provide advice to the other characters. Crane found the storyline to be terrible, and Kauffman joked, "You know the book, ''
Pat the Bunny''? We had Pat the Cop." NBC eventually relented and dropped the idea.
Each summer, the producers would outline the storylines for the subsequent season.
Before an episode went into production, Kauffman and Crane would revise the script written by another writer, mainly if something concerning either the series or a character felt foreign.
The hardest episodes to write were always "the first one and the last one of each season." Unlike other storylines, the idea for a relationship between Joey and Rachel was decided on halfway through the eighth season. The creators did not want Ross and Rachel to get back together so soon, and while looking for a romantic impediment, a writer suggested Joey's romantic interest in Rachel.
The storyline was incorporated into the season; however, when the actors feared that the storyline would make their characters unlikable, the storyline was wrapped up, until it again resurfaced in the season's finale. For the ninth season, the writers were unsure about the amount of storyline to give to Rachel's baby, as they wanted the show neither to revolve around a baby nor pretend there to be none.
Crane said that it took them a while to accept the idea of a tenth season, which they decided to do because they had enough stories left to tell to justify the season. Kauffman and Crane would not have signed on for an eleventh season, even if all the cast members had wanted to continue.
The episode title format—"The One ..."—was created when the producers realized that the episode titles would not be featured in the opening credits, and therefore would be unknown to most of the audience. Episode titles officially begin with "The One ..." except the title of the
pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
and the series finale "
The Last One." The season 5 episode "
The One Hundredth
"The One Hundredth" (also known as "The One with the Triplets") is the third episode of ''Friends'' fifth season and 100th episode overall. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 8, 1998. Continuing from the previous ...
" has the alternative title of "The One With The Triplet".
Filming
![The House used in Friends (48072768102)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/The_House_used_in_Friends_%2848072768102%29.jpg)
The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
. NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but eventually consented to the coffee house concept.
The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the Warner Bros. Ranch at 4:00 am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning. At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage 24, which was renamed The "Friends" Stage after the series finale.
Filming for the series began during the summer of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters.
A hired comedian entertained the studio audience between takes.
Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script.
Although the producers always wanted to find the right stories to take advantage of being on location, ''Friends'' was never shot in New York. Bright felt that filming outside the studio made episodes less funny, even when shooting on the lot outside, and that the live audience was an integral part of the series.
When the series was criticized for incorrectly depicting New York, with the financially struggling group of friends being able to afford huge apartments, Bright noted that the set had to be big enough for the cameras, lighting, and "for the audience to be able to see what's going on".
The apartments also needed to provide a place for the actors to execute the funny scripts.
The fourth-season finale was shot on location in London because the producers were aware of the series's popularity in the UK.
The scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences each made up of 500 people. These were the show's largest audiences throughout its run. The fifth-season finale, set in Las Vegas, was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, although Bright met people who thought it was filmed on location.
Series finale
![JenniferAnistonFeb09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/JenniferAnistonFeb09.jpg)
The series's creators completed the first draft of the hour-long finale in January 2004, four months before its original airing. Crane, Kauffman and Bright watched the finales of other sitcoms to prepare the episode's outline, paying attention to what worked and what did not. They liked the ones that stayed true to the series, citing the finale of ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...
'' as the gold standard. Crane, Kauffman, and Bright had difficulty writing the finale. They did not want to do "something high concept, or take the show out of the show."
The most critical parts of the finale were shot without an audience and with a minimum number of crew members. The main cast enjoyed the finale and were confident that the fans would react similarly:
NBC heavily promoted the series finale, which was preceded by weeks of media hype.
Local NBC affiliates organized viewing parties around the U.S., including an event at
Universal CityWalk featuring a special broadcast of the finale on an outdoor
Astrovision screen.
The finale was the subject of two episodes of ''
Dateline NBC'', one of which ran for two hours. A one-hour retrospective of clips from previous episodes was shown before to the airing of the episode. Following the finale, ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ...
'' was filmed on the set of the ''Friends''
' Central Perk coffee house, which featured the series's cast as guests.
The advertising rates for the finale averaged $2 million for 30 seconds of commercial time, breaking the record held by the ''Seinfeld'' finale at $1.7 million.
In the U.S., 52.5 million viewers watched the finale on May 6, 2004, making it the most-watched entertainment telecast since the ''Seinfeld'' finale in 1998.
The finale was the fifth most-watched series finale in television history, only behind the finales of ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
The ...
'', ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
'',
''The Fugitive'' and ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'', which were respectively watched by 105, 80.4, 78.0 and 76.3 million viewers. The retrospective episode was watched by fewer than 36 million viewers, and the finale was the second most-watched television broadcast of the year in the United States, only behind the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
.
Following the finales of ''Friends'' and ''
Frasier'', media critics speculated about the fate of the sitcom genre. Opinions varied between a signalling of the end of the sitcom genre, a small decline in the large history of the genre,
and a general reduction of scripted television in favor of reality shows.
Reunion special
On November 12, 2019, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' announced that
Warner Bros TV was developing a ''Friends'' reunion for
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
that would feature the whole cast and creators returning.
On February 21, 2020, HBO confirmed that the unscripted reunion special, tentatively named "The One Where They Got Back Together", was set to be released in May the same year, along with the 236 original episodes of the series. On March 18, 2020, it was announced that the special, which was set to film on the ''Friends'' stage on March 23 and 24, had been postponed indefinitely, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In November 2020,
Matthew Perry tweeted that the reunion is set to start filming in March 2021. On May 13, 2021, a teaser trailer was released officially announcing
''Friends'': The Reunion also known as "The One Where They Get Back Together". The reunion special was released on
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
on May 27, 2021.
Reception
Critical reception
Early reviews of the series were mixed; the first season holds a
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
score of 65 out of 100, based on 24 sampled reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews." Tom Feran of ''
The Plain Dealer
''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday.
As of Ma ...
'' wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
''", while Ann Hodges of the ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
'' called it "the new ''Seinfeld'' wannabe, but it will never be as funny as ''Seinfeld''."
[Hodges, Ann (September 22, 1994).]
NBC sitcoms make Thursday less funny
", ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
'', Hearst Newspapers Hearst may refer to:
Places
* Hearst, former name of Hacienda, California, United States
* Hearst, Ontario, town in Northern Ontario, Canada
* Hearst, California, an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, United States
* Hearst Island, an i ...
. Retrieved on January 4, 2009. In the ''
Los Angeles Daily News
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media.
The offices of the ''Dai ...
'',
Ray Richmond
Ray Richmond (born October 19, 1957, in Whittier, California) is a globally syndicated critic and entertainment/media columnist. Richmond has also worked variously as a feature and entertainment writer, beat reporter and TV critic for a variety ...
named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season",
[Richmond, Ray (September 22, 1994).]
Season Premiere of ''Friends'' Leaves Room to Grow
", (Registration required). ''Los Angeles Daily News
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media.
The offices of the ''Dai ...
'', Los Angeles Newspaper Group. Retrieved on January 4, 2009. and the ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season."
The ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped, while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable youth ensemble" with "good chemistry."
Robert Bianco of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him "terrific." He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined" and that LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it."
[Bianco, Robert (September 22, 1994). "Six ''Friends'' Sittin' Around, Talking", '']Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
''. The authors of ''Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends'' thought that the cast was "trying just a little too hard"; in particular, Perry and Schwimmer.
As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and ''Friends'' became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. It is now often ranked among the all-time best TV shows.
Critics commended the series for having consistently sharp writing and for the chemistry between the main actors.
Noel Holston of ''
Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'', who had dismissed the pilot as a "so-so ''Seinfeld'' wannabe" in 1994, repudiated his earlier review after rewatching the episode and felt like writing an apology to the writers.
Heather Havrilesky
Heather Havrilesky (born April 1970)is an American author, essayist, and humorist. She writes the advice column "Ask Polly" for ''Substack''. She is the author of ''Disaster Preparedness: A Memoir'', the advice book ''How to Be a Person in the Wor ...
of
Salon.com
''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events.
Content and coverage
''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
thought that the series "hit its stride" in the second season. Havrilesky found the character-specific jokes and situations "could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode", and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be "original and innovative."
Bill Carter of ''The New York Times'' called the eighth season a "truly stunning comeback." Carter found that by "generating new hot storylines and high-decibel laughs", the series made its way "back into the hearts of its fans."
However, Liane Bonin of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' felt that the direction of the ninth season was a "disappointing buzzkill", criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into
jump the shark
The idiom "jumping the shark" was coined in 1985 by Jon Hein in response to a 1977 episode from the fifth season of the American sitcom ''Happy Days'', in which Fonzie (Henry Winkler) jumps over a shark while on water-skis. The phrase is pejo ...
territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that "the writing
asstill sharp."
Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was "alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be."
''Friends'' was featured on ''Time''s list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time", saying, "the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself ''Friends'', and was really about family."
Reviews of the
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
were mostly positive. ''USA Today''s Robert Bianco described the finale as entertaining and satisfying and praised it for deftly mixing emotion and humor while highlighting each of the stars.
Sarah Rodman of the ''
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
'' praised Aniston and Schwimmer for their acting, but felt that their characters' reunion was "a bit too neat, even if it was what most of the show's legions of fans wanted." Roger Catlin of the ''
Hartford Courant
The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...
'' felt that newcomers to the series would be "surprised at how laughless the affair could be, and how nearly every strained gag depends on the sheer stupidity of its characters." Ken Parish Perkins, writing for ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
History
In May 1905, Amon G. Carter acc ...
'', pointed out that the finale was "more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny."
In a 2021 program on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, ''
Mr. Bean'' writer
Richard Curtis accused the ''Friends'' writers of stealing the joke which involved Joey getting a turkey stuck on his head in "
The One with All the Thanksgivings
"The One with All the Thanksgivings" (also known as "The One with the Thanksgiving Flashbacks") is the eighth episode of the Friends (season 5), fifth season of ''Friends''. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on November 19, 1 ...
" from the 1992 episode "
Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" is the seventh episode of the British television series '' Mr. Bean'', produced by Tiger Television for Thames Television. It was first broadcast as a Christmas special on ITV on Tuesday 29 December 1992 as part of I ...
". In that episode, Mr Bean got a turkey stuck on his head after losing his watch while stuffing the turkey and put his head in to try and retrieve it.
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
, however, argued that jokes are meant to be stolen, or to inspire.
Awards
To maintain the series's ensemble format, the main cast members decided to enter themselves in the same acting categories for awards.
Beginning with the series's eighth season, the actors decided to submit themselves in the lead actor balloting, rather than in the supporting actor fields. The series was nominated for 62
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
s, winning six.
Aniston and Kudrow are the only main cast members to win an Emmy, while Cox is the only actor not to be nominated. The series won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002, receiving nominations in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, and 2003. The series also won an
American Comedy Award, one
GLAAD Media Award, one
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, three
Logie Awards, six
People's Choice Awards
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
, one
Satellite Award, and one
Screen Actors Guild Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
.
Ratings
The table below shows the ratings of ''Friends'' in the United States, where it consistently ranked within the top ten of the final
television season ratings.
[Ratings for ''Friends'' by television seasons:
* Season 1:
* Season 2:
* Season 3:
* Season 4:
* Season 5:
* Season 6:
* Season 7:
* Season 8:
* Season 9:
* Season 10: ] "Rank" refers to how well ''Friends'' rated compared to other television series that aired during primetime hours of the corresponding television season. It is shown in relation to the total number of series airing on the then-six major English-language networks in a given season. "Viewers" refers to the average number of viewers for all original episodes, broadcast during the television season in the series's regular timeslot. The "season premiere" is the date that the first episode of the season aired, and the "season finale" is the date that the final episode of the season aired. So far, ''Friends'' has been the last sitcom to reach the 1 spot on television, as its successors were ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'', ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'', ''
NBC Sunday Night Football
''NBC Sunday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''SNF'') is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, with the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...
'', and ''
NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to:
Law enforcement
* National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom
* Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...
''. Following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, ratings increased 17% over the previous season.
Syndication
Because of syndication revenue, ''Friends'' continues to generate approximately $1 billion each year for Warner Bros. That translates into about $20 million in annual residuals each for Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, who each get 2% of syndication income for ''Friends''.
All episodes became available on
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 fil ...
on January 1, 2015, introducing a new generation to the show. UK ''Friends'' reruns' ratings in 2015 increased by more than 10% annually. The 2016 reruns' US weekly audience, not including streaming, of 16 million would make it a hit on network television were the show still being produced.
In the US, the series has a syndication deal through multiple networks, including
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET/Pac ...
,
TBS, and
Paramount Network. In July 2019, it was announced that from the beginning of 2020, ''Friends'' would not be available on Netflix in the US and instead would be shown on
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with D ...
's video-streaming service
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
, which launched in May 2020.
Cultural impact
![Setofcentralperk1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Setofcentralperk1.JPG)
Although the producers thought of ''Friends'' as "only a TV show", psychologists investigated the cultural impact of ''Friends'' during the series's run. Aniston's hairstyle was nicknamed "
The Rachel" and copied around the world.
Joey's catchphrase, "How ''you'' doin'?", became a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a
pick-up line
A pick-up line or chat-up line is a conversation opener with the intent of engaging a person for romance or dating. As overt and sometimes humorous displays of romantic interest, pick-up lines advertise the wit of their speakers to their target ...
or when greeting friends. The series also influenced the English language, according to a study by the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
that found that the characters used the emphasized word "''so''" to modify adjectives more often than any other
intensifier
In linguistics, an intensifier (abbreviated ) is a lexical category (but ''not'' a traditional part of speech) for a modifier that makes no contribution to the propositional meaning of a clause but serves to enhance and give additional emotional co ...
. Although the preference had already made its way into the American
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
, usage on the series may have accelerated the change.
Chandler's habit of ending a sentence unfinished for sarcasm also influenced viewers' speech.
''Friends'' has also been credited in helping non-English speaking students to learn the
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
. A 2012 poll by
Kaplan International English Colleges found that more than a quarter (26%) of its students cited the sitcom as the best show for helping them improve their English. Notable individuals who have also said that the sitcom helped them learn English include
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
Jürgen Klopp,
BTS
BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...
member
RM and Belgian
professional golfer
A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
Thomas Pieters
Thomas Pieters (born 27 January 1992) is a Belgium, Belgian professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.
Early life
Pieters was born in Geel, Belgium in 1992. He started playing golf at the age of five, learning the game at the ...
.
''Friends'' was parodied in the twelfth season ''
Murder, She Wrote
''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'' episode "Murder Among Friends." In the episode, amateur sleuth
Jessica Fletcher
Jessica Beatrice "J. B." Fletcher (born Jessica Beatrice MacGill) is a detective show character and the protagonist on the American television series '' Murder, She Wrote''.
Portrayed by award-winning actress Angela Lansbury, Fletcher is a bes ...
(
Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
) investigates the murder of a writer for ''Buds'', a fictional television series about the daily lives of a group of city friends. The episode was devised after CBS moved ''Murder, She Wrote'' from its regular Sunday night timeslot to a Thursday night timeslot directly opposite ''Friends'' on NBC; Angela Lansbury was quoted by
Bruce Lansbury, her brother and ''Murder, She Wrote''s supervising producer, as having "a bit of an attitude" about the move to Thursday, but he saw the plot as "a friendly setup, no mean-spiritedness."
Jerry Ludwig, the writer of the episode, researched the "flavor" of ''Buds'' by watching episodes of ''Friends''.
Producers of ''
Married... with Children'' attempted to create a spinoff series called ''Enemies'', which was intended to act as an antithesis to ''Friends'' in the same way ''Married... with Children'' had been to family sitcoms such as ''
The Cosby Show''. However, the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
network declined to pick up the series.
The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, is part of the
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is a guided walk-through tour of Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank located in Los Angeles. It offers visitors the chance to glimpse behind the scenes of one of the oldest film studios in the world over a two-to-thr ...
. People sometimes propose marriage on the couch, and many tourists cry when they sit on it. The coffee house has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk
franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses is inspired by ''Friends'', featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks. The coffee houses contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing ''Friends'' episodes.
James Michael Tyler
James Michael Tyler (May 28, 1962 – October 24, 2021) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Gunther on the NBC sitcom '' Friends''. Prior to acting, he was an assistant film editor and production assistant. His early works in ...
, who plays the Central Perk manager in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
café, where he worked as a waiter.
Central Perk was rebuilt as part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios and was shown on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in October 2008.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
visited the set for the first time since the series finale in 2004. From September 24 to October 7, 2009, a Central Perk replica was based at Broadwick Street,
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
, London. The coffee house sold coffee to customers and featured a display of ''Friends'' memorabilia and props, such as the Geller Cup from the season three episode "The One with the Football." In Beijing, business owner Du Xin opened a coffee shop named Central Perk in March 2010.
![The Friends Stage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/The_Friends_Stage.jpg)
In India, there are six ''Friends''-themed cafes, located in
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
(named Central Perk);
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
; and West Bengal (named F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Cafe), which features many icons from the original T.V. series, including Chandler and Joey's ugly dog statue, the orange sofa, the purple door of Monica and Rachel's apartment, and Phoebe's pink bicycle. The other three cafes are located in Delhi, Gurgaon; Bhubaneswar, Odisha; and Pune, Maharashtra.
There are two ''Friends'' themed cafes in Pakistanone in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab known as "Friends Cafe" and the other in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa called "Central Perk". Both cafes have an iconic couch, a guitar and foosball table, quotes from the show on the walls and episode reruns on a projector. They're planning to have their own Gunther at the bar.
In 2016, a Central Perk replica was opened in Outram, Singapore, Outram, Singapore. It is the only Central Perk that has been given the intellectual property rights by Warner Bros. outside of the United States. The café includes feature walls, replicating the walls of the main characters' apartments and memorabilia and props used on the show. In August 2019, it was announced that a Central Perk Lego set would be launched to mark the show's 25 anniversary.
''Friends'' has also developed an alternative family lifestyle by representing young people who live unconventional domestic lives. It presents the idea that "all you need are good friends" and can construct families through choice. The audience is able to identify with the program through the troubles seen on weekly episodes. It portrays a new way of living life and developing relationships which are not normally seen in conventional society. According to a pop-culture expert at the University at Buffalo, ''Friends'' is "one of those rare shows that marked a change in American culture." The images of youth and the roles they portray are better defined and represent a lifestyle that centres around creating and sustaining relationships between friends running their own lives and seeking help from each other.
''Vox (website), Vox'' stated that ''Friends'' had an impact on the creation of other conflictless "hangout sitcoms", with groups of adult friends who are funny and have similar character traits. One example of this is ''How I Met Your Mother'', which ''The Guardian''s TV and radio blog notes also shares its setting with ''Friends'',
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Other examples include ''The Big Bang Theory'', ''New Girl'', and ''Happy Endings (TV series), Happy Endings''.
Readers of ''TV Guide'' voted the cast of ''Friends'' their Best Comedy cast of all time, ranking at 29% of the votes, beating ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'', which registered 18%. A poll undertaken by ''60 Minutes'' and ''Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair'' named ''Friends'' the third greatest sitcom of all time. In 2014, the series was ranked by ''Mundo Estranho'' the Best TV Series of All Time. A 2015 survey by ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' of 2,800 actors, producers, directors, and other industry people named ''Friends'' as their No. 1 favorite show.
Distribution
Broadcast
United States
After the produced pilot lived up to NBC's hopes, the series premiered with the name ''Friends'' on September 22, 1994, in the coveted Thursday 8:30 p.m. time slot. The pilot aired between ''Mad About You'' and ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'',
and was watched by almost 22 million American viewers.
The series was a huge success throughout its run and was a staple of NBC's Thursday night line-up, dubbed by the network as Must See TV. When Crane told reporters in 2001 that the ninth season was a possibility, critics believed that he was posturing and that at least two of the cast members would not sign on for another season.
When it was confirmed that ''Friends'' would return for a ninth season, the news was mainly about the amount of money—$7 million per episode—that it took to bring the series back for another season.
After year-long expectations that the ninth season would be the series's last, NBC signed a deal in late December 2002 to bring the series back for a final tenth season. The series's creative team did not want to extend negotiations into the next year and wanted to start writing the rest of the ninth-season episodes and a potential series finale.
NBC agreed to pay $10 million to Warner Bros. for the production of each tenth-season episode, the highest price in television history for a 30-minute series.
Although NBC was unable to bring in enough advertising revenue from commercials to cover the costs, the series was integral to the Thursday night schedule, which brought high ratings and profits to the other television series.
The cast demanded that the tenth season be reduced from the usual 24 episodes to 18 episodes to allow them to work on outside projects.
In fall 2001, Warner Bros. Television Distribution, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable made a deal with sister network TBS (American TV channel), TBS (both were owned by WarnerMedia, Time Warner) to air the series in rerun syndication. Warner Bros. Domestic Cable announced that it had sold additional cable rights to ''Friends'' to
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET/Pac ...
which began airing in the fall of 2011 (unlike the TBS and broadcast syndication airings, Nick at Nite broadcasts of the series, which began airing as part of a seven-night launch marathon on September 5, 2011, replace the end credit post-credits scene, tag scenes with Marginalized closing credits, marginalized credits featuring promotions for the series and other Nick at Nite programs). Warner Bros. was expected to make $200 million in license fees and advertising from the deal. Nick at Nite paid $500,000 per episode to air the episodes after 6 pm. ET for six years through fall 2017. In syndication until 2005, ''Friends'' had earned $4 million per episode in cash license fees for a total of $944 million.
Comedy Central began airing reruns of ''Friends'' in October 2019.
International
Having already made huge success in the United States, ''Friends'' producers decided to air the show in Europe. It premiered in the UK on April 28, 1995, Season 1 broadcast until September on Channel 4 at 9:30 PM on Friday nights, and immediately was a success. The popularity of the show allowed the theme song by the Rembrandts to hit number 3 in the UK Singles Charts in September 1995.
The popularity of the show in Britain led to an episode being produced in London at the end of the fourth season, starring British actress
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale (born 7 June 1970) is an English actress of stage and television, known for her roles as Rachel Bradley in the British comedy drama '' Cold Feet'' (1997–2003), and Emily Waltham in the American sitcom '' Friends'' (19 ...
, who became a leading character in seasons four and five during her relationship with Ross. The show has since aired on different channels in the UK in their original, unedited international versions prior to their being re-edited for US broadcast and syndication. These versions, with additional footage not seen domestically, have aired on such stations as Channel 4, Sky1, E4 (channel), E4, and Comedy Central (British TV channel), Comedy Central UK.
In September 2011, ''Friends'' officially ended on E4 after the channel re-ran the series since 2004. Comedy Central took over the rights to air the program from October 2011. Since 2018 Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5 started airing the program. In the Republic of Ireland, each season of the show made its European debut on RTÉ2. After 2004 RTÉ2 began to repeat the series from the start before moving over to Virgin Media One, TV3 and its digital channel 3e in 2010. , repeats of the show have returned to RTÉ2 while also broadcasting on Comedy Central (British TV channel), Comedy Central Ireland.
Series 10's finale in the UK, broadcast on May 28, 2004, was on Channel 4. It was broadcast from 9 pm to 10 pm and attracted ''Friends largest UK audiences. It attracted almost 10 million viewers, and is currently standing at Number 10 in Channel 4's most-watched shows. ''Big Brother (British TV series), Big Brother'' was moved to 10 pm, which ''Friends'' had beaten. ''Friends'' got 9.6 million viewers at 9 pm, while ''Big Brother (British series 5), Big Brother 5''s launch attracted 7.2 million viewers at 10 pm, which is the most-watched premiere on UK TV ever. However, on January 3, 2007, ''Celebrity Big Brother (British series 5), Celebrity Big Brother 5''s launch was watched by 7.3 million viewers, and its eviction on January 19, 2007, was watched by 8.7 million viewers.
''Friends'' has previously aired in Australia on the Seven Network (season 1 only), Nine Network (season 2–10), Network Ten (2007–09, repeats), Arena (TV network), Arena, 111 (TV channel), 111 Hits, 9Gem (2012-2018, repeats) and Fox Crime (Australian TV channel), TVHits. It currently airs on 10 Peach and on pay TV channel Fox Comedy (Australian TV channel), Fox Comedy, who both broadcast the HD remastered version of the series. The show is broadcast on TV2 (New Zealand), TV2 in New Zealand.
In Canada, the series was broadcast on Global Television Network, Global. In later years, it was syndicated on several of its cable sibling networks, including Slice (TV channel), Slice, DTour, and TVTropolis, its previous incarnation. The series is now syndicated to Bell Media owned CTV Comedy Channel.
In Latin America, the first seven seasons aired on Sony Channel (Latin American TV channel), Sony, and the remaining seasons on Warner Channel, Warner. In Brazil, free-to-air networks RedeTV! and Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão, SBT also aired a few seasons.
In India, the show is broadcast by Comedy Central (Indian TV channel), Comedy Central at various times. It is the most-watched English language show in the country.
In the Philippines, the show was originally aired on The 5 Network, ABC-5 from 1996 to 2005 and ETC (Philippine TV network), ETC from 2005 to 2014.
In Greece, the show was broadcast on Star Channel (Greek TV channel), Star Channel. In Cyprus, ''Friends'' aired on Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, CyBC 2 while reruns air on TVOne Cyprus, TVOne.
In 2022 versions of Friends re-released by Bilibili, iQiyi, Tencent, and Youku in China had edited scenes, including edits to remove LBGT content, not edited in original Chinese airings. Online fans had a negative reaction to these edits.
Remaster
Beginning in March 2012, High-definition television, high definition versions of all 236 ''Friends'' episodes were made available to local broadcast stations, starting with the pilot episode. For the remastered episodes, Warner Bros. restored previously cropped images on the left and right sides of the screen, using the original 35mm movie film, 35 mm film source, to use the entire 16:9 widescreen frame. Because the show was not originally filmed for widescreen, but rather filmed in 4-perf format and protected for 4:3, some cropping problems arise in some shots where information from the top and bottom of the frame is removed, and some expanded shots reveal unintentional artifacts, including set edges, boom mics and body doubles replacing some of the main cast.
In early versions of the HD remasters, there were also a few shots, including chroma effects shots, which were sourced from standard-definition videotape sources, as not all of the footage had been located in time for the remaster. The original film sources for these shots were later rescanned for later broadcast and release.
These masters had been airing in New Zealand on TV2 since January 2011 and the earlier HD prints continue to air on Comedy Central (British TV channel), Comedy Central in the United Kingdom as of 2020.
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 fil ...
added all ten seasons of ''Friends'' in high definition to its streaming service in the United States in January 2015.
Home media
Streaming
In October 2014, Warner Bros. chairman and chief executive officer, Kevin Tsujihara, announced that the company had licensed the North American streaming rights of all ten seasons of ''Friends'' to
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 fil ...
, in a deal said to be worth around $500,000 an episode, or about $120 million in total. The show became available on Netflix from January 1, 2015. The Netflix airings are the versions aired on NBC rather than the longer international versions, as discussed below. The series left Netflix in the US on January 1, 2020, as it began streaming on
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
on May 27, 2020. In Canada, the series left Netflix in Canada for Crave (streaming service), Crave on December 31, 2020.
Blu-ray and DVD
All ten seasons have been released on DVD individually and as a box set. Each DVD region code, Region 1 season release contains special features and are presented in their aforementioned original international broadcast versions, although Region 2 releases are as originally aired domestically. For the first season, each episode is updated with color correction and sound enhancement.
A wide range of ''Friends'' merchandise has been produced by various companies. In September 1995, Warner Music Group, WEA Records released the first album of Friends discography, music from ''Friends'', the ''Friends Original TV Soundtrack'', containing music featured in previous and future episodes. The soundtrack debuted on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 at number 46, and sold 500,000 copies in November 1995.
In 1999, a second soundtrack album entitled ''Friends Again'' was released. Other merchandise includes a ''Friends'' version of the DVD game "Scene It?, Scene It?", and a quiz video game for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 2 and PC game, PC entitled ''Friends: The One with All the Trivia''. On September 28, 2009, a box set was released in the UK celebrating the series's 15th anniversary. The box set contained extended episodes, an episode guide, and original special features.
Warner Home Video released a complete series collection on Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray on November 13, 2012. The collection does not feature the extra deleted scenes and jokes that were included on prior DVD releases, and are therefore presented in their NBC broadcast versions.
In Australia, the original DVD releases were fold out box sets which contained three discs, and released as follows: Season 1 and Season 2 on March 13, 2002, Season 3 and Season 4 on July 9, 2002, Season 5, 6 and 7 on July 29, 2002, Season 8 on March 18, 2003, Season 9 on February 11, 2004, and Season 10 on November 24, 2004. Repackaged sets, slimmed into regular DVD cases also containing three discs were released from 2003 to 2004. Collector's Edition sets were released from September 9, 2003, through to February 1, 2006, these sets contains 4 discs, in fat DVD cases, with extra bonus material.
On October 4, 2006, the individual seasons were repackaged into regular DVD case sets and marked as "Including Brand New Bonus Disc". Once again each individual season were repackaged with new artwork on March 31, 2010. The first complete series boxset on DVD was released around 2004 or 2005, this was titled 'The One With All Ten Seasons" and the packaging was a black box with a lift up lid and contains exclusive packaging for all ten seasons.
The second complete series boxset was released August 21, 2013 and was a red box which contained the 2010 individual season sets inside. On October 1, 2014, was the 20th Anniversary boxset, this was a white box and contained the same 2010 individual releases inside. On October 7, 2015, another boxset was released 'The One With All Ten Seasons", the same name used on the original boxset, however this time slimmed down and contains the 2010 individual releases inside. The outer box is open on insert side for the cases to slide in and out, more of a budget release. In 2016, a repackaged 'The Complete Series' Blu-ray boxset was issued, containing the same 10 individual seasons in the original set, however the box is more cut down and is opened on one side, and also does not include the book that contained the episode guide.
, October 4, 2006
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Spin-off
![Matt LeBlanc 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Matt_LeBlanc_2010.jpg)
After the series finale in 2004, LeBlanc signed on for the spin-off series, ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
'', following Joey's move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Kauffman and Crane were not interested in the spin-off, although Bright agreed to executive produce the series with Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. NBC heavily promoted ''Joey'' and gave it ''Friends''
' Thursday 8:00 pm timeslot.
The pilot was watched by 18.6 million American viewers, but ratings continually decreased throughout the series's two seasons, averaging 10.2 million viewers in the first season and 7.1 million in the second.
The final broadcast episode on March 7, 2006, was watched by 7.09 million viewers; NBC cancelled the series on May 15, 2006, after two seasons, leaving eight episodes unaired.
Bright blamed the collaboration between NBC executives, the studio and other producers for quickly ruining the series:
See also
* Friends 'Til the End (book), ''Friends 'Til the End''
* Music of Friends, Music of ''Friends''
References
Further reading
*
Articles concerning the cultural influence of the program:
*
*
* Harrison, Andrew (September 12, 2014)
"The Hunting of the Snark: ''Friends'', 20 Years On" ''New Statesman''. United Kingdom.
External links
*
*
''Friends''on Rotten Tomatoes
*
*
{{Authority control
Friends (1994 TV series),
1990s American romantic comedy television series
1990s American sitcoms
1994 American television series debuts
2000s American romantic comedy television series
2000s American sitcoms
2004 American television series endings
BAFTA winners (television series)
English-language television shows
Fictional sextets
NBC original programming
Nielsen ratings winners
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners
Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series
Salary controversies in television
Television series about siblings
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television series created by David Crane (producer)
Television series created by Marta Kauffman
Television shows filmed in Los Angeles
Television shows set in Manhattan