When it comes to television shows, nothing has arguably become more successful than the sitcom “Friends.” The show ran from 1994 to 2004 and even today, television and streaming audiences still know about it. How could you not? It was the show that launched actress Jennifer Aniston into superstardom. It was also the show where we came to recognize the comedic chops of actors such as Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Courteney Cox.
Some argue that the show provided more than just entertainment. It became an important facet of pop culture. It has, indeed, been years since the show’s final episode aired. So, you could just imagine the anticipation behind the upcoming “Friends” Reunion on HBO Max. While we wait for that, we thought it would be fun to go over what show creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman have said about their hit show:
15 The Show Was Inspired By Marta Kauffman And David Crane’s Daily Lives
“When David and I lived in New York, we had a group of six friends. We were all each other’s best friends. We hung out all the time; we were like a family,” Kauffman told The Cut. “So later, when we were thinking of shows that could have an ensemble cast, it occurred to us to look back at that point in our lives. That was the birth of the idea for Friends — that time in your life when your friends are your family.”
14 They Were Developing Another Show At The Same Time That They Pitched “Friends” To NBC
“This was one of two pilots we were developing that season, the other being one for Fox that was not successful,” Crane told The Television Academy. “This one just seemed to flow every step of the way and was easy to write, while the Fox thing was terrible. And we had this fear that NBC wouldn’t pick up their show and Fox would pick up the wrong one.”
13 Marta Kauffman Recalled Matthew Perry Being Among The First Actors On Their List, But He Was Unavailable
“We saw a countless number of actors, but things happened as they were supposed to happen,” Kauffman told Vanity Fair. “One of the first actors on our list was Matthew Perry to play Chandler, but he was doing a show called LAX 2194 [a Fox pilot about baggage handlers in the year 2194], so he wasn’t available. We brought other people in.”
12 There Were Several Other Names Considered For The Show, Including “Six Of One”
While speaking with The Television Academy, Kauffman recalled some of the names considered as “Six of One, Across the Hall, Friends Like Us...” Crane also brought up “Insomnia Café.”
Meanwhile, Kauffman added, “My favorite one was the morning we were being told it was going on Thursday nights. (Executive Producer) Kevin Bright said they wanted us to change the title to Friends, and Kevin said, “If you put us on Thursday nights, you can call us Kevorkian for all I care.”
11 They Initially Asked Courteney Cox To Play Rachel
“We originally offered Rachel to Courteney Cox, but she said she wanted to do Monica, not Rachel,” Kauffman told Vanity Fair. Crane also recalled, “Courteney had just come off a terrible Bronson Pinchot show, where she played the wife.” Kauffman added, “There was something about Courteney that was adorable.” As you know, Cox eventually got the role of Monica, but the story of how that was finalized gets interesting.
10 They Were Thinking Of Janeane Garofalo When They Wrote The Monica Character
“When we originally wrote the role, we had Janeane Garofalo’s voice in our head,” Crane told Vanity Fair. “Darker and edgier and snarkier, and Courteney brought a whole bunch of other colors to it. We decided that, week after week, that would be a lovelier place to go to.” Kauffman added, “And more maternal.”
9 They Never Meant To Turn Joey Into A ‘Stupid’ Character
“Joey was never stupid when we pitched the show,” Crane told Vanity Fair. “He wasn’t stupid until we were shooting the pilot, and somebody said, ‘Matt plays dumb really well.’” Kauffman added, “And he had so much heart. Down deep, you just wanted to take care of him. You knew that, at some point, he’d fall in love.”
8 There Was A Version Of The Pilot Where Rachel’s Parents Would Show Up
“In the pilot, the structure is really loose. We started out doing a much more traditional story. It still had to do with Rachel leaving a guy at the altar, but we had an original version where her parents came, and the act break [before going to a commercial] was her parents’ showing up. It wasn’t good,” Crane told Vanity Fair. “We approached it again and made it much looser. The structure is loose and unconventional.”
7 Someone In Their Writer’s Room Came Up With Joey’s ‘How You Doin’ Catchphrase
“It was someone in the [writer's] room,” the Friends co-creator revealed to Glamour during an interview. “I don't [remember who]. But when it was first introduced, it wasn't introduced as a catchphrase. It was [just] a line, and then it became a catchphrase as it went along.” That catchphrase remains one of the most recognized ones to this day.
6 Phoebe’s Storyline With the Triplets Was Inspired By Lisa Kudrow’s Actual Pregnancy
“[The germ of the episode] started when Lisa told us she was pregnant,” Crane told TV Guide. “We didn't want to do another TV show where you had a woman carrying packages in front of her for nine months and in big coats. We wanted to find a way to actually incorporate it into the story, which was obviously tricky considering Phoebe wasn't with anybody at that point. This seemed to be a really different and unexpected way to go, and it was a storyline we had never seen before.”
5 Chandler’s Job Had Always Been ‘A Running Joke,’ As Evidenced By Its Inclusion Among The Questions In The Trivia Game Scene
“It was a running joke from the beginning -- the WENUS and ANUS reports,” Crane told TV Guide. “We didn't know what he did.” Kauffman added, “One of the things I really enjoy is the last question about Chandler's job because we had no idea. We had no idea what his job was or what we called it. That wasn't new information, but that was what we all felt, including the audience.”
4 During The Time That Matthew Perry Struggled With A Drug Problem, They Tried To ‘Keep Him Healthy’ By Allowing Him Time Away From The Show
Kauffman told The Television Academy, “The challenge was trying to keep him healthy. That’s what everybody wanted. It certainly created some difficulties, but I think we were incredibly supportive.” Crane added, “As I recall, we and our partner Kevin made it clear that everybody be healthy. There was a period where Matthew was away for a period and we accommodated that.”
3 The Story Arc Between Monica And Chandler Was Just Supposed To Be A Brief Storyline Because Sleeping Together Was Essentially A ‘Little Mistake’
“As the series evolved, it would tell us where it wanted to go. We didn't really know that Chandler and Monica were gonna end up together until even after that episode in London where they wake up in bed together,” Friends co-creator, Crane, told Today. “And the audience went insane. Originally that was going to be a thing, like a little mistake and funny. And they were so great together, and it kept giving us stories.”
2 For Them, It Was ‘Really Challenging’ To Keep Ross And Rachel Apart For That Long Without Annoying Fans
“From a technical standpoint, it was really challenging to keep them apart without pissing off the audience,” Crane told Vanity Fair. “In the pilot, Ross says to Rachel, ‘Can I ask you out sometime?’ We go through an entire season, 24 episodes, and he never asks her out. Every time it’s about to happen—we brought in the Italian guy, we threw a cat on his back. We kept asking ourselves, ‘Will they let us go one more?’”
1 They Definitely Decided That Season 10 Had To Be The End For The Show
“Because of the actors’ contract negotiations, and it seemed as though, ‘Oh, season 7 is the last season.’ Or season 8. Or season 9. So each of those seasons we had an eye toward, ‘Okay, if this is the last year, what are we doing?’” Crane told Entertainment Weekly. “And then amazingly there was a rising from the ashes, last minute: ‘Oh my god, there is one more season…’” Kauffman added, ‘At which point we said: “This is it. This is the last season.’”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYrOztcSnm6xlk6eyosDOq6pmnJGrtqV5wquYp51dlrulecyaqa2ZXaCutrLFppinZZiWw6Z50pqgnWWRl7y2wIytn56homK1qsCMrKCtm5%2BifA%3D%3D