FRİENDS 3

Series finale

Main article: The Last One (Friends)
The cast became very emotional while filming the final episode. Jennifer Aniston explained, "We're like very delicate china right now, and we're speeding toward a brick wall."[73]
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 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."[74] 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:[74]

It's exactly what I had hoped. We all end up with a sense of a new beginning and the audience has a sense that it's a new chapter in the lives of all these characters.
— David Schwimmer on the series finale.[74]

NBC heavily promoted the series finale, which was preceded by weeks of media hype.[75] 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.[76] 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 the airing of the episode. Following the finale, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was filmed on the set of the Friends' Central Perk coffee house, which featured the cast as guests.[77][78] 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.[76]
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.[77] The finale was the fifth most-watched series finale in television history, only behind the finales of M*A*S*H, Cheers, The Fugitive, and Seinfeld, which were respectively watched by 105, 80.4, 78.0 and 76.3 million viewers.[79] 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.[77] 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,[76] and a general reduction of scripted television in favor of reality shows.[75]

Reunion special

Main article: Friends: The Reunion
On November 12, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Warner Bros TV was developing a Friends reunion for HBO Max that would feature the whole cast and creators returning.[80] 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.[81][82] 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.[83] In November 2020, Matthew Perry tweeted that the reunion is set to start filming in March 2021.[84][85] 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 on May 27, 2021.[86]

Reception

Critical reception

Early reviews of the series were mixed; the first season holds a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100, based on 24 sampled reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[87] Tom Feran of The Plain Dealer wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld",[88] while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it "the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld."[89] In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season",[90] and the Los Angeles Times called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season."[91]
The Chicago Sun-Times' Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characters to be underdeveloped,[92] while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable youth ensemble" with "good chemistry."[90] Robert Bianco of USA Today 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."[93] 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.[94]
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.[9][11][12] Critics commended the series for having consistently sharp writing and for the chemistry between the main actors.[95] Noel Holston of Newsday, 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.[63] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com 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."[96]
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."[97] However, Liane Bonin of Entertainment Weekly 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 territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that "the writing [was] still sharp."[98] 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."[96] 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."[99]
Reviews of the series finale 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.[100] Sarah Rodman of the Boston Herald 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."[101] Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant 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."[102] Ken Parish Perkins, writing for Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pointed out that the finale was "more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny."[103]

It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the Friends finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped. Ultimately, the two-hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do. It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it.
— Robert Bianco of USA Today on the series finale.[100]

In a 2021 program on ITV, 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" from the 1992 episode "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean". 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, however, argued that jokes are meant to be stolen, or to inspire.[104]

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Friends
To maintain the series's ensemble format, the main cast members decided to enter themselves in the same acting categories for awards.[32] Beginning with the eighth season, the actors decided to submit themselves in the lead actor balloting, rather than in the supporting actor fields.[105] The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards,[106] 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.[107] The series also won an American Comedy Award,[108] one GLAAD Media Award,[109] one Golden Globe Award,[110] three Logie Awards,[111][112] six People's Choice Awards,[113][114] one Satellite Award,[115] and one Screen Actors Guild Award.[116]

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.[117] "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' 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. Following the September 11 attacks, ratings increased 17% over the previous season.[97]
Ratings tableSeasonTimeslotSeason premiereSeason finaleTV seasonRankViewers
(in millions)Most-watched episodeTitleViewers
(in millions)1Thursday 8:30 pm
(1–16)
Thursday 9:30 pm
(17–24)September 22, 1994May 18, 19951994–95824.3[117]"The One Where Rachel Finds Out"31.3[118]2Thursday 8:00 pmSeptember 21, 1995May 16, 19961995–96330[117]"The One After the Superbowl"52.9[118]3September 19, 1996May 15, 19971996–97424.9[117]"The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister"29.80[119]4September 25, 1997May 7, 19981997–98424.0[117]"The One with Ross's Wedding"31.61[120]5September 24, 1998May 20, 19991998–99223.5[117]"The One After Ross Says Rachel"31.12[121]6September 23, 1999May 18, 20001999–2000520.7[117]"The One with the Proposal"30.73[122]7October 12, 2000May 17, 20012000–01520.2[117]"The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding"30.05[123]8September 27, 2001May 16, 20022001–02124.5[117]"The One Where Rachel Has a Baby"34.91[124]9September 26, 2002May 15, 20032002–03221.8[117]"The One Where No One Proposes"34.01[125]10September 25, 2003May 6, 20042003–04422.8[117]"The Last One"52.46[126]

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.[127]
All episodes became available on Netflix 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.[128] In the US, the series has a syndication deal through multiple networks, including Nick at Nite, 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's video-streaming service HBO Max,[129] which launched in May 2020.[130]

Cultural impact

The set of Central Perk at Warner Bros. Studios
Although the producers thought of Friends as "only a TV show", psychologists investigated the cultural impact of Friends during the series' run. Aniston's hairstyle was nicknamed "The Rachel" and copied around the world.[19] Joey's catchphrase, "How you doin'?", became a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends.[131] The series also influenced the English language, according to a study by the University of Toronto that found that the characters used the emphasized word "so" to modify adjectives more often than any other intensifier. Although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerated the change.[31] Chandler's habit of ending a sentence unfinished for sarcasm also influenced viewers' speech.[132]
Friends has also been credited in helping non-English speaking students to learn the language. 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.[133] Notable individuals who have also said that the sitcom helped them learn English include Liverpool F.C. manager Jürgen Klopp,[134] BTS member RM[135] and Belgian professional golfer Thomas Pieters.[136]
Friends was parodied in the twelfth season Murder, She Wrote episode "Murder Among Friends". In the episode, amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) 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."[137]
Jerry Ludwig, the writer of the episode, researched the "flavor" of Buds by watching episodes of Friends.[137] 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 network declined to pick up the series.[138]
The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, is part of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. People sometimes propose marriage on the couch, and many tourists cry when they sit on it.[128] 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, who plays the Central Perk manager in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai café, where he worked as a waiter.[139]
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 visited the set for the first time since the series finale in 2004.[140] From September 24 to October 7, 2009, a Central Perk replica was based at Broadwick Street, Soho, 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".[141] In Beijing, business owner Du Xin opened a coffee shop named Central Perk in March 2010.[142]
After filming on the finale concluded, Stage 24 at Warner Bros. Studios, where Friends had been filmed since season 2, was renamed "The Friends Stage".
In India, there are six Friends-themed cafes, located in Chandigarh (named Central Perk); Kolkata; 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.[143][144]
There are two Friends themed cafes in Pakistan—one in Lahore, 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.[145]
In 2016, a Central Perk replica was opened in 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.[146][147] In August 2019, it was announced that a Central Perk Lego set would be launched to mark the show's 25 anniversary.[148]
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.[149] 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.[150]
The Friends Experience exhibit at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto in 2022[151]
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. Other examples include The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, and Happy Endings.[152][153][154][155]
Readers of TV Guide voted the cast of Friends their Best Comedy cast of all time, ranking at 29% of the votes, beating Seinfeld, which registered 18%.[156] A poll undertaken by 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair named Friends the third-greatest sitcom of all time.[157] In 2014, the series was ranked by Mundo Estranho the Best TV Series of All Time.[158] A 2015 survey by The Hollywood Reporter of 2,800 actors, producers, directors, and other industry people named Friends as their No. 1 favorite show.[159]

Distribution