THEY’VE been there for you since September 1994 – or, depending on your age, since they started streaming on Netflix nearly two years ago. Now Friends is turning 25 and fans still wonder if a revival will ever happen.
Friends is really celebrating its silver anniversary?
The first episode aired on September 22, 1994, introducing Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross and Joey, six late 20/early 30-somethings who were facing life and love in the Big Apple.
How many episodes were there?
10 series, so 236 episodes, all airing on NBC in the US and Channel 4 in the UK, with the finale airing in May 2004. Friends began streaming on Netflix in the UK in late 2017, with repeats airing on Comedy Central as well.
Why has it taken a bit of flak lately?
Millennials catching up with the show haven’t been able to get on board with certain storylines, saying it wouldn’t work now due to its LGBT plot points – when Chandler was uneasy about his cross-dressing father or paranoid about being perceived as homosexual. Some viewers point out sexism is rife too, for example, when Rachel hires a male assistant based only on his looks.
Where are the stars now?
The show propelled the main actors to global fame. David Schwimmer got rave reviews for his role as OJ Simpson’s lawyer in The People v OJ Simpson in 2016 and recently guest-starred in the revival of Will & Grace. Matthew Perry appeared as Ted Kennedy in an American mini-series The Kennedys After Camelot, in 2017, but his re-boot of The Odd Couple was cancelled after 38 episodes the same year. He was the last of the Friends stars to turn 50, hitting the big number in August.
What about the others?
Courteney Cox, who is dating Snow Patrol guitarist Johnny McDaid, is the creative force behind Facebook pregnancy docu-series 9 Months With Courteney Cox. Lisa Kudrow hasn’t stopped working as an actor and is also the executive producer of the US version of Who Do You Think You Are?
What about Matt Le Blanc?
The actor who played Joey Tribbiani is perhaps the most successful of all, earning a Golden Globe for his role as a fictionalised version of himself in Episodes. He also co-hosted Top Gear from 2016 to 2019 and currently stars in US sitcom Man with a Plan.
What about Jennifer Aniston?
Brad Pitt’s ex-wife’s latest movie role is in a Netflix film, Murder Mystery, with Adam Sandler, while she also stars in the Apple TV drama The Morning Show, with Reese Witherspoon, her first main TV role (she has been concentrating on film work) since Friends ended. When asked about a Friends reunion, she told US TV host Ellen in June: “Anything could happen”.
But could it?
If you’re a Friends fan I hate to burst your bubble, but it seems unlikely. Show creator Marta Kauffman said last week, “We will not be doing a reunion show, we will not be doing a reboot”.
So it looks like the Friends will still only be there for you on streaming.
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