13 Facts I Bet You Don’t Know About Friends
We here will be sharing some of the facts that the die-hard fans won’t know about regarding the Friends Series.
The most popular comedy series Friends was released on American Television on the platform of NBC in the year 1994. Since then, the fans have watched it so many times and still would like to spend their happy moments with their family watching Friends.
The Friends series include the journey of a few friends who come together and face happy and sad moments together with so many ups and downs. The Friends’ main cast includes Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc.
In the series, six friends who live in Manhattan, New York City, in their 20s and 30s, face many challenges finding jobs and the right person for their lives. Almost the whole world might have watched the classic American sitcom, and there are still many facts I bet you don’t know about friends.
13. Monica and Joey were Assumed to be Together.
In the Friends Series, one of the facts is Joey Tribbiani, an Italian struggling actor, comes to New York to find work, and Monica Geller, a chef who would like to own her own restaurant, were assumed to have some chemistry.
On the sets of Friends, natural chemistry was developed according to which the Show evolved. Marta Kauffman, one of the co-creator and the executive producers of the series, explained, “You set out to do things, and then actors come in, and it’s not quite what you expected when you breathe life; into it.”
Because of Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc’s on-set chemistry, it changes the Show’s direction, and Joey and Monica were had no spark between them in the series. They were only two friends who were neighbors too, lived in peace with each other, and never became anything more.
12. Ross and Rachel were Always Going to End Up Together
One of the most typical relationships shown in the series was that of Ross and Rachel, as the viewers were always in doubt of will they or they won’t be a couple. Whereas the Show’s co-creator, David Crane, knew that Ross and Rachel were going to end up together.
Their struggles in becoming a couple, remaining a couple, and becoming friends after breaking up were always interesting. However, Marta Kauffman and David Crane did consider alternate endings, but it seemed impossible to them to see Ross and Rachel completely broken up.
In the Entertainment Weekly, David Crane did mention, “We did talk about a grey area with Ross and Rachel. Where they aren’t together, but there’s a sense that they might be down the road.” David and Marta ended up giving the audience what they wanted, making Ross and Rachel a couple.
11. Jennifer Aniston: Final Member of Cast to Join
During the casting of actors for the roles, Jennifer Aniston was still a newcomer to the industry. In the Entertainment Weekly, 2013, Jennifer Aniston revealed that she was the last, the sixth, and final leading cast member who will be added to the series.
Jennifer Aniston, even though the last one to be added, proved herself a valuable member of the cast. Jennifer played the role of Rachel Green, a fashion enthusiast, and was introduced as a person who ran from her own wedding.
Jennifer Aniston, aka Rachel Green, was a best friend of Monica Geller and sought help from her during her struggle. Rachel and Monica had their ups and downs but loved each other so much, and Jennifer’s performance in the series earned him an Emmys Award.
10. Prior to the Release: The Whole Cast went on a Trip to Las Vegas
Before the premiere of the “Friends” series on NBC, the director James Burrows had really high expectations of this Show becoming a success. Because of this, the director sent the whole crew to Las Vegas as a gesture to begin their careers.
In the Entertainment Weekly, James Burrows, the director, disclosed that he took the cast to Vegas before the release, and he said to them, “This is your last chance at anonymity.” James mentioned that he didn’t know why he said that to the crew.
9. Phoebe and Joey were supposed to have a Long-Running Affair
Lisa Kudrow played the role of Phoebe Buffay, a self-taught magician and a masseuse, and Matt LeBlanc played the role of Joey Tribbiani, a food lover and a struggling actor. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc together mentioned that they pitched an idea of ending to the producers of the series.
Lisa Kudrow said, “At the very end, we pitched the idea that Joey and Phoebe had been having casual sex the whole time. We’d shoot all of the historical scenes again, and there’d be Joey and Phoebe coming out of a broom closet together just before a moment that everyone recognizes.” But that was never shown so that the idea might be rejected.
8. Courteney Cox was Similar to Monica: A Neat Freak
Courteney Cox played the role of Monica Geller, who was considered to be the “mother hen” of the group and was a chef. Monica Geller was also known for her perfectionist, competitive and bossy nature.
In the year 1995, in the issue of The Los Angeles Times, Marta Kauffman, the co-creator of the Friends Show, expressed her time while working with Courteney Cox, and she mentioned that Courteney Cox and Monica Geller had a lot in common.
Marta Kauffman elaborated that Courteney Cox is adorable, intelligent, and highly adjusted. Her dressing room was always spotless, and she even other actors’ dressing rooms, and she would not enter if their rooms were too messy.
7. Budget Cuts Resulted in the Infamous Episode – ‘No One’s Ready
The second episode of Friends seasons 3 in the year 1996 happened in Monica’s apartment because of the budget cuts the series struggled with. In that episode, everyone had to go to Ross’s Black-Tie event of the museum, and he is trying to get everyone ready, but no one gets ready on time.
During the time when Ross was struggling to get everyone ready, something or the other happened, which made it impossible, as they had to because the Show didn’t have much budget to include another set. The episode has become famous for the imitation that happened in Jay-Z’s – “Moonlight” music video.
6. NBC’s Broadcast Standards Changed Throughout the Show’s Run
In one interview of David Crane and Marta Kauffman with Vanity Fair, the Friends’ co-creators shared the challenges which they had to face to keep up with the network, as the network constantly changed the rules.
David Crane said, “We couldn’t show a condom wrapper for a long time. We couldn’t show a condom wrapper for a long time.”
5. Ross Didn’t Age, Due to Writing Error
In the first three seasons of the Friends Series, Ross Geller, played by David Schwimmer, didn’t age and remained 29 years old for three years. Ross Geller was Monica’s geeky old brother who had been in love with Rachel since high school, and Ross was a paleontologist who worked in the Museum of Natural History.
Ross Geller faced a lot of struggles in his life as his life came out to be a lesbian and her wife was pregnant with his child. For the first three seasons, he remained the same age because of a simple writing error while others grew old.
4. Justin Timberlake was Interested in Appearing as a Guest in the Show
The Friends series involved a lot of guest appearances of popular actors and actresses. Some of them were because of their connections with the main cast, and others were a result of lost bet (Bruce Willis).
David Crane and Marta Kauffman, besides casting various popular names in the series, confessed the fact that Justin Timberlake couldn’t appear in the Show. Marta said, “We got a call from Justin Timberlake, who said he wanted to do the show.” And according to David, Timberlake couldn’t think of a good role for him because of which his wishes were unmet.
3. Jennifer Aniston Disliked her Signature Bob
In the role of Rachel Green, Jennifer Aniston didn’t like her signature haircut, which most of the fans adopted after watching her slay the look. A short haircut, Bob Style, which has full-bodied layers, was given to Rachel Green in the Friends Series.
The actress, Jennifer, confessed that she wasn’t able to style her hair on her own, as she had to wait for her hairstylist. In the year 2015, Jennifer stated to Glamour that she didn’t care for Rachel because the bob made her squirm.
2. David Schwimmer: An Inspiration for Ross’s Character
An American Television Executive, Warren Littlefield, stated that the character Ross Geller in the series was created explicitly for David Schwimmer. Warren Littlefield shared with the Emmys that Marta Kauffman and David Crane were the fans of David Schwimmer and drafted the character of Ross Geller, keeping Schwimmer in mind.
While David Schwimmer didn’t read the part he was given, his agent persisted in him to read the script. David said, “I was thinking, I’m just going to do theatre again. But my agent persisted in persuading him to read the script and return from Chicago to audition for the part.”
1. The Main Cast Begun to Pool Their Pay by Season 3
One historical moment happened in the history of Television on the Friends Series, as reports suggested that during the time of payment negotiations of season 3, the main cast worked together and made their pay equal, as getting 75,000 dollars per episode. By the end of the show, each one of them was reported to achieve 1 million dollars per episode.
