F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is not a mere sitcom or just another television comedy show; it was a story of six friends which changed all of our lives. A 90s show which lasted for ten long years and is repeatedly being aired on television till date. Starring talented and versatile actors like Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courtney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow, the show’s first episode aired on NBC on 22nd of September, 1994. The last episode was released that on May 6, 2004, indicating the ten year long duration of the show.
The sitcom revolves around six friends in their early 20s and 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City. The group is often seen hanging out together either in their apartment or in a coffee house namely, Central Perk. Jennifer Aniston plays Rachel Green, who makes her debut in the show in a wedding dress portraying that she ran away from her wedding. Rachel is a daughter of a wealthy family and has forever been dependant on her father for all her expenses. She flees her wedding day in order to make her own identity and to find herself. Straight from her wedding venue she arrives at a coffee house which happened to be Central Perk and meets her childhood friend Monica Geller, which is played by Courtney Cox. Monica is a fussy and sophisticated character who is also a cleanliness freak. She plays a role of a chef while Rachel is shown to a waitress at Central Perk after she runs away from her wedding and family. While working as a waitress she also tries to seek a job in the fashion industry, which she eventually gets in further seasons of the show. Rachel joins Monica’s group of single in their mid-20s.
The group further consists of Phoebe Buffey who is a masseuse by profession and a guitarist by passion. The character is one of her own kind and is known for being the “odd one out” of the group. Now coming to the very handsome, sarcastic and good hearted boys in the circle, let’s start with my personal favourite Joey Tribbiani, which is played by Matt LeBlanc. Joey is a struggling actor and is also very famous among the women for his charm and fluent chivalry. He is also the roommate of Chandler Bing who is an IT Manager. The character is played by Matthew Perry. The two men are also apartment neighbors with Monica Geller. Since Rachel moved to Manhattan, she was offered by Monica to move in with her in her apartment and now along with Monica, Rachel is also neighbors with Joey and Chandler. Chandler’s childhood friend and Monica’s brother Ross Geller is also a part of this hilarious group. Ross is a very down to earth and sweet in nature type of person, who is a paleontologist by profession.
The storyline of this iconic show revolves around three main aspects of life – Love, Friendship and Professionalism. This group of six friends is inseparable and always there for each through thick and thin. They have grown together and have seen each other at their lowest point. According to the creators of the show David Crane and Marta Kauffman, they tried several names for the show. The first title developed was Insomnia Café during the time between November and December in 1993. After several rewrites and discussion, the series was finalised as F.R.I.E.N.D.S. the filming of the show was done at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. After months and years of rumored information, the reunion of this sitcom’s cast finally happened on 27th May to mark the 25th Anniversary this legendary show. The reunion was internationally streamed on HBO Max, whereas in India it was aired on Zee5 app. Viewers were in need to subscribe the app in order to watch the moist awaited reunion. The special reunion episode was at least a two hour long interview of the six leading cast members who reunited after 17 years and it was hosted by James Corden.
The guest starring list of this episode is as close to endless. Some international icons like David Beckham, Justin Beiber, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevinge, Lady Gaga, Reese Witherspoon, Malala Yousafzai, K-Pop music group BTS and so many more! While most of these artists made virtual appearances, some of them made guest appearance by being in the interview themselves in person. Lady Gaga was seen jamming and playing guitar with Lisa Kudrow who sang the iconic song by her character on the show ‘Smelly Cat’. Other celebrities like Justin Bieber, Cindy Crawford and Cara Delevinge made their presence memorable by participating in the fashion show which took place almost in the end of the reunion episode. The fashion show models ramp walked some iconic looks and outfits of the sitcom. The entire reunion was exactly what we imagined, beautifully magical.
The TV show F.R.I.E.N.D.S has been there for people who did even had friends in real life. The show took away any and all sort of pain, sorrow and misery from its viewers. If someone has been feeling okay lately, I suggest them to just simply watch the show. The sarcastic comedy will have you rolling all over the floor while you gasp to catch your breath in between those jokes and your laughter. It has touched many hearts than one could even imagine or count. The show is filled with real life problems like unemployment, broken marriages, divorced parents, infertility, discrimination against LGBT community, etc. Even after such controversial issues, the show is said to be hilarious. It has beautifully portrayed the essence of teenage romance and adulthood love. This show is a wholesome and deserves all the hype it has been receiving till date. Audience waited for the reunion for more than a decade and the wait was for sure worth it. Seeing the entire star cast together felt like going back in time when we watched the first episode for the first time. Watching the reunion episode made me wonder, “Could it BE anymore nostalgic?” Now that I have mentioned it, I can’t resist myself from watching the reunion one more time, be right back! See you in my next blog.