The Central Perk from the American hit sitcom Friends doesn’t really exist. It is a fictional cafe created as a meeting place for the six lead characters of the show.
Marta Kuaffman and David Crane, the show's creators and alumni, drew inspiration for the cafe from their personal experiences. The inspiration for Central Perk came from Cholmondeley's, a cafe and tea room at Brandeis University, where the creators received their education.
After the show's 1994 debut, and particularly following its success, a chain of cafes and services bearing the same name began to appear. Either by the well-known chef Tom Colicchio, who owns a coffee brand by the same name, or by the Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian, who opened The Central Perk Cafe in more than 32 countries. Numerous replicas and cafes with "Friends" or "Central Perk" themes can be found all over the world.
Despite the fact that by this point, and particularly for a series that came to an end in 2004, cafes with the same or a similar name were already in operation and had already obtained trademark protection, Warner Bros. was compelled to file a copyright trademark application for the name of cafes and services in 2018.
What was the cultural impact of the Central Perk from Friends?
Numerous replicas have been made of the Central Perk coffee shop, one of the show's main settings. Iranian entrepreneur Mojtaba Asadian launched a Central Perk franchise in 2006 and registered the name in 32 nations. The coffee shops' furnishings, including replica couches, counters, neon signs, and bricks, are inspired by the Friends television series.
Additionally, the coffee shops have televisions playing Friends episodes and paintings of various series characters.
James Michael Tyler, who plays Central Perk manager Gunther in the TV show, was present for the cafe's opening in Dubai while serving customers there as a waiter. In October 2008, The Ellen DeGeneres Show aired a reconstruction of Central Perk as part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios.
For the first time since the 2004 series finale, Jennifer Aniston returned to the set. An exact replica of Central Perk was located at Broadwick Street in Soho, London, from September 24 to October 7, 2009. Customers could purchase authentic coffee at the coffee shop, which also displayed Friends artifacts and props like the Geller Cup from the season three episode "The One with the Football."
A dance remix of the song "Smelly Cat" went viral online in 2009. In March 2010, Central Perk, a coffee shop in Beijing, was inaugurated by businessman Du Xin. In Liverpool, England, there were three Central Perks as well, but they all closed in 2016.
Why is the Orange Couch so famous from Friends?
The large orange couch that the characters frequently sit on is the most noticeable piece of furniture in Central Perk. Usually, four of the friends can sit together at once. The green chair on the right is then occupied by one of the others, and if all six are present, the final person is seated on the table's one chair to the left. The guys consider the couch to be their own because hardly anyone else uses it.
One time, a young man entered the room and approached the green chair where Chandler was seated and reading, but Chandler quickly shooed him away. Another instance is when friends arrive and find the couch taken and leave, or when Rachel complains about sitting by the window rather than on the couch.
The couch can also be seen in the show's opening credits, in front of the sizable fountain where the Friends cast performs a dance number. As Monica turns off the lamp to the right at the end of the credits, all of the friends are seated simultaneously on the couch.
What is the Central Perk’s design on the TV show Friends?
There are small tables and chairs scattered throughout the coffee shop that are typically occupied by show extras. These can be seen from the main camera position behind the sizable orange sofa in the center of the store.
In nearly all of the scenes in Central Perk, the green chair on the right, the coffee table, and the table and chair on the left serve as the primary backdrops. Regardless of how crowded the coffee shop got, those seats were always available.
The show's creators and the season three writers, Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane, appear to have taken the six main characters' seats when they arrive in the shop in "The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" (S03E01). They then part ways after exchanging dejected glances.
Every three episodes, the artwork in the back of Central Perk was changed to include pictures of King Kong and Uncle Sam, but the furniture arrangement stayed largely the same throughout the entire run of the show.
FAQs
Q. What was the inspiration behind Central Perk?
A. The primary source of inspiration for Central Perk, the café and tea room where the show's creators originally hung out, was Chomondeley's at Brandeis University.
Q. Does the Central Perk really exist?
A. It's a bit of a trick question because the cafe didn't actually exist before Friends debuted in 1994. Following the success of the series, roughly comparable cafes began to pop up.
Q. Who owns the legal right of Central Perk from Friends?
A. According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, Warner Bros. Entertainment reportedly acquired the copyright to use the name Central Perk for "coffee shop and café services" in 2018.
