Lisa Kudrow (31), Courteney Cox (30), David Schwimmer (28), Matt LeBlanc (27), Jennifer Aniston (25) and Matthew Perry (25) were the ages of the 'Friends' cast members in 1994 when the show as first released as per PopSugar. Six friends who live in New York City and are either employed or looking for work are the subject of the television show Friends. Some of them have successful careers, but others are still in need.
It aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, for a total of ten seasons. It was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Television, Kevin S. Bright, Kauffman, and Crane. The show made the six main cast, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer, very famous in the years since. As one of the most-watched television series of all time, 'Friends' received praise throughout its run.
The show received 62 Primetime Emmy nominations, and in 2002, for its eighth season, it won the Outstanding Comedy Series award. The show came in at number 21 on TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest TV shows of all time. The episode "The One with the Prom Video" was listed as the 100th greatest episode of all time by TV Guide in 1997. Friends placed 24th on the Writers Guild of America's list of the 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time and 28th on 'TV Guide's' 60 Best TV Series of All Time in 2013. On May 27, 2021, HBO Max broadcast a reunion special featuring the cast of the television series.
What is the plot of Friends?
Jennifer Aniston's character, Rachel Green, flees her wedding and her wealthy but unfulfilling life to find Monica Geller, a childhood friend. After moving into Monica's apartment above Central Perk, Rachel starts working as a waitress there. She then joins Monica's group of friends in their mid-20s, including Monica's former roommate Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), an eccentric masseuse and musician; her neighbor Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), a devoted struggling actor and womanizer; Joey's roommate Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), a sarcastic, self-deprecating data processor; and Monica's older brother Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), a sweet-natured but insecure palaeontologist.
The friends' comedic, romantic, and professional exploits are shown in the episodes, including Joey trying out for roles or Rachel looking for work in the fashion industry. The most frequently occurring plot line involves Ross and Rachel's sporadic relationship. They repeatedly date and break up throughout the series. Ross briefly marries Emily during the show, Ross and Rachel have a child, Chandler and Monica date and eventually get married, Phoebe marries Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd), and Joey remains single at the climax of the show.
What was the critical perspective regarding "Friends"?
Early reviews of the series were mixed. The series "vaguely and less successfully traded on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld," according to Tom Feran of The Plain Dealer, while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it "the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld." Back in the day, the 9-season long series "Seinfeld" set the standard for a series, or what American audiences expect from a sitcom in the late 1990s.
However, some referred to Friends as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season" and as "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season" by the Los Angeles Times.
Ginny Holbert of the Chicago Sun-Times thought Joey and Rachel's personalities needed more development, whereas Richmond praised the cast as a "likable youth ensemble" with "good chemistry." Schwimmer was praised by USA Today's Robert Bianco, who described him as "terrific." LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already worn out the last two times he tried it," and Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined," which concerned him. He also praised the female leads. According to the authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends, Perry and Schwimmer were among the cast members who were "trying just a little too hard."
Friends became one of the most well-liked sitcoms of its era as a result of the improved reviews that came with each episode. It is now frequently listed among the top TV shows of all time. The series received praise from critics for its consistently sharp writing and the chemistry between its lead actors. When Noel Holston of Newsday watched the episode again after disparaging the pilot as a "so-so Seinfeld wanna be" in 1994, he decided to retract his earlier review and felt compelled to send an apology to the writers.
Was there a spin-off of Friends?
LeBlanc joined the spin-off series 'Joey' after the 2004 'Friends' finale when Joey relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Although Bright agreed to executive produce the series alongside Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan, Kauffman and Crane were not interested in the spin-off. 'Joey' received a significant promotion from NBC and the "Friends" Thursday 8:00 p.m. time slot. 18.6 million Americans watched the series' pilot, but the ratings steadily dropped over the course of the show's two seasons, with an average of 10.2 million viewers in the first and 7.1 million in the second.
7.09 million people watched the final broadcast episode on March 7, 2006; NBC canceled the show after two seasons on May 15, 2006, leaving eight episodes unaired. Bright attributed the series' rapid demise to the collaboration between NBC executives, the studio, and other producers.
FAQs
A. Jennifer Aniston with an estimated net worth of $320 million as per Celebrity Net Worth as of 2024 and is the cast member with the highest net worth.
A. Matt LeBlanc with an estimated net worth of $85 million as per Celebrity Net Worth as of 2024 and is the cast member with the lowest net worth.
A. Lisa Kudrow (61), Courteney Cox (60), David Schwimmer (58), Matt LeBlanc (57) and Jennifer Anniston (55) are the ages of the Friends cast members in 2024. Unfortunately, Matthew Perry died on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54.
