Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six friends in their 20s and 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City.
Why It Rocks
- It launched the careers of all of the main characters in the show, such as Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, etc.
- All of the actors give amazing performances.
- The jokes! Nobody can explain how hilarious and wonderful they are! None of it is predictable in any way.
- Chandler Bing is probably one of the best characters in the series. He's funny, hysterical, and Matthew Perry is amazing when playing him.
- Every single character is likable and interesting, none are completely positive or negative.
- Its iconic theme song that has spawned memes.
- The episodes are fast-paced, meaning scenes can go by fast, making it all funnier.
- The show can actually tackle serious topics such as single parenthood, infertility, etc.
- Many iconic running gags, such as Phoebe's "Smelly Cat" song, which has garnered acclaim from fans of the show.
- Every single one of the characters has great chemistry with each other.
- The series finale is heartbreaking to watch.
- Monica and Chandler's relationship is one of the best and helped them grow up as people.
Bad Qualities
- The show can be a bit unrealistic at times.
- Some of the shows jokes wouldn't be funny today.
- The show has received criticism for its lack of racial representation.
- Despite being the main couple of the show, Ross and Rachel's relationship is toxic from both parties as they usually acted like spoiled babies.
- The show had a few plot holes.
- Some of the characters are unlikable at times to the point where they can be considered annoying.
- Overused laugh tracks that get stale after a while.
- Season 9 is considered to be one of the worst seasons of the series.
Trivia
- Joey is the only character in the show to recieve his own spin-off. The spin-off was titled Joey and starred Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani. It premiered on NBC on September 9, 2004, in the former time slot of its parent series Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. Midway through the second season, the show was placed on a hiatus by NBC but returned on March 7, 2006, in a new timeslot of Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. However, unlike this show, it wasn't popular nor succesful, and was cancelled by NBC after 2 seasons and 48 episodes due to low ratings on August 23, 2006. 8 episodes of the spin-off were not aired in the United States.
- The show has an Indian adaptation, titled Hello Friends, which has 26 episodes and is spread over only 1 season. While the American version recieved positive reviews, Hello Friends, on the other hand, was critically panned by the Indian media and is considered disappointing, tasteless, and one of the worst remakes ever made.