The story : six friends, 4 flats, Manhattan. Monica is a chef, her brother Ross a paleontologist. Rachel shares a flat with Monica, and across the hall live their friends Chandler, an IT developper, and Joey, actor. Adding some whimsy to the group is Phoebe, a masseuse. Everyone has a completely different background and personality. And yet they go through life’s joys and sorrows together, united by an unshakeable affection.
Why is this a giant milestone in the history of series ? First, for me, was the quality of dialogues ! Incisive, funny and well-paced, they are a major asset to the series. Then come the characters, well-written, each a little bit crazy, and yet we recognize ourselves in them. The three main sets (the two apartments and the Central Perk café) quickly became an integral part of the series, along with the mythical opening sequence. The story is not very original. And personally, I’ve never been able to stand the audience laughing in the background. However, in the space of 10 years, Friends became one of the most popular TV series in history. It is funny, effective for relaxing after a hard day’s work. Life in the 90s seems simple when you are in your twenties. Soon enough, these fictional friends invite themselves into your living room and become your friends.
10 seasons, 236 episodes (20 mn), 1994-2004 + Friends the reunion, 2024. To be seen today on : Netflix
Casting
- Showrunners : Marta Kauffman & David Crane
- Jennifer Aniston / Rachel Green
- Courteney Cox / Monica Geller
- Lisa Kudrow / Phoebe Buffay
- Matt Le Blanc / Joey Tribbiani
- Matthew Perry / Chandler Bing
- David Schwimmer / Ross Geller
- And also : James Michael Tyler, Elliot Gould, Maggie Wheeler, Cole Sprouse, Giovanni Ribisi, Paul Rudd
- Guest stars (some of them) : see at the end of this post
Guests : Robin Williams, Bruce Willis, George Clooney, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Helen Hunt, Hugh Laurie, Charlie Sheen, Sean Penn, Christina Applegate, Charlton Heston, Ben Stiller, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Pompeo, Danny DeVito, Dina Meyer, Gary Oldman, Selma Blair, Jon Favreau, Winona Ryder, Jeff Goldblum, Isabella Rossellini, Jennifer Saunders, Billy Crystal, Susan Sarandon, Freddie Prinze Jr., Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Grey, Michael Vartan, Dermot Mulroney, Brent Spiner, Adam Goldberg, Kathleen Turner, Olivia Williams, Brad Pitt, David Arquette, Tom Selleck…