Friends | Characters, Cast, Story, & Facts

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<h1>Friends</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">American television series</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="683248"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border pr-10 border-2" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="more_vert"></em> More Actions </button> <div class="md-more-popover popover popover-sm p-0 font-14 z-1"> <div> <a class="js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" href="/print/article/683248" target="_blank" > <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="print"></em> Print </a> </div> <div> <button class="js-modal qa-cite-modal-button btn btn-sm btn-link 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-03T00:00:00CDT" >Nov 3, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Friends/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Awards And Honors: </dt> <dd><a href="/art/Emmy-Award">Emmy Award</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Friends"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref1008761"></span>Friends</strong>, popular American television <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/situation-comedy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sitcom</a> that aired on the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/National-Broadcasting-Co-Inc" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">NBC</a> network from 1994 to 2004. It won six <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Emmy-Award" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Emmy Awards</a>, including outstanding <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/comedy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">comedy</a> series, and from its second season until the end of its run maintained a top five or better Nielsen rating, hitting number one in its eighth season.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="269673" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/01/235601-050-895651AA/Friends-cast-television-series-1994.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/683248/269673"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/01/235601-050-895651AA/Friends-cast-television-series-1994.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/01/235601-050-895651AA/Friends-cast-television-series-1994.jpg?w=300" alt="Friends" data-width="1600" data-height="1428" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/01/235601-050-895651AA/Friends-cast-television-series-1994.jpg" data-href="/media/1/683248/269673"><em>Friends</em></a><span>The cast of the television series <em>Friends</em> (1994) included (from left) Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, and Matthew Perry.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><em>Friends</em> was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and is about a group of six young adults who are either roommates or neighbours in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-City" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New York City’s</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenwich-Village" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greenwich Village</a>. Much of the show takes place in the friends’ apartments as they visit one another. The program revolves around the characters’ individual and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="collective" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collective" data-type="MW">collective</a> search for sex, commitment, and meaning. The friends consist of three men and three women, whose varied personalities and shortcomings allow for both broad audience identification and abundant comedic moments. At the beginning of the show, Monica Geller (played by <span id="ref1173760"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Courteney-Cox" class="md-crosslink ">Courteney Cox</a>) is a chef who often changes jobs and boyfriends in her search for the perfect match. Her brother, Ross (<span id="ref1173761"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Schwimmer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">David Schwimmer</a>), is a paleontologist and divorcé (three times over by the end of the series) with a child. He has a long-standing crush on Rachel Green (<span id="ref1070336"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jennifer-Aniston" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jennifer Aniston</a>), a fashion-minded woman who grew up in a wealthy family but works (for a time) as a barista at Central Perk, a café and popular meeting spot for the group. Eventually she lands a job with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ralph-Lauren" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Ralph Lauren</a>. Phoebe Buffay (<span id="ref1173762"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lisa-Kudrow" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lisa Kudrow</a>) is a ditsy masseuse and would-be musician with a quirky outlook on life. Joey Tribbiani (<span id="ref1173763"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matt-LeBlanc" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Matt LeBlanc</a>) is a mostly struggling actor and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="buffoon" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buffoon" data-type="MW">buffoon</a> who often confides in Chandler Bing (<span id="ref1173764"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matthew-Perry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Matthew Perry</a>), a well-off statistics and data analyst who has terrible luck with women and in time develops an eye for Monica. Throughout the series, the friends live together or apart in different combinations.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">As the show progressed, each character became a household name and each cast member a celebrity; they moved on to careers of varying success in motion pictures and television. The cast was renowned for its closeness and ensemble approach to their work on the series. The finale of <em>Friends</em> was watched by more than 52 million people. <em><span id="ref1320101"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Joey-TV-series" class="md-crosslink ">Joey</a></em> (2004–06), a spin-off starring LeBlanc, was much less successful. The <em>Friends</em> theme song, “<span id="ref1173765"></span>I’ll Be There for You,” performed by the Rembrandts, was a minor pop hit in its own right. In 2021 the cast returned for <em>Friends: The Reunion</em>, a TV special in which they discussed the show.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/pop-culture-vocabulary-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/249845-131-314A2B7D/1970s-retro-television-set.jpg" alt="1970s style television set with static on the screen, on a small table with a doily underneath. 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