First aired 30 years ago, the hugely popular series “Friends” became much more than a sitcom - it introduced a new way of life, bTV reported.
The series, created by David Crane and Martha Kaufman, aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004 for 10 seasons, or a total of 234 episodes.
The main characters are Monica (Courtney Cox), Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow).
About “Warner Bros“ the series has earned about $4.8 billion. The last episode in 2004 attracted 52.5 million viewers.
„Friends“ changed the very form of television comedy. It has changed the way people talk to each other, writes the “Guardian”.
One of the oddities of the phenomenon “Friends” is its unwavering appeal to different generations. Millennials and Gen Zers are downloading it via streaming sites, though that doesn't mean some of them don't find the series problematic.
This is usually presented as a generational flaw of the young people themselves – judgmental, humorless, don't understand comedy.
Undoubtedly, there was a lack of diversity, which some of the actors and writers involved already regret, writes the author of the article in "Guardian".
Aisha Tyler, who played Ross' black girlfriend for nine episodes, commented that “Friends” “reflected the whole business that thought only white stories sold”.
Making fun of “Fat Monica”, gay jokes (including people worried about being gay). Let's not forget the jokes about the transgender “father” Chandler's. And also the storyline surrounding Ross's ex and her sour aggressive lesbian wife.
Since then, all these “mistakes“ have been noted and criticized, but perhaps it is telling that not so many viewers noticed them at the time, or if they did, they didn't react.
In short, if Friends, one of the greatest TV comedies of all time, was troubled, so were the rest of us.
The enduring popularity of “Friends” it is also due to the affection for the actors themselves, as evidenced by the public grief over the death of Matthew Perry, who struggled with addictions for a long time.
Will “die“ ever the series?
Maybe not until viewers stop needing it. Younger fans will undoubtedly enjoy “Friends” for reasons of their own.
For longtime viewers, this is one of those series that is a touchstone of history - before phones, before streamers, from the old days when good TV mattered.
If despite its problematic “Friends“ looks set to become a series that will never go away, this may be because it's nostalgia therapy for some.