comedy
The Sitcom Genre
In The Sitcom, author Brett Mills defines a situation comedy as “a form of programming which foregrounds its comic intent.” Besides jokes and amusing situations, sitcoms often share several other similar characteristics:
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30-minutes in length
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Performed before live audiences
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Recurring characters that fall into certain types
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Recurring domestic settings
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The conflict of each episode is usually resolved at the end of the half-hour
“A television or radio series in which the same set of characters are involved in various amusing situations.”
—Oxford Dictionary
Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004 for a total of ten seasons. The show stars a group of six twenty-something friends living in Manhattan, NYC: Monica (Courteney Cox), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Ross (David Schwimmer), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Joey (Matt Le Blanc). They rely on one another as they struggle to achieve professional success and personal happiness—especially when it comes to romantic relationships.
"It's about sex, love, relationships, careers, a time in your life when everything's possible. And it's about friendship because when you're single and in the city, your friends are your family."
—The original treatment used by Crane, Kauffman and Bright to pitch the series to NBC
The friends at their hang-out spot in Central Perk
Friends does not revolve around a family home or workplace—typical settings and premises of past sitcoms—but a makeshift group of friends that reflected the kinds of relationships Generation Xers were forming. An equal ensemble cast like Friends’ was also unusual at the time—most shows, like The Cosby Show or Seinfeld, had one or two stars surrounded by supporting characters. While Ross and Rachel’s relationship became a central feature of the series, the writers realized after the first season that the show thrived on the chemistry of the cast as a whole and more scenes were written with multiple friends present at once. The “group-hangout comedy” style of Friends paved the way for the success of later sitcoms like That 70s Show, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory.
Cultural Impact
The show not only reflects aspects of American popular culture of the 1990s, it also infiltrated that culture—from Rachel’s hairstyle and wardrobe to Joey's catchphrase, "How you doin'?" According to a study conducted by the University of Toronto, the frequent use of the adverbial intensifier so (as in That is so not true!) on the show gave rise to its usage in everyday American English conversation. Viewers also began to tell jokes like Chandler, such as ending a sentence unfinished for sarcastic effect.
Off the Charts!
Throughout the series, Friends aired on a Thursday at around 8pm. All ten seasons of Friends ranked within the top-ten most-watched series for each television season of its run, averaging 23 million viewers per episode. Even after first launching in broadcast syndication in fall 1998, the show maintained more than 90% retention of its ratings. The series finale on May 6, 2004, was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth most watched series finale in television history, and the most watched television episode of the 2000s decade.
Friends received a staggering number of awards and nominations , making it one of the most popular television shows in the United States and around the world in the last decade. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season.
The Set-Up
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Monica and her older brother Ross have known Rachel since their highschool years
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Chandler and Ross were roommates in college and have been close friends ever since
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Phoebe used to be Monica’s roommate but moved out to live with her grandmother because she could not stand Monica’s obsession with cleanliness and order
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Joey joined the group when he became Chandler’s roommate
The Friends
Monica Geller
Even though Monica is Ross’s little sister, she acts as the den mother of the group. She used to be overweight in high school and was often teased by her classmates and friends. She still has a difficult relationship with her mother, who always finds fault in what she does and favors Ross over her. Throughout the show she works as a cook, a head chef, and has her own catering business with Phoebe for a short time. She is often seen cooking for the group in her unusually spacious apartment, which she shares with Rachel for most of the series. Monica is an obsessive cleaner, excessively competitive, and is considered bossy by her own friends. After several unsuccessful romantic relationships, Monica starts secretly dating Chandler in season 5, starts living with him in season 6, and ends up marrying him in season 7. In the last season, the couple fulfill their dream of starting a family by adopting twin infants.
Rachel is a “spoiled daddy’s girl” who has lived off her parents’ money until the beginning of the show. After leaving her fiance at the alter, she seeks the help of Monica—her best friend in high school—and moves into Monica’s apartment in the first episode. Having never held a job before, Rachel works as a waitress at Central Perk (a coffee house where the friends often hang out), at Bloomingdale’s as an assistant buyer, and then at Ralph Lauren as the women’s collection coordinator. Rachel finds out that Ross has had a crush on her since the 9th grade and starts dating him in season 2. The couple break up in season 3, and get drunk in season 5 in Las Vegas and end up getting married. Realizing it had been a mistake, they divorce in the following season. Also in season 6, Rachel shares an apartment with Phoebe and then with Joey—who she has a short-lived relationship with.
Because of a one-night stand, she has a daughter with Ross in season 8 and moves in with him so he can also take care of the baby in spite of no longer being romantically involved with him. She and Ross end up together at the end of the series.
Rachel Green
Phoebe Buffey
Of all the characters, Phoebe has the most complicated family history: she left home when she was 14 after her mother committed suicide (and her stepfather was back in jail); she has an evil twin sister, Ursula, whom she rarely sees; in season 3, she finds out she has a step-brother, Frank Jr.; at the start of season 4, she discovers that her actual birth mom—also named Phoebe—is still alive and that her dad, her mom, and Phoebe were in a polyamorous relationship in high school; and she finally meets her father at her grandmother’s memorial service in season 5. In season 4, she agrees to be the surrogate mother for her brother and much older wife, and gives birth to triplets.
Phoebe works as a masseuse for some time and often sings weird off-pitch songs (many of which are about death) at Central Perk. Phoebe is a character of contradictions: she is both sweet and hard-ass, intuitive and spacey. Much of her character’s humor comes from unexpected comments and reactions. She is the most spiritual of the group and is seen cleansing auras, hosting rituals, and talking to the dead. In season 9, she gets seriously involved with Mike, whom she marries in the last season.
Ross Geller
The most well-educated of the characters, Ross (Monica’s older brother), a paleontologist, goes through difficult relationship problems; he has a son, Ben, with his ex-wife, Carol, who leaves him for another woman in season 1 after she realizes she is a lesbian; having had a crush on Rachel since 9th grade, Ross starts dating her in season 2, but the couple break up in season 3 after he sleeps with another woman; at the end of season 4, he marries Rachel’s boss’ niece Emily, but accidentally calls Emily “Rachel” as he says his vows. They proceed with the ceremony, but Emily’s jealousy ends the marriage. After a one-night-stand in season 8, he has a daughter with Rachel. Ross and Rachel end up together in the last episode of the series. Ross lives by himself for most of the show, but spends most of his free time with the friends at Monica’s apartment or at Central Perk.
Afraid of romantic commitments, Chandler is insecure with women; he has difficulty asking them out as well as breaking up with them. He uses his humor as a defense mechanism and often makes self-deprecating comments and sarcastic jokes. After some unsuccessful relationships, he starts dating Monica in season 5 after they sleep together at a Emily and Ross’s wedding, moves in with her in season 6, and marries her in season 7. The couple adopt twin infants in the last season. Chandler and Joey share an apartment across the hall from Monica’s for most of the series. Arguably the funniest of all the characters, Chandler became famous for his witty one-liners. He works in a data-processing company, but nobody knows exactly what he does.
Joey is a laid-back womanizer who never maintains a lasting relationship. An aspiring actor, he lands several unimportant roles until he reaches the highlight of his acting career as Dr. Drake Ramorey in the soap-opera Days of Our Lives. Although he is kind and loyal, Joey is not very intellectually bright and it usually takes him a while to catch on. Joey meets the other friends (except Rachel, who he meets in the first episode) before the show begins when he becomes Chandler’s roommate.
Joey Tribbiani
Chandler Bing
Character profiles adapted from Paulo Quaglio's Television Dialogue: The sitcom Friends vs. natural conversation
Andromeda and Greer, check it out!
Ross and Rachel
From the pilot episode to the series finale, Ross and Rachel's relationship is a major plot-line of the series. Although their longest relationship only lasts one year, the question of whether or not they will get back together is always on the table. They take turns pining after one another and become jealous when the other is in a serious relationship. While they get back together for brief periods after their major breakup in Season 3, it isn't until the very last episode that it appears as if they are committed to staying with each other for the long-run.