‘Friends’ Creator Marta Kauffman Personally Asked Lisa Kudrow to Appear in ‘Grace and Frankie’
It’s been quite some time since the NBC comedy series Friends aired its final episode. The series will go down in history as one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. Some fans might already know that Friends creator Marta Kauffman later created Grace and Frankie. The series perhaps didn’t gain as much popularity as Friends, but Grace and Frankie still have a loyal following. Kauffman personally called up Friends star Lisa Kudrow to ask her to make a guest appearance in Grace and Frankie.
Lisa Kudrow guest stars in ‘Grace and Frankie’
In season 4, Lisa Kudrow joined the cast of Grace and Frankie as a special guest. Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay for all 10 seasons of Friends. Her former coworker, Kauffman, got in touch to offer Kudrow the role in Grace and Frankie. “Marta called me up and said, ‘Would you do three episodes?’ I agreed to it before I knew the role,” Kudrow told The Hollywood Reporter. “When I saw the very first episode, I stopped in the middle of it and had to email Marta and Lily [Tomlin] to say thank you.”
Kudrow appeared in the first three episodes of season four as Sheree, Grace’s new friend, who moves into the beach house while Frankie lives in Santa Fe. Sheree is a bubbly manicurist who sports pink tracksuits and bakes muffins with Rolos stuffed inside. The muffins were one of Kudrow’s favorite things. “They are such a good idea. And the props person baked them for real. That’s always the perk to me — it’s like cookies,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kudrow talks working with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin
Apart from joining her former Friends coworker, Kudrow also got to work alongside legendary actors Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Fonda and Tomlin have played Grace and Frankie‘s titular characters since the beginning. According to Kudrow, they were a joy to work with. “What I love about iconic movie stars like Jane and Lily is that they make you feel incredibly welcome,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
“It was the end of the day when we started filming, and they were messing up their lines, and I suspect that they were doing it on purpose to make sure I felt comfortable,” she continued to the outlet. “They were apologetic, like, ‘I’m so sorry. I guess I’m just tired.’ And I can’t remember a line to save my life.”
‘Grace and Frankie’ has no shortage of iconic guest stars
Over the years, Grace and Frankie have had some pretty incredible guest stars on the show. Craig T. Nelson, Sam Elliott, and Peter Gallagher all played Grace’s love interests at various points in the series. Roseanne alum Estelle Parsons also made an appearance in several episodes. Even an actor from The Office made a small cameo in Grace and Frankie. Hopefully, more iconic guest stars will show up in season 7.
