‘Friends’: The Last Time the Hit NBC Comedy Won an Emmy
In 2004, the cast of Friends signed off for what seemed like the last time. The final episode brought an end to a decade of laughs and a decade of seeing the cast at awards shows like the Primetime Emmy Awards. As it turns out, it wasn’t actually goodbye. The cast of Friends is once again nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. This time it is for their work on Friends: The Reunion. You might be surprised to find out when the last time Friends won an Emmy award was.
When was the last time ‘Friends’ won an Emmy award?
The cast and crew of Friends were regularly nominated for Emmy Awards during all 10 seasons. They didn’t take home a ton of wins, though. The show’s final season, for example, resulted in seven nominations, but the cast and crew left empty-handed. The last actor to pick up an Emmy win for Friends wasn’t even a main cast member. The final win connected with the show came in 2003 and went to Christina Applegate.
Applegate appeared in two episodes of the show as Amy Green. She was nominated the following year in the same category for the same role. Applegate wasn’t the only guest star to get a nod, though. Over the years, Friends received 11 nominations in outstanding guest categories. The show, as a whole, last took home a trophy in 2002. It won in the Outstanding Comedy Series category.
Only two of the show’s six main castmembers ever won an Emmy for the show
While Friends is by far one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, it apparently wasn’t a huge hit with the voting committee. During its 10-season run, the show was nominated for a staggering 66 Emmys, but it only earned six individual trophies. Of those six wins, only two of them went to main cast members.
Jennifer Aniston picked up one win out of five nominations for her role as Rachel Green. Lisa Kudrow also picked up a win. Kudrow, who portrayed Phoebe Buffay, was nominated six times in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category. She went home with a single trophy. Aniston, interestingly enough, was nominated in both lead and supporting actress categories over the years. Aniston picked up her win in 2003; Kudrow took home her statue in 1998.
Courteney Cox could pick up her first Emmy for ‘Friends’ more than two decades after the series premiered
2021 might be Courteney Cox’s year. While Cox was largely considered the best-known cast member when Friends began, her initial clout didn’t translate into any Emmy wins. In fact, Cox, who spent a decade playing Monica Geller, left the Friends set as the only cast member never to receive an Emmy nomination for her work. She hadn’t received any other nods, despite working on several successful projects, in the years since either.
Now, Cox is nominated for the very first time for Friends: The Reunion. The rest of the cast shares the nomination. Following the announcement, Cox reflected on finally getting recognition from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. To say her reaction was underwhelming is an understatement. Cox told Entertainment Weekly that she was happy that the Academy recognized the reunion but that the nomination wasn’t “the Emmy I was looking for.” Cox is still a bit hurt by the cold shoulder she got from the Academy for all those years.
