‘Twentysomethings: Austin’ Homes Were Inspired by ‘Friends’
Netflix has a new reality show where strangers live together in Austin. Twentysomethings: Austin showed the cast living in not one but two homes right next to each other. The showrunner explained how the apartments in Friends inspired this setup.
The ‘Twentysomethings: Austin’ cast lived next door to each other
Most reality shows have the entire cast living together. But Twentysomethings switched things up by having the guys living in one apartment and the girls living in another. They were next door to each other so they could talk to each other from the balcony.
This meant the season started with Abbey Humphreys, Isha Punja, Natalie Cabo, and Raquel Daniels living together. Then Bruce Stephenson, Michael Fractor, Keauno Perez, and Kamari Bonds lived in another home.
Over time the cast members pursued getting jobs or furthering their careers. A very famous show inspired this living situation.
‘Twentysomethings: Austin’ homes were inspired by ‘Friends’
Friends started with Monica Geller (Jennifer Aniston) and Rachel Greene (Courteney Cox) living together in a rent-controlled 2-bedroom apartment. Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) lived together across the hall for some time.
Sometimes who lived in which apartment changed, but the show worked because the characters kept very close until it ended. The makers of the new reality show wanted to copy that formula for the Netflix show.
“We kept talking about this idea of Friends, and how Friends had them in opposite apartments right across the hall from each other,” showrunner, Ian Gelfand told Us Weekly. “We just wanted to try something like that and see how it worked, and actually we feel that worked really well. Nobody is uncomfortable, everybody has their own room. Everyone has a place they can go.”
The cast members did have happy moments hanging out together in the kitchen, bedrooms, and living rooms. But when things did get dramatic, the stars were able to go to their own rooms for some space.
Where are the apartments located?
The iconic apartment used on Friends used a real apartment in New York for the exterior. That apartment is located at 90 Bedford Street at the corner of Grove Street, according to Free Tours by Foot. The inside of the apartment was a set found in L.A.
Some fans believed they also found the address of the homes used on Twentysomethings. One person posted on Reddit they spotted 1110/1112 Ebert Ave on Zillow, and the units looked very similar.
It’s still unclear if the new reality show will get a second season. But the title hints that it could continue in different locations similar to the Real World.
