Why ‘Friends’ Cast Was ‘Aggressive’ in the Later Seasons of the Sitcom
Check virtually any list of the most popular television sitcoms of all time, and Friends is likely somewhere near the top. The long-running show provided a glimpse at an idealized version of New York life that has fans still re-watching on repeat nearly three decades later.
While many members of the Friends cast really did become real-life friends from their long work together, things weren’t always rosy on the set — especially in later seasons.
‘Friends’ ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004
One thing that makes Friends stand out is its longevity. The ’90s were a popular time for sitcoms. Set aside the likes of Will & Grace, Living Single, Roseanne, and The Nanny, Friends was certainly not alone in capturing the attention of a nation.
Despite this, Friends has set itself apart for its long-lasting appeal. Even Seinfeld — one of the most popular sitcoms of all time — has been unable to keep up with Friends‘ devoted fan base. A new generation has flocked to Friends (even despite its outdated moments), and the reasons for this mass appeal among younger viewers have sparked plenty of commentary.
The Week reflects on the particular kind of nostalgia and simplicity captured by the show: “The world of Friends is notable, to modern eyes, for what it encompasses about being young and single and carefree in the city but also for what it doesn’t encompass: social media, smartphones, student debt, the sexual politics of Tinder, moving back in with your parents as a matter of course, and a national mood that vacillates between anxiety and defeatism.”
This appeal has ensured that Friends will continue to bring the laughs for years to come.
Later seasons of ‘Friends’ saw cast members ‘chained’ to ‘tired old show’
Ironically, the simple times that appeal to younger viewers may be the very quality that had cast members feeling stuck by the later seasons of the show.
Writing for Time, former television writer Patty Lin reflects on the difficulties of working on Friends. She didn’t join the show until 2000, well after it was an established juggernaut of primetime TV.
At first, she was starstruck to be working with the big names associated with the show, but it didn’t last. “The actors seemed unhappy to be chained to a tired old show when they could be branching out, and I felt like they were constantly wondering how every given script would specifically serve them,” Lin recalled.
She also remembered the actors “vociferously” voicing their opinions about the writing: “Seeing themselves as guardians of their characters, they often argued that they would never do or say such-and-such. That was occasionally helpful, but overall, these sessions had a dire, aggressive quality that lacked all the levity you’d expect from the making of a sitcom.”
The writer’s room of ‘Friends’ was ‘cliquey’
In addition to the tension Lin saw in the cast, she faced her own challenges as a newcomer to an established writer’s room.
Lin explained, “I never predicted one of the challenges I would face was that the Friends writing staff was cliquey, more so than at any other show I would work on. They reminded me of the preppy rich kids in my high school who shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch and drove brand-new convertibles.”
This dynamic was made even more difficult by the “brutal” work schedule required to produce an expansive number of episodes per season. Writers split into teams so that there was always an episode ready to go, and each team leader came with their own challenges and quirks. Lin ultimately found the work to be unsatisfactory and learned that she “never wanted to work on a sitcom again.”
