Friends - MAIN v2

Old Friends

The megahit sitcom Friends celebrates its 25th anniversary this fall. It has become an unlikely classic. One wouldn’t expect a laugh-tracked multi-cam sitcom created to pander to Gen-X advertisers to age well, but then one would be wrong: As each successive generation of 15-year-olds finds something to love in the show, it has proved its timelessness, so much so that in July, AT&T paid $100 million to snatch the rights to the show from Netflix. Amid the birthday bonanza celebrating the show’s 1994 debut, we’re commemorating the way we know best: by running every Friends script through algorithms and talking to the experts to insights: in this case, Saul Austerlitz, author of the forthcoming Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era and Kelsey Miller, author of last year's I'll Be There for You. Here’s what we learned.

Check it out

Old Friends

Unlocking the Secrets of a Mid-90s Classic.

Get stunning visual stories every week.

story By andrew thompson Design by tri vo

Image credit: Getty Images

Pheobe

Joey

Chandler

Monica

Rachel

Ross

Rachel's solo scenes:

170

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Ross:

Monica's solo scenes:

Chandler's solo scenes:

Joey's solo scenes:

Phoebe's solo scenes:

Ross' solo scenes:

Total scenes between Rachel and Monica:

Total scenes between Rachel and Chandler:

Total scenes between Rachel and Joey:

Total scenes between Rachel and Phoebe:

110

Total scenes between Rachel and Ross:

120

Total scenes between Monica and Chandler:

Total scenes between Monica and Joey:

Total scenes between Monica and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Monica and Ross:

Total scenes between Chandler and Joey:

Total scenes between Chandler and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Chandler and Ross:

Total scenes between Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica and Chandler:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica and Joey:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica and Joey:

Total scenes between Rachel, Chandler and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Chandler and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Chandler and Joey:

Total scenes between Monica, Chandler and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Monica, Chandler and Ross:

Total scenes between Monica, Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Monica, Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Monica, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Chandler, Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Chandler, Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Chandler, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Chandler and Joey:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Chandler and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Chandler and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Chandler, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Joey, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Monica, Chandler, Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Monica, Joey, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Rachel, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Ross:

Total scenes between Monica, Chandler, Joey, Pheobe and Ross:

Total scenes between Monica, Joey, Pheobe and Ross:

Rachel and Ross may have dominated in dialogue, but Chandler and Monica, whose furtive roll in the sheets blossomed into the show’s first intra-friend marriage occupied more scenes than any other duo. “I think they get overlooked because the Rachel and Ross relationship is so tempestuous,” says Austerlitz. “Chandler and Monica have a more stable trajectory. It feels like an avenue to grow up some, where Rachel and Ross often feel more sophomoric and more combative.”

Click any character to see how many scenes they were in

The One with All the Combos

Select multiple characters to see how many scenes they were in together

Coming up next: The One with All the Talking

Back

Image credit: GIPHY

The One with All the Talking

The iconic Friends shot is the full cast of six gathered at Central Perk, but the series’s throughline was the will-they-won’t-they between Ross and Rachel. Even though the two didn’t account for the most common two-person scene combos (see next for that), the writers honed in on them. "The entire cast had uncanny chemistry," says Miller, "but Aniston and Schwimmer really sparked as a pairing. The romantic tension they exuded was tremendous. They were the drama couple, for sure — and that's why it's so fun to watch."

Rachel & Ross

Monica & Chandler

Chandler & Joey

Rachel & Phoebe

Rachel & Monica

Monica & Phoebe

Rachel & Joey

Joey & Ross

Chandler & Ross

Joey & Phoebe

Phoebe & Ross

Monica & Ross

Monica & Joey

Chandler & Phoebe

Rachel & Chandler

795

921

1295

1662

1684

1756

1776

2563

3201

3796

670

920

1204

1589

1068

Rachel & Joey

1662

Rachel & Monica

1756

Rachel & Phoebe

1776

Rachel & Ross

3796

Rachel & Chandler

670

Chandler & Phoebe

795

Chandler & Ross

1295

Chandler & Joey

2563

Monica & Chandler

3201

Rachel & Chandler

670

Monica & Ross

921

Phoebe & Ross

1068

Chandler & Ross

1295

Joey & Ross

1589

Rachel & Ross

3796

Monica & Ross

921

Monica & Joey

920

Monica & Phoebe

1684

Rachel & Monica

1756

Monica & Chandler

3201

Monica & Joey

920

Joey & Phoebe

1204

Joey & Ross

1589

Rachel & Joey

1662

Chandler & Joey

2563

Chandler & Phoebe

795

Phoebe & Ross

1068

Joey & Phoebe

1204

Monica & Phoebe

1684

Rachel & Phoebe

1776

The One with All the Talking

Click on each character to highlight:

Coming up next: The One with the Catchphrase

Back

Number of lines spoken between characters:

“Early in the show, before it actually premiered, Matthew Perry did a physical bit that got a laugh and wanted to come back to it,” says Austerlitz. “[Director] James Burrows stopped him and said, ‘Be careful about what you do. You may find this funny physical gag you do is the only thing you’re known for.’” Friends found the sweet spot that developed familiarity before growing tired. Phoebe’s iconic “smelly cat”, for example, is only used in six episodes throughout the series. The exception was Joey’s Don Juan salutation, memorable enough to give Matt LeBlanc his own spin-off, Joey, and a central role in Episodes, following a crepuscular TV star chained to his own catchphrase.

Click on the quotes to see how often these catchphrases were used in the series:

We were on a break!!!

Smelly cat

Ugly naked guy!

How you doin?

We were on a break!!!

How you doin?

Smelly cat

Ugly naked guy!

The One with the Catchphrase

Coming up next: The One with the Guest Stars

Back

Coming up next: The One with the Guest Stars

Image credit: Getty Images

Phoebe may have been given the least dialogue on the series, but the most screened minor character was her husband Mike, played by Paul Rudd. “My guess is she’s used less because Friends always seeks that balance between emotion and comedy, funny storylines and serious storylines,” says Austerlitz. “Phoebe mostly exists on the far end of the spectrum as a most explicitly comedic character.” Bringing in Mike as her husband offset her strictly comedic quality, and as they show neared the finish line, rounded out a character defined primarily by her idiosyncracies.

Pete Becker

103

Susan Bunch

105

Mona

111

Amy Green

116

Gunther

128

Janine Lecroix

Paul Stevens

133

David the Scientist Guy

137

Frank Buffay Jr.

145

Tag Jones

146

Emily Waltham

167

Elizabeth Stevens

gary

Charlie Wheeler

189

Carol Willick

191

Janice Litman-Goralnik

217

Richard Burke

247

Joshua Burgin

Mike Hannigan

359

Number of lines spoken by minor characters:

Mike Hannigan

359

Richard Burke

247

Janice Litman-Goralnik

217

Pete Becker

103

Susan Bunch

105

Mona

111

Amy Green

116

Gunther

128

Janine Lecroix

Paul Stevens

133

David the Scientist Guy

137

Frank Buffay Jr.

145

Tag Jones

146

Emily Waltham

167

Elizabeth Stevens

gary

Charlie Wheeler

189

Carol Willick

191

Joshua Burgin

The One with the Guest Stars

Hover to highlight

So how did Friends find eternal life anyway?

Back

So how did Friends find eternal life anyway?

Image credit: Courtesy of NBCUniversal

There's the whip-smart writing that distinguished it from most of its sitcom peers, for starters. And since its New York was the Studio City version, set in amber on a Warner Bros. lot, there was no real risk of incongruity between it and the perpetually churning real New York. But perhaps most importantly, it was the agelessness of the premises of most Friends episodes. “Friends feels like a roadmap to the future,” says Saul Austerlitz, whose book Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era, will be published in September. “If you’re a teenager, you’re given a glimpse of what life as an adult will feel like. Your first job, relationship, children. There’s a comforting fantasy in that no matter what changes come along in life, I’ll always be with my friends.” Miller, whose I'll Be There for You came out last year, suggests the show's appeal transcends its more problematic anacronisms. "Obviously, a lot of things about the series "don't hold up" as we like to say (i.e., the lazy gay jokes, the glaring lack of diversity, the old-school gender dynamics). But the quality of the humor and the show overall is still strong. And that cast's chemistry certainly doesn't age." Moreover, she points out, "one of the biggest, and most overlooked reasons that I think people still watch the show today is its simple, timeless premise: This is a show about the experience of friendship. That's it. That's the whole setup. Friendship is something that everyone can recognize, everyone wants, and everyone relates to—no matter when or where they're living. It touches on one of the deepest emotional needs we all have. It's popular because it hits us right in the feelings."

So how did Friends f ind eternal life anyway?

Back to main page

Image credit: Getty Images

Miller, whose I'll Be There for You came out last year, suggests the show's appeal transcends its more problematic anacronisms. "Obviously, a lot of things about the series "don't hold up" as we like to say (i.e., the lazy gay jokes, the glaring lack of diversity, the old-school gender dynamics). But the quality of the humor and the show overall is still strong. And that cast's chemistry certainly doesn't age." Moreover, she points out, "one of the biggest, and most overlooked reasons that I think people still watch the show today is its simple, timeless premise: This is a show about the experience of friendship. That's it. That's the whole setup. Friendship is something that everyone can recognize, everyone wants, and everyone relates to—no matter when or where they're living. It touches on one of the deepest emotional needs we all have. It's popular because it hits us right in the feelings."