During the the series’ run, pop psychologists have “prattled” about the cultural impact of Friends, with the producers laughing, “It’s only a TV show.”

Aniston’s hairstyle was nicknamed “The Rachel”, and copied around the world. Joey’s catchphrase, “How you doin’?”, has become a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends.

The series has also impacted on the English language, according to a study by a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto. The professor found that the characters used so as an adjective more often than other intensifiers, such as very and really.

The professor believed that although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerate the change. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, ratings increased 17% over the previous season as viewers tuned in for comfort.

The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses are inspired by the one in Friends, featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks.

The coffee houses also contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing Friends’ episodes. James Michael Tyler, who plays the Central Perk waiter in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai cafe, where he worked as a waiter.

 As part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios, Central Perk was rebuilt and shown on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2008. Lisa Kudrow revisited the set for the first time after the series finale in 2004

Early reviews of the series were mixed. Tom Feran of The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that the series traded “vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld”,[51] while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it “the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld.”[52] In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as “one of the brighter comedies of the new season”,[53] and The Los Angeles Times called it “flat-out the best comedy series of the new season”.[54]

Chicago Sun-Times’ Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel’s characteristics to be underdeveloped,[55] while Richmond commended the cast as a “likeable, youth ensemble” with “good chemistry”[53] Robert Bianco of USA Today was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him “terrific”. He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry’s role as Chandler was “undefined” and that LeBlanc was “relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it”.[56] The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends thought that the cast was “trying just a little too hard”, in particular Perry and Schwimmer.[57]

As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and Friends became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. Critics commended the series for its consistently sharp writing and the chemistry between the main actors.[58] Noel Holston of Newsday, who had dismissed the pilot as a “so-so Seinfeld wannabe” in 1994, reneged his review after rewatching the episode, and felt like writing an apology to the writers.[36] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com thought that the series “hit its stride” in the second season. Havrilesky found the character-specific jokes and situations “could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode”, and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be “original and innovative”.[59] Bill Carter of The New York Times called the eighth season a “truly stunning comeback”. Carter found that by “generating new hot story lines and high-decibel laughs”, the series made its way “back into the hearts of its fans”.[60] However, Liane Bonin of Entertainment Weekly felt that the direction of the ninth season was a “disappointing buzzkill”, criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into jump the shark territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that “the writing [was] still sharp”.[61] Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was “alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be.”[59] Friends was featured on Time’s list of “The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time”, saying, “the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family.[62]

“It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the Friends finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped. Ultimately, the two-hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do. It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it.”
— Robert Bianco of USA Today on the series finale.[63]
Reviews of the series finale were mixed to positive. USA Today’s Robert Bianco described the finale as entertaining and satisfying, and praised it for deftly mixing emotion and humor while showcasing each of the stars.[63] Sarah Rodman of the Boston Herald praised Aniston and Schwimmer for their acting, but felt that their characters’ reunion was “a bit too neat, even if it was what most of the show’s legions of fans wanted.”[64] Roger Catlin of The Hartford Courant felt that newcomers to the series would be “surprised at how laughless the affair could be, and how nearly every strained gag depends on the sheer stupidity of its characters.”[65] Ken Parish Perkins, writing for Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pointed out that the finale was “more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny.”[66]

Set of Central Perk at Warner Bros. Studios

Although the producers thought of Friends as “only a TV show”,^[1] numerous psychologists investigated the cultural impact of Friends during the series’ run.^[1] Aniston’s hairstyle was nicknamed “The Rachel“, and copied around the world.^[1] Joey’s catchphrase, “How you doin’?”, became a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends.^[91] The series also impacted the English language, according to a study by a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto. The professor found that the characters used the word “so” to modify adjectives more often than other intensifiers, such as “very” and “really”. Although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerated the change.^[13] Following the September 11 attacks, ratings increased 17% over the previous season as viewers tuned in for comfort.^[60]

Friends is parodied in the twelfth season Murder, She Wrote episode “Murder Among Friends”. In the episode, amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) investigates the murder of a cast member in Buds, a fictional television series about the daily lives of a group of city friends. The episode was devised after CBS moved Murder, She Wrote from its regular Sunday night timeslot to a Thursday night timeslot directly opposite Friends on NBC; Angela Lansbury was quoted by Bruce Lansbury, her brother and Murder, She Wrote‘s supervising producer, as having “a bit of an attitude” about the move to Thursday, but he saw the plot as “a friendly setup, no mean-spiritedness”.^[92] Jerry Ludwig, the writer of the episode, researched the “flavor” of Buds by watching episodes of Friends.^[92]

The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses is inspired by Friends, featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks. The coffee houses also contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing Friends‘ episodes. James Michael Tyler, who plays the Central Perk manager in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai cafe, where he worked as a waiter.^[93] Central Perk was rebuilt as part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios, and was shown on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2008. Jennifer Aniston revisited the set for the first time since the series finale in 2004.^[94] From September 24 to October 7, 2009, a Central Perk replica was based at Broadwick Street, Soho, London. The coffee house sold real coffee to customers and featured a display of Friends memorabillia and props, such as the Geller Cup from the season three episode “The One with the Football”.^[95] In 2009, a dance remix of the song “Smelly Cat” became a popular internet meme.^[96]

The Greenwich Village building used as the friends’ apartment block in establishing shots

The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.^[41] The NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but eventually consented to the coffee house concept.^[26] The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the Warner Bros. Ranch at 4:00 am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning.^[42] At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage 24, which was renamed “The Friends Stage” after the series finale.^[43] Filming for the series began in the summer of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters;^[26] a hired comedian entertained the studio audience between takes.^[15] Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script.^[15]

Although the producers always wanted to find the right stories to take advantage of being on location, Friends was never shot in New York. Bright felt that filming outside the studio made episodes less funny, even when shooting on the lot outside, and that the live audience was an integral part of the series.^[33] When the series was criticized for incorrectly depicting New York, with the financially struggling group of friends being able to afford huge apartments, Bright noted that the set had to be big enough for the cameras, lighting, and “for the audience to be able to see what’s going on”;^[33] the apartments also needed to provide a place for the actors to execute the funny scripts.^[33] The fourth season finale was shot on location in London because the producers were aware of the series’ large following in the UK.^[33] The scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences of 500 each, the show’s largest audiences throughout its run. The fifth season finale, set in Las Vegas, was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, although Bright encountered people who thought it was filmed on location.^[44]

The series featured six main cast members throughout its run, with numerous characters recurring throughout the ten seasons. The main cast members were familiar to television viewers before their roles on Friends, but were not considered to be stars.^[1] During the series’ ten season run, the actors all achieved household name celebrity status.^[2]

• Jennifer Aniston portrays Rachel Green, a fashion enthusiast and Monica Geller’s best friend from high school. Rachel and Ross Geller are involved in an on again off again relationship throughout the series. Rachel’s first job is as a waitress at the coffee house Central Perk, but she later becomes an assistant buyer at Bloomingdale’s and a buyer at Ralph Lauren in season five. At the end of season eight, Rachel and Ross have a child together, which she names Emma. Aniston had already appeared in several unsuccessful sitcom pilots before being cast in Friends.^[1]

• Courteney Cox Arquette portrays Monica Geller, the mother hen of the group,^[3] known for her obsessive-compulsive and competitive nature.^[4][5] Monica is often jokingly teased for having been an extremely overweight child by the others, especially her brother Ross. Monica is a chef who changes jobs often throughout the show, and marries longtime friend Chandler Bing in season seven. Cox had the highest profile career of the main actors when she was initially cast, having appeared in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Family Ties.^[1]

Friends‘ cast in the first season, from left to right, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller and Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing.

• Lisa Kudrow portrays Phoebe Buffay, an eccentric masseuse and musician.^[6] Phoebe is known for her self-written guitar songs and for being ditzy yet street-smart. In the last season, she marries a character named Mike Hannigan, played by Paul Rudd.^[7] Kudrow previously played Ursula Buffay on Mad About You, and reprised the dual role of twin sister Ursula as a recurring character during several episodes of Friends.^[1] Before her role on Friends, Kudrow was an office manager and researcher for her father, a headache specialist.^[8]

• Matt LeBlanc portrays Joey Tribbiani, a struggling actor and food lover who becomes famous for his role on Days of our Lives as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey is a womanizer with many girlfriends throughout the series, and develops a crush on his friend Rachel in season eight. Before his role on Friends, LeBlanc appeared as a minor character in the sitcom Married… with Children, and as a main character in its spin-offs, Top of the Heap and Vinnie & Bobby.^[9]

• Matthew Perry portrays Chandler Bing, an executive in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for a large multi-national corporation. Chandler quits his job and becomes a junior copywriter at an advertising agency during season nine. Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor,^[10] and marries longtime friend Monica. Like Aniston, Perry had already appeared in several unsuccessful sitcom pilots before being cast.^[11]

• David Schwimmer portrays Ross Geller, a paleontologist working at a museum of Prehistoric History, and later a professor of paleontology at New York University. Ross is involved in an on-off relationship with Rachel throughout the series. Ross also has three failed marriages during the series, which include Rachel, Emily, and his lesbian ex-wife Carol, who is also the mother of his son, Ben. Before being cast in Friends, Schwimmer played minor characters in The Wonder Years and NYPD Blue.^[1]

Series creator David Crane wanted all six characters to be equally prominent,^[12] and the series was lauded as being “the first true ‘ensemble’ show”.^[13] The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate;^[13] they entered themselves in the same acting categories for awards,^[14] opted for collective instead of individual salary negotiations,^[13] and asked to appear together on magazine cover photos in the first season.^[15] The cast members became best friends off screen,^[8] and one guest star, Tom Selleck, reported sometimes feeling left out.^[16] The cast remained good friends after the series’ run, most notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and David Arquette’s daughter, Coco.^[17] In the official farewell commemorative book Friends ‘Til The End, each separately acknowledged in their interviews that the cast had become their family.^[18]

In their original contracts for the first season, each cast member was paid $22,500 per episode.^[19] The cast members received different salaries in the second season, beginning from the $20,000 range to $40,000 per episode.^[19][20] Prior to their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros. preference for individual deals.^[21] The actors were given the salary of the least paid cast member, meaning Aniston and Schwimmer had their salaries reduced. The stars were paid, per episode, $75,000 in the third season, $85,000 in the fourth, $100,000 in the fifth, and $125,000 in the sixth season.^[22] The cast members received salaries of $750,000 per episode in the seventh and eight seasons, and $1 million per episode in the ninth and tenth.^[11] The cast also received syndication royalties beginning with the fifth season.^[20]