Friends is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman,

[1]
which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons.
With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt
LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six friends in
their 20s and early 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City. The original executive
producers were Kevin S. Bright, Kauffman, and David Crane.

Kauffman and Crane began developing Friends under the working title Insomnia Cafe
between November and December 1993. They presented the idea to Bright, and
together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the show to NBC. After several script
[2]
rewrites and changes, including title changes to Six of One and Friends Like Us, the
[3]
series was finally named Friends. Filming took place at Warner Bros. Studios in
Burbank, California. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions
and Warner Bros. Television.

The show ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings; it ultimately
reached the number-one spot in its eighth season. The series finale aired on May 6,
2004, and was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the
[4][5][6]
fifth-most-watched series finale in television history and the most-watched
[7][8]
television episode of the 2000s. Friends received acclaim throughout its run,
[9]
becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. It is also one of the
most successful and highest-grossing television shows of all time, having grossed an
[10]
estimated $1.4 billion since its debut. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime
Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth
[11]
season. The show ranked no. 21 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All
[12] [13]
Time, no. 29 on Variety magazine's The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and
[14]
no. 5 on Empire magazine's The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 1997, the
episode "The One with the Prom Video" was ranked no. 100 on TV Guide's 100
[15]
Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2013, Friends ranked no. 24 on the Writers Guild of
[16]
America's 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time, and no. 28 on TV Guide's 60 Best
[17]
TV Series of All Time. The sitcom's cast members returned for Friends: The
Reunion, a reunion special which was released on HBO Max on May 27, 2021.

Cast and characters

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Jennifer Aniston as​
Rachel Green
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Courteney Cox as​
Monica Geller
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Lisa Kudrow as​
Phoebe Buffay
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Matt LeBlanc as​
Joey Tribbiani
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Matthew Perry as​
Chandler Bing
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David Schwimmer as​
Ross Geller
●​ Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green:​
A fashion enthusiast and Monica Geller's best friend from childhood. Rachel
first moves in with Monica in season one after nearly marrying Barry Farber.
Rachel and Ross Geller are later involved in an on-again, off-again
relationship throughout the series. Rachel dates other men during the series,
such as Italian neighbor, Paolo, in season one; Joshua Bergin, a client from
Bloomingdale's, in season four; Tag Jones, her assistant, in season seven;
and Joey Tribbiani, one of her close friends, in season ten. Rachel's first job is
as a waitress at the coffee house Central Perk, but she later becomes an
assistant buyer at Bloomingdale's in season three, and a buyer at Ralph
Lauren in season five. Rachel and Ross have a daughter named Emma
Geller-Green in "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two" at the end of
season eight. In the final episode of the series, Ross and Rachel confess their
love for each other, and Rachel gives up a dream fashion job at Louis Vuitton
in Paris to be with him. Despite her friendliness, she is often self-centered and
refuses to take responsibility for her actions.
●​ Courteney Cox as Monica Geller:​
[18]
The "mother hen" of the group and a chef, known for her perfectionist,
[19][20]
bossy, competitive, and obsessive-compulsive nature. Monica was
overweight as a child. She works as a chef in various restaurants throughout
the show. Monica's first serious relationship is with a long-time family friend
Richard Burke, who is 21 years her senior. The two maintain a strong
 relationship for some time until Richard expresses that he does not want to
have children. Monica and Chandler Bing, one of her best friends, later start a
relationship after spending a night with each other in London in the season
four finale, leading to their marriage in season seven and the adoption of
twins Jack and Erica Bing at the end of the series. A running gag in the show
is Chandler's easy-going and humorous nature conflicting with Monica's
high-maintenance and compulsive behavior.
●​ Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay:​
A masseuse and self-taught musician. Phoebe is often the most aloof
member of the group as a hippy. As a child, Phoebe lived in upstate New York
with her mother Lily Buffay, until her mother committed suicide and Phoebe
took to the streets. She writes and sings her own strange songs,
accompanying herself on the guitar. She has an identical twin named Ursula
Buffay, who shares few of Phoebe's traits. Phoebe has three serious
relationships over the show's run: David, a scientist, in season one, with
whom she breaks up when he moves to Minsk on a research grant; Gary, a
police officer whose badge she finds, in season five; and an on-and-off
relationship with Mike Hannigan in seasons nine and ten. In season nine,
Phoebe and Mike break up due to his desire not to marry. David returns from
Minsk, leading to the two getting back together, but she eventually rejects him
for Mike when both of them propose to her. Phoebe and Mike marry in season
[21][22]
ten.
●​ Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani:​
A struggling actor and food lover who becomes famous for his role on soap
opera Days of Our Lives as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey has many short-term
girlfriends. Despite his womanizing and his dim-witted, often ignorant,
[23]
behavior, Joey is innocent and well-intentioned. Joey often uses the
catchphrase pick-up line "How you doin'?" in his attempts to win over most of
the women he meets. Joey rooms with his best friend Chandler for years, and
later with Rachel. He falls in love with Rachel in season eight, but Rachel
politely tells Joey that she does not share his feelings. They eventually date
briefly in season ten, but after realizing it will not work due to their friendship
and Rachel's complicated relationship with Ross, they return to being friends.
At the end of the series, he is the only remaining single member of the group,
and becomes the main protagonist of the sequel series Joey.
●​ Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing:​
An executive in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for a large
multinational corporation. Chandler hates this job, although it pays well. He
attempts to quit during season one but is lured back with a new office and a
pay raise. He eventually quits this job in season nine due to a transfer to
 Tulsa, Oklahoma. He becomes a junior copywriter at an advertising agency
later that season. Chandler has a peculiar family history, being the son of an
erotic novelist mother Nora Tyler Bing and a gay, cross-dressing Las Vegas
star father Charles Bing. Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor,
[24]
bad luck in relationships, and tendency to be the butt of all jokes. Despite
this, he is still kind and usually serves as the voice of reason in contrast to his
more arrogant and selfish friends. Chandler marries Monica, one of his best
friends, in season seven, and they adopt twins at the end of the series. Before
his relationship with Monica, Chandler dated Janice Hosenstein in season
one and subsequently broke up with her many times.
●​ David Schwimmer as Ross Geller:​
Monica's "geeky" older brother, a PhD-carrying palaeontologist working at the
American Museum of Natural History, and later a tenured professor of
palaeontology at New York University. Ross is involved in an on-again,
off-again relationship with Rachel throughout the series. He has three failed
marriages during the series: Carol Willick, a lesbian who is also the mother of
his son, Ben Geller; Emily Waltham, who divorces him after he accidentally
says Rachel's name instead of hers during their wedding vows; and Rachel,
as the two drunkenly marry in Las Vegas. His divorces become a running joke
within the series. Following a one-night stand, he and Rachel have a
daughter, Emma, by the end of season eight. They finally confess that they
are still in love with each other in the series finale.