While it has been nearly 20 years now since the end of the hit TV show Friends, many folks remember it fondly and still keep rewatching it to this day. It was such an iconic phenomenon in entertainment that some still feel the cultural and social impact it had on everyone.
The show speaks volumes to entire generations, and what better way to celebrate it than with a list of some fun and interesting trivia and facts about the show, alongside a discussion on what the show’s legacy looks like today.
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#1
Matthew Perry devoted his life to helping others get sober, including Hank Azaria, who played David on the show. He turned his former Malibu mansion into a sober living center, which ran until 2015.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#2
The cast made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate; they entered themselves in the same categories for awards & asked to appear together on magazine covers.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#3
Matthew and Courteney were actually distant cousins whose relatives were married in England nearly 500 years ago. According to a family tree, they were 11th cousins
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For those unaware, Friends was a sitcom about 6 friends (two of them were siblings, but you get the point) and their day-to-day lives in the hustle and bustle of New York City. The show ran from 1994 through to 2004, spanning 234 episodes across 10 seasons. Over this time and for years to come, the show was awarded 79 various awards, while being nominated for 231 and is rated #51 in the Top 250 TV shows on IMDB.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#4
To create Joey’s iconic look wearing Chandler’s clothes, they took pieces from his wardrobe and cut them so they were flapped and looked like they were layered. All secured with Velcro at the back.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#5
Usually, live audiences consisted of 300 people, while in London, the scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences of 500 each, the show’s largest audiences throughout its run.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#6
The six friends never got back together in one room since 2004, except for once at a dinner party at Courteney’s house in Oct 2019.
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Friends had quite an impact on, actually, a lot of stuff. From a cultural standpoint, it helped shape fashion trends and influence the way people talked. If such iconic catchphrases like “how you doin’?”, “we were on a break!” and “PIVOT!” sound familiar to you, then you know just how popular and relatable the show was.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#7
Matthew Perry assisted his friends and other actors to audition for Chandler, while he was stuck on LAX 2194, before auditioning himself.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#8
While David initiated the main cast to collectively renegotiate their contracts to get equal pay, it was Courteney who suggested that the six of them should all give each other notes about what they could do to improve as actors.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#9
After year-long expectations that the ninth season would be the series’ last, NBC agreed to pay $10 million to Warner Bros. for the production of each tenth season episode.
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While the show taught many life lessons (including how to properly bring a couch up a building staircase), its biggest lesson was exactly what its name stood for: friendship. No matter what life threw at the characters, they were always supportive of each other, making each other laugh, showing forgiveness in times of conflict and showing how much stronger the bond was.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#10
With her first paycheck from Friends, Jennifer bought a Mercedes that had been on sale for years, but it broke down after 2 drives.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#11
Phoebe was originally supposed to end up with David the scientist, but the writers liked Paul Rudd’s Mike so much that they changed who she ended up with.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#12
When viewers were concerned about Matthew’s appearance at the reunion, representatives for him clarified that he had an emergency dental surgery prior to filming.
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Heck, a number of people also remember the show fondly as it was their introduction to and journey through learning English. Many noted that Chandler was probably the most quoted character among them because of the words, the accents, the slang, the idioms (and the sarcasm) provided throughout the show.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#13
Matt and Jen stayed on set for hours after filming the finale and were the last ones to leave (Jan 23rd, 2004).
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#14
When the cast took a trip to Las Vegas, before the show started, director James Burrows gave them $200 each to gamble with in the casino. Matt LeBlanc lost it in seconds so he was given another $200.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#15
The Pilot of Joey reveals that Rachel and Ross have remarried.
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The show was a hit among Millennials and Gen Xers, though later generations seem to have had an experience with the show as well. Back in 2018, one study showed that 81% of those aged 35 to 54 have watched at least some episodes, with 17% being the ones who watched them all. In contrast, it was a total of 64% among ages 18 to 34, but the hardcore watchers were at 19%.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#16
The girls were on strict diets during the show and worked out daily. Sadly, Lisa compared herself a lot to Jennifer and Courteney at the time and has said how “fittings we’re not fun”, as she struggled with body image.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#17
Auditions for the lead roles took place in NY and LA. The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors down to 75. Those who received a callback read again in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. Last three/four selected actors for each role had to read for the president of Warner Bros. Television.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#18
Lisa had a hard time playing Phoebe up to season 3. She eventually went to ask Matt LeBlanc for advice, who reminded her that she was doing great and to take the pressure off.
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A piece by Jonathon Van Maren also showed a bit of a dark side of its legacy. While many remember it as a comedy series that struck the perfect balance between being lighthearted and real, the author of the article explains how the show was a Hollywood experiment that tested the moral limits of Americans and desensitized them to harmful sexual behaviors with jokes about casual sex and hookups consequence-free.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#19
There’s a reason why Friends didn’t address 9/11. The writers thought it’s not a topical show and didn’t want to do ‘a very special episode’ of Friends where they’re all distressed about what happened, and trying to deal with it.
Image credits: aniston.jpg
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#20
Tom Selleck was terrified to step onto the set of Friends at first. He said he was “scared to death” at the table read seeing how close all the other actors were, but “Courteney helped a lot.”
Image credits: aniston.jpg
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#21
Rachel’s name appears in 28 episode titles, the most of any of the friends, while Monica’s name appears in 8 titles, which is the least.
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On the other hand, the show also featured a homosexual marriage and challenged the ideas of what a family is with a family of friends resonating hard with its audience. It introduced some more real aspects of life, like Phoebe’s past and the hardships of starting a family (as per Chandler and Monica). The list goes on, but you catch the drift.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#22
David Schwimmer asked James Burrows to mentor him during the first season and was very eager to learn.
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Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#23
Jennifer Aniston was the only main cast member who did not try the infamous Thanksgiving trifle, which was actually made of bananas and whipped cream.
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So, it should come as no surprise that people are still coming up with stories and things to talk about in terms of the show. One of the most recent iterations of this is a TikTok that lists fun facts and trivia about Friends (it’s featured in this article, comments included). And it still seems very relevant as it managed to garner 4 million views along with 318,000 likes in just a day. The channel actually focuses a lot on Jennifer Aniston, but features a lot of Friends-related stuff.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#24
Rachel’s iconic yellow dress got so popular, that even years later the show’s designer regularly got requests from fans interested in purchasing the dress.
Image credits: aniston.jpg
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
#25
Winona Ryder’s Friends cameo was met with some backlash. That episode reported one of the lowest viewership numbers the season with only 16.3 million audience members tuning in.
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It only goes to show just how strong the show’s legacy is if we’re still talking (and reading) about it. And while many speculate that it will never be the same with Matthew Perry, a.k.a. Chandler Bing, gone, the show will still have an impact in many ways for years to come.
So, what are your thoughts about anything and everything you’ve read here today? Share your takes and stories in the comment section below, right past the section where folks go wild with the comments.
Fans of the show on TikTok were quick to share their reactions to the trivia
Source: boredpanda.com