Friends is coming back. In the immortal words of Janice: OH. MY. GAWD.
Yes, millions of us around the world rejoiced, screamed, did Chandler’s dance of joy, brandished the Geller Cup with pride and clutched Huggsy the Nighttime Penguin Pal with glee – with the news that our TV prayers had been answered, and the most famous friends in history were getting back together.
But just what is it that gets us so hyped about Friends? Why, sixteen years since it left our screens, are we still so obsessed?
The sitcom, which first aired in 1994, soon became the definition of TV worth staying in for, and regularly hit viewing figures in the millions, won 60 awards (including a BAFTA) and was nominated for a whopping 63 Emmys. In the UK, 8.6 million of us tuned in to the last episode in 2004 and, decades after Friends first arrived, it still maintains a massive fan base. In the UK, it is the most streamed series on Netflix.
But beyond viewing figures and awards, the true success of Friends is in its cultural legacy; how so much of what we say or do has bizarrely been influenced by this TV show; from ‘The Rachel’ haircut to ‘how YOU doin?” Catchphrases, songs (hi there Smelly Cat) and even intonation (could we BE any more excited) have all sprung from this one show that captivated our hearts.
The appeal may lie in how at home we immediately felt with these six, late twenty-something New Yorkers with jobs that appear to let them languish in coffee shops all day in lieu of work, and inexplicably own prime Manhattan real estate on an out-of-work actor and coffee-shop waitress salary. Oh sorry, maybe Chandler gets more as a…a..a… transponster?
There’s no denying that Friends, perhaps one of the most-binged shows in the world, is the ultimate comfort watch. Though it often dealt with difficult subject matters, from divorce and infidelity to infertility, it never lost a buoyant charm or an overwhelming warmth. One of my best friends would watch Friends on repeat during a bout of depression and she’s one of countless friends of mine – myself – included; who would reach for that Friends boxset (probs on VHS) whenever they felt low. The sense of a home-from-home it offered – in the apartments, Central Perk, and the familiarity of the friendships, was nothing short of televisions’ answer to a great big hug.
Those who grew up with Friends, then and now, love it because of its – then – quietly revolutionary premise. Back in 1994, it was unusual for a sitcom to be based around a group of young people, and not a family set up. It’s greatest influence – and only real predecessor – was maybe Cheers – but even that, centred around a diverse age group. What Friends offered was really unusual for its time: a show centred around a friendship group, where everyone was in their twenties; that transitional, confusing period of life in which you are finding out who you are, what to do and who to love. That’s what resonated so much with young Gen Xers, millennials and, now, Gen Z.
It’s because, fundamentally, Friends is about the family you choose for yourself, which is as pertinent a message now as it was then. It is a show that rejoices in finding your people, and what that can mean for anyone- from those with non existent real families, to those who struggle to find acceptance and community. Sure, Friends – a show made in the early nineties, is not as diverse as it would be now, and sure, some of the jokes fall short of our current woke standards, but the key message of friendship and community was always there at its heart.
Though we cheered on Ross and Rachel and loved when Monica and Chandler’s one-night-stand became so much more; Friends was never really about the romantic story lines. It was always about the power of friendship; to be the family you need in the most tumultuous times in your life, to always, as the theme song says- be there for you.
So bring on the reunion. If anyone needs me, I’ll be dancing for joy in a corridor wearing a thanksgiving turkey on my head. For obvious reasons.
