Friends TV Series

I have chosen to write about this subject due to the fact that "Friends" is a very popular American TV show which has viewers from all around the world. Despite the fact that it has begun in 1994,it is very much appreciated even in the present by people of all ages. Personally ,I find "Friends" not only very amusing, but educative as well. The story offers the possibility to learn a variety of life lessons, such as the need of friends in one’s life, the feeling of empathy, as well as the importance of behaving properly. 

Moreover,the TV show is very realistic,showing the everyday life of 6 very different friends which are struggling,more or less,for living a decent and peaceful life together. The situations they are put in made me think twice about the way I should act in society,since the impressions you make to someone might actually be very important and it may as well affect your life in a negative way. Leaving this aside,the thing the show emphasizes is the concept of a real friendship. The 6 friends are going through a lot together,ups and downs,laughter and cry,but,in spite of all of these,they are always ready to help and support each other when needed. I firmly believe that everyone needs to be surrounded by such people,but,unfortunately,they are very hard to find. 

Therefore,”Friends” has changed my perspective of friendship and it has taught me that,in the end,even when you feel hopeless,there is always something good waiting for you.

Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, 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 20–30-something friends living in Manhattan. Kauffman and Crane began developing Friends under the 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 rewrites and changes, including a title change to Six of One and Friends Like Us, the series was finally named Friends.

Episodes typically depict the friends' comedic and romantic adventures and career issues such as Joey auditioning for roles or Rachel seeking jobs in the fashion industry. The six characters each have many dates and serious relationships, such as Monica with Richard Burke and Ross with Emily Waltham. Ross and Rachel's intermittent relationship is the most often-recurring storyline; during the ten seasons of the show they repeatedly date and break up, even while Ross briefly marries Emily, he and Rachel have a child, Chandler and Monica date and marry each other, and Phoebe marries Mike Hannigan. Other frequently recurring characters include Ross and Monica's parents in Long Island, Ross's ex-wife and their son, Central Perk barista Gunther, Chandler's ex-girlfriend Janice, and Phoebe's twin sister Ursula.

Once it became apparent that the series was a favored project at NBC, Littlefield reported that he was getting calls from every agent in town, wanting their client to be a part of the series. Auditions for the lead roles took place in New York and Los Angeles. The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors who had applied for each role down to 75. Those who received a callback read again in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. At the end of March, the number of potential actors had been reduced to three or four for each part, and were asked to read for Les Moonves, then-president of Warner Bros. Television.

Having worked with David Schwimmer in the past, the series creators wrote the character of Ross with him in mind, and he was the first actor cast. Cox wanted to play the role of Monica, but the producers had her in mind to play Rachel because of her "cheery, upbeat energy", which was not how they envisioned Monica; after Cox's audition, though, Kauffman agreed with Cox, and she got the role. When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for Joey, he put a "different spin" on the character. The writers did not originally intend for Joey to be dim, but found it to be a major source of comedy. LeBlanc also gave the character heart, which the writers did not realize Joey had. Although Crane and Kauffman did not want LeBlanc for the role at the time, they were told by the network to cast him. Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast based on their auditions.

More changes occurred to the series' storylines during the casting process. The writers found that they had to adjust the characters they had written to suit the actors, and the discovery process of the characters occurred throughout the first season. Kauffman acknowledged that Joey's character became "this whole new being", and that "it wasn't until we did the first Thanksgiving episode that we realized how much fun Monica's neuroses are.