'Friends' cast reunites: How has show continued to influence TV?
-
Molly Driscoll Staff writer
The casts of the TV shows 鈥淔riends鈥� and others appeared on a recent NBC special to honor TV director James Burrows, who has directed episodes of TV programs from 鈥淭he Mary Tyler Moore Show鈥� to 鈥淢ike & Molly.鈥�
Other ensembles that appeared on the program included cast members from the shows 鈥淐heers,鈥� 鈥淲ill and Grace,鈥� and 鈥淔rasier.鈥�
The special was in celebration of Burrows directing his thousandth TV episode, which he did for the NBC show 鈥淐rowded,鈥� a program that鈥檚 set to debut March 20.
All the members of the 鈥淔riends鈥� cast except for Matthew Perry, who is working on a stage production in England, were on the special. Perry weighed in via a taped segment.
鈥淲e would do anything for Jim Burrows,鈥� during the show.聽鈥淗e gave us the opportunity聽of a lifetime, and probably the best 10 years of our acting careers that we will forever remember. We experienced friendship, heartbreaks, babies, everything together. And we had a wonderful experience with the world loving us, as well. They really connected with us.鈥澛�
鈥淔riends鈥� became one of the most successful TV programs ever, with its 2004 finale still ranking as one of the most-watched TV events of all time.聽
鈥淔riends鈥� was part of the Must-See TV NBC comedy block, airing alongside such programs as 鈥淪einfeld,鈥� 鈥淓R,鈥� and 鈥淲ill & Grace.鈥澛�
Every TV network, of course, wants to be the one with the next big success, and 鈥淔riends鈥� was one of the biggest successes of all time in the TV industry. How is the success of the show still influencing TV today?聽
notes that 鈥淔riends鈥� was a show without a star and seemingly without a hook for viewers.
鈥淯nlike previous sitcom hits, 鈥楾he Cosby Show鈥� and 鈥楽einfeld,鈥� 鈥楩riends鈥� didn鈥檛 revolve around a well-known comedian,鈥� Bernstein wrote. 鈥淯nlike Michael J Fox鈥檚 鈥楩amily Ties,鈥� it wasn鈥檛 attempting to unite the generations. Unlike 鈥楥heers,鈥� it wasn鈥檛 a workplace comedy 鈥� The lack of a leading man or woman didn鈥檛 hurt 鈥楩riends.鈥� Rather, it made the show unique. All six actors were of equal importance. More to the point, all six actors had equal chemistry.鈥澛�
Bernstein points to programs like 鈥淢odern Family,鈥� 鈥淣ew Girl,鈥� and 鈥淭he Big Bang Theory鈥� as current programs that emphasize the group over the single star.聽
鈥淔riends鈥� also pioneered a more relaxed template for a show, writes
鈥溾�橣riends鈥� essentially created what is now known as the 鈥榟angout comedy,鈥欌�� Ihnat writes. 鈥淭he more madcap 鈥楬appy Endings鈥� also featured six leads of equal status who did little more than hang out all the time, while 鈥楳y Boys鈥欌�� best moments were when the entire cast was playing poker ... 鈥楴ew Girl鈥� only hit its stride when its focus shifted from star Zooey Deschanel to more of an ensemble approach with her roommates.鈥�
