No one told you life was gonna be this way *clap, clap, clap.*
But now we can tell you all the things you didn’t know about one of the biggest sitcoms of all time.
Things you have to know about your favorite Friends.
Fascinating facts about 'Friends.'
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— UberFacts (@UberFacts) July 4, 2021
What’s in a name?
Before settling on Friends as the title of the show, Insomnia Cafe, Six of One, and Friends Like Us were also considered.
The iconic fountain
Sitcom super fans who try to visit the show’s locations will be disappointed to discover that the iconic Friends opening credits were actually filmed on a Warner Brothers Studio soundstage in California.
No such fountain exists in New York City.
Speaking of the fountain
Jennifer Aniston thought it and the whole opening were weird.
The cast didn’t like the theme song either, but “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts went on to become a Top 20 hit in 1995.
Then, there were six
Friends turned the six stars into household names.
So it’s crazy to consider that originally there were only supposed to be four main cast members!
At first, Chandler and Phoebe were going to be supporting characters.
And who would Monica have married if not Chandler?
Co-creator Marta Kauffman revealed Monica was meant to pair with Joey!
They had a lot of plans for Joey
The cast was very upset when Joey and Rachel became a couple.
Matt LeBlanc described the cast as “super defensive” since they all felt she belonged with Ross.
What could have been
Simpsons veteran Hank Azaria auditioned twice for the role of Joey.
Actresses Jane Lynch and Kathy Griffin were both considered for the role of Phoebe.
And actor and director Jon Favreau auditioned to play Chandler.
Meanwhile, David Schwimmer didn’t audition for Ross. He auditioned for a different show a year prior but the showrunners liked him so much, they skipped formalities and offered him the role outright.
Whoops!
Did you notice this minor set change?
Monica’s apartment number was 5 and changed to 20 in the middle of season one.
Chandler and Joey’s apartment also changed from number 4 to 19.
The writers didn’t realize how New York City apartments are numbered and that apartments 4 and 5 would most likely be on the first or second floor.
The end is tough
Wrapping up Friends really affected the cast members.
LeBlanc was so stressed that after 4 nicotine free years he started smoking cigarettes again.
The finale
For the season finale Central Perk was torn down and the set was built back as the airport that Rachel almost took off from.
Friends IRL
16 years after the show’s 2004 finale, the cast still keeps in touch
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow even maintain a group chat together!
Social media icons
In 2019, Aniston joined Instagram, posting a selfie with the whole cast. The popularity of the post temporarily crashed Aniston’s profile on the photo-sharing site.
The post has earned 16.6 million likes.
The one with the reunion
Earlier this year we learned several lesser-known facts from the HBO Max FRIENDS reunion.
Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer crushed on each other on and off-screen. That explains their character’s chemistry.
But, David Schwimmer did have some issues with one of his costars, the adorable monkey known as Marcel.
In “The One Where No One is Ready” Joey and Chandler are fought over a chair. In one scene Matt LeBlanc was supposed to jump on the chair while Matthew Perry was out of the room. On the last take, LeBlanc tripped and dislocated his shoulder. That is why Joey had an arm sling for a few episodes.
Chandler and Monica were not supposed to be endgame, but the audience loved the pair so much, writers reconsidered the storyline.
The one we would pay to see
While creators and cast members have denied a Friends reboot, Aniston did suggest to InStyle that she, Cox, and Kudrow reprise their roles for a Golden Girls-like spin-off.
Who wouldn’t want to see that!