It has been seventeen long years since Rachel got off the plane, since they sat on the orange-hued couch and since Mondler wrapped up their apartment and moved to the suburbs with their twins.
The much-anticipated FRIENDS: The Reunion episode is here and, OH MY GOD, we cannot keep calm! Although the one-off episode was delayed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, fans are super excited as the iconic cast is finally reunited.
From interminable joy and camaraderie to understated sadness and nostalgic moments, here is a rundown of some of the things we learned about the show from this long, overdue teary celebration.
1. Courteney Cox’s Cheat Script
On the set of the girls’ apartment, Matt revealed that Courteney always had her lines scrawled on the kitchen table. He also revealed that one time he erased it all before a shot and she was so embarrassed. Lisa also added that there was always a script in the sink and she never knew why.
2. The Cast Kept Mementos From The Set
Post an emotional meet and greet, Jennifer revealed that Lisa has the original cookie jar that she kept from the set’s kitchen. She also revealed that she took a neon coffee mug from the set. Matt disclosed that he took an original foosball from the iconic foosball table.
3. The Sky-High Statistics
The host of the evening, James Corden pointed out the fact that the show aired in over 220 territories and was television’s number one comedy for six seasons. It also had an average of 25 million viewers a week and a whopping 52 million people watched the final episode. The show has been watched over 100 billion times across all platforms.
4. The Casting Troubles
The co-creators of the show, Marta Kauffman, David Crane and Kevin S. Bright, pointed out that casting the show was really hard.
David had quit TV to do theatre and had to be convinced, with gift baskets, to come aboard. Matt was up against one other actor, who later appeared as Carl in one of the episodes, but ultimately bagged the role. Matthew and Jennifer had already signed for other shows when they auditioned.
5. Chandler Was Named After A Friend Of The Co-Creator
The co-creator of the show, Marta Kauffman revealed that they drew on close friends and relatives for the characters of the show. Even the name Chandler was after a friend of theirs.
6. David Hated Marcel
Who can forget the capuchin monkey, Marcel? Ross was heartbroken when he had to send him off to the San Diego zoo. In real life, David really hated the monkey.
I’m an animal lover. However, we would choreograph our bits and then the monkey would mess up the timing and we had to do it all over again. Also, the monkey’s trainer would feed it grubs as the monkey sat on my shoulder, which it would tear apart with its hands before running them through my hair.
-David Schwimmer
7. Matt Dislocated His Arm In One Of The Episodes
In the episode, ‘The One Where No One’s Ready’, Matt dislocated his arm when he and Matthew fought for the chair. According to the co-creators, when they were shooting the scene for the fourth time, Matt ran and jumped on the chair. However, he tripped on the coffee table and his shoulder came out of the socket. Therefore, he had a cast on his arm for the next few episodes.
8. Matthew Suffered From Anxiety While Performing For The Live Audience
The cast also highlighted the energy of performing in front of the live studio audience and how much they loved it. But, Matthew admitted that he had major anxiety about getting the laughs. Lisa pointed the fact that he never told them that at the time.
I felt like I was going to die if they didn’t laugh. It’s not healthy, but if I said a line and they didn’t laugh, I would sweat and go into convulsions. I would freak out. I felt like that every single night.
-Matthew Perry
9. Fans Of The Show Had More Power Than We Ever Knew
The co-creators revealed that when they shot the episodes in London, they had decided that Monica and Chandler would sleep together and it would be a one-off thing. However, after the fans loved it, they realised they would have to make more of it.
We realised there was more to this and we needed to pay attention to the audience. We realised ‘this could be a thing’.
-Marta Kauffman
10. They Haven’t Watched The Whole Show
David, Lisa and Matt revealed that they haven’t seen many of the seasons. In fact, both Matt and Lisa talked about how they find it difficult to watch themselves on-screen.
11. The Story Behind Janice’s OG Laugh
Maggie admitted that she created her character’s most persistent feature – the honking nasal laugh – as a practical coping mechanism because of how funny she found Matthew.
When Matthew started speaking I knew he was going to crack me up. I knew that if Janice couldn’t laugh onset or laugh at that moment, I was going to be in big trouble and that is why that laugh exists.
-Maggie Wheeler
12. David & Jennifer Had A Crush On Each Other
They agreed that they were crushing on each other during the first season of the show. But since one of them was always in a different relationship, they never crossed that boundary.
13. There Was An Impromptu Party On The Set On The Last Day
After the show wrapped, they ended up with an impromptu party where everybody stayed on the set and ordered pizza and beer. People signed the flats and it was an incredible night for all of them. Matt signed the board as “I shit here”.
14. They Are Actually FRIENDS!
They revealed that they share a tight bond and have a unique relationship with one another. Matthew even said that any time they have ever met over the years, they would drop everything to talk to each other. They would have meals together during the shoot, even on the weekends. Courteney said that they became best friends and it was life-changing and forever will be.
You can watch the entire episode on Zee5.
BRB, getting my tissues.
Note: All images are screenshots from the episode, unless specified otherwise.