'Friends' Reunion Special: Revelations that gave fans further insight into the global phenomenon
May 28, 2021
New Delhi [India], May 28 : Everyone knows about the popularity of the sitcom 'Friends'. The series about six friends hanging out in a coffee shop (Central Perk) and discussing their life took the global audience by storm and it has helped in shaping the lives of so many people around the world.
Now, it may look like an exaggeration when we say that the show has helped people all across the world in different ways but when you watch the recently telecasted 'Friends: The Reunion', you will exactly understand how these bunch of six friends helped some people with depression and anxiety and some introverts to find someone they can relate to.
The 'Friends' reunion special was about living the aura of the famous sitcom and taking fans on a nostalgic trip. But with an emotional joyride, also came some major revelations. The cast and the creators of the show got together one last time for an unscripted special episode.
Here are some of the revelations that were made during the reunion special episode:
In the first season of the show, the camaraderie between Ross and monkey Marcel took everyone by storm and the bits involving these two characters made everyone laugh out loud. But in a revelation, Schwimmer revealed that he hated the monkey as it made the entire cast change their working schedules.
Schwimmer went on to say that the monkey was a trained one, but he ended up doing things on his time, throwing the schedule of all six actors in a disarray. In the end, Schwimmer concluded by saying -- Marcel had to f*** off.
Lisa Kudrow revealed that she has not watched the entire show. She also said that one day along with her husband Michel, she decided to watch Season 4 of the show, but she ended up being petrified as she gets mortified of watching herself on screen.
In this bit, Schwimmer also said that it took him 17 years to watch the entire show and he managed to do it with his daughter recently.
The entire show was built around the plotline of whether Ross and Rachel will end up together. Both the characters had a history ranging from season 1 to season 10. During the course, they hooked up many times and ended up breaking up as well. The plotline of these two characters gave two iconic lines in the show as well -- "We were on a break", and "You fell Asleep".
When the host of the reunion special, James Cordon asked whether any of the cast members ever had romantic feelings, Schwimmer said he along with Jennifer would "spoon and fall asleep on the couch together" while filming the show.
Both the actors also accepted that they "crushed hard" on each other but they were not able to end up together as one of them was always in a relationship. Schwimmer also went on to say that they never crossed that boundary.
In the show, Phoebe had a twin sister named Ursula. In a fresh revelation, the creators of the show said that Ursula was an extension of the same character Lisa Kudrow portrayed in the Helen Hunt show 'Mad About You'.
The creators of the show said that the character of Ross Geller was written keeping David Schwimmer in mind. When the actors were being cast for this role, Schwimmer had quit TV after witnessing some failures and he had started doing theatre. The makers then requested him to come on board and do the show, and eventually, Schwimmer became the first person to be cast on the show.
After Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow was cast as Phoebe, followed by Matt Le Blanc as Joey. Then Courtney Cox was roped in to play Monica, followed by Matthew Perry as Chandler and Jennifer Aniston as Rachel.
Apart from these revelations, Matthew Perry also said that he used to feed off the energy of the studio audience and he used to get anxious if they did not laugh while watching the show.
The actor, who struggles with his mental health and substance abuse, revealed that he found the experience of filming the show deeply stressful. "I felt like I was going to die if they didn't laugh. I would sweat and shake," he said.
Lisa Kudrow also went on to say that she is hearing it for the first time as Perry did not talk about it once during the filming of the show.
In another reveal, the makers said that the characters of Monica and Chandler were not supposed to end up getting married. They had just thought about these two characters having a one-night stand together, but upon seeing the reaction from the live audience in London, a fresh arc was written for both these characters.
The reunion episode finally brought these six actors in the same room, who can still provide fireworks when working together. In the pandemic-ridden times, the one-hour-long episode provided some relief and it gave fans a chance to learn something new about their favourite characters.
