After All These Years, ‘Friends’ Has Earned A Reputation For Being “The Worst”
Nearly 30 years after it originally aired, Friends is more popular than ever. The sitcom that defined a generation, the millennials that are in their prime in society today grew up following the escapades of Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler.
There’s no denying that the show launched stars like Jennifer Aniston to global recognition and left a lasting legacy on the tradition of TV sitcoms. But not everybody thinks the latter is a good thing. Indeed, many viewers who are only watching the show for the first time as adults did not like what they saw.
Did ‘Friends’ Ruin TV Comedy?
It may sound incomprehensible to people who adore the show Friends, but some critics believe that the sitcom actually ruined television comedy.
Writing for Vox, Emily St. John claims that Friends led to a tradition of other shows copying it. In particular, the show set the standard for networks to only hire attractive actors who are both funny and good-looking. Whereas, many of the sitcoms that aired before Friends featured cast members who were less conventionally attractive.
The article also posits that Friends paved the way for a sea of shows about characters in their 20s and 30s.
While these elements of Friends weren’t inherently bad, they have led to a copycat effect that networks are still trying to replicate years later. This has left a lasting mark on television comedy where viewers are constantly seeing recycled formats rather than new ideas.
Some Viewers Don’t Find ‘Friends’ Funny
Even more unbelievable to die-hard Friends fans is that some viewers genuinely don’t find it funny. While there’s an ongoing rivalry between ‘Seinfeld people’ and ‘Friends people’, who argue about which sitcom is funnier but still acknowledge that both have their merits, there is also a subgroup of people who just don’t get Friends at all.
“But seriously, this s— is so not funny,” writes Corinne Osnos for The Tempest. “The sitcom-style laughter that was included practically every other line only amplifies this truth. Not once did I laugh with the “audience.”
Osnos also argues that the characters were “pure stereotypes”, with Rachel being a daddy’s girl, Ross being a nerd (with David Schwimmer later being type-cast for the same kinds of roles), Joey being a misogynistic Italian-American
Modern Audiences Find ‘Friends’ Problematic
Though in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Friends was seen by many audiences as the epitome of comedy that could do no wrong, modern audiences look at the sitcom through a different lens. Fans have jumped online to discuss the ways in which the show is problematic, highlighting characters and plot points that were previously thought to be appropriate.
Viewers have pointed out that there’s a noticeable lack of diversity within the main cast, as all six main characters are white and straight. The vast majority of people they date are white as well, except for Charlie Wheeler who only arrives towards the end of the series.
The lack of diversity is particularly baffling because the characters live in New York City, one of the largest melting pots of cultures in the world.
One of the biggest parts of the show that fans have noticed is problematic is the way Monica’s body and eating issues are represented. The other friends constantly make fun of her for being bigger prior to the show’s events. And in flashback episodes, she is shown as an awkward, out-of-control, unattractive person just because she’s overweight.
Chandler, who participates in the ridiculing of overweight Monica, also displays homophobia and jokes about his father, who is transgender.
Viewers have pointed out homophobia additionally in the way that Carol and Susan’s relationship is treated. The term “lesbian life partner” frequently cued the laughter track, suggesting it’s not a serious way of life but something to be made fun of.
Another episode that modern audiences have a gripe with is The One With the Male Nanny, where Ross wants to hire the new nanny just because he’s a man, and being a nanny is not masculine enough for Ross to feel comfortable with him.
Ross also discusses his first kiss with Rachel, which later turns out to have been Monica. But viewers find this unacceptable because she was asleep when he kissed her, which removes the possibility of her giving consent.
Viewers also found it wrong when Ross came onto his cousin, and when he pretended to be a professional masseur just because he thought his client was attractive.
