Surprising Facts From the Friends Reunion

The buffet awaits! Photo by Ilse Orsel on Unsplash

Cast members of the megahit sitcom Friends reunited recently in a special where the dished the dirt, served the tea, and baked the croissants of truth on the must-see TV show that ran on NBC from 1994-2004. Below are some of the most surprising facts we learned from the show.

 1.     Original group of Friends included a guy who called himself Punchinello. He was a Renaissance Fair enthusiast who never broke character, constantly carried around a turkey leg, and had a crush on Phoebe. He was cut on the first day of shooting the pilot when the actor who was to play him took a job on another show that premiered that year. That show was ER, and the actor was none other than George Clooney. 

2.     Werner Hertzog directed the season three finale, “The One Where The Universe Laughs at Man’s Futility.”

3.     The coffee shop where the gang hangs out on the show, Central Perk, was originally supposed to be an Old Country Buffet.

4.     In season five, Joey was almost written out of the show by having him eaten by a pack of rabid wolves. 

5.     The show’s iconic theme song by the Rembrandts was a last-minute addition. Originally, the theme was simply Jose Feliciano’s theme for Chico and the Man, with the word “Chico” being changed to “Chandler” in the lyrics.

6.     The part of Janice was originally to be played by Cloris Leachman.

7.     Monica was originally supposed to be a sleeper KGB agent.

8.     In an early crossover episode guest starring David Hyde Pierce, it would be revealed that Rachel was actually Maris Crane.

9.     Marcel, the capuchin that was Ross’s pet, was originally not supposed to be a monkey. It was going to be an armadillo, but its handler contracted leprosy from the creature the day of shooting. Fortunately, Marta Kaufman had brought in one of the monkeys from her home menagerie that day, and things worked out.

10.  Rachel’s iconic hairstyle was almost a full-on mullet.

11.  The entire series is loosely based on a Nipsey Russell memoir.

12.  Phoebe’s character was originally intended to be a Dutch man.

13.  In a story arc that was scrapped, Joey and Ross were going to travel upstate New York solving paranormal crimes.

14.  Gunther, the Central Perk barista, was Dr. Who, and he wanted to recruit Rachel as his companion to help him repel a Dalek invasion. 

15.  Elliott Gould and Brad Pitt both appeared on the show. But never in the same episode. Makes you think.

16.  In its original iteration, every episode was to open with Joey doing a standup set. 

17.  Phoebe is now remembered for her acoustic guitar work (who can forget “Smelly Cat”?). In the original concept for the show, he talent was bird calls.

18.  Chandler’s character is a spinoff from the comic strip, Blondie, and his work best buddy was Dagwood Bumstead. This was part of NBC’s plan to run a series of comic strip based sitcoms that never took off. Other shows included John Goodman in Horrible Hagar! and Tony Danza in Mark Trail. Everybody Loves Raymond was, in fact, an attempt to bring The Lockhorns into living rooms, with Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle in the title roles, until everybody decided they liked Raymond better. HENCE THE TITLE OF THE SHOW!

19.  The series almost ended with the revelation that Ross was a ghost who only Monica could see, but the producers realized this made no sense whatsoever, and M. Night Shymalan’s script was rejected. He later turned the script into The Last Airbender.

20.  The whole show was initially set in Akron.

The above is a parody, which, frankly, should be obvious.