In 1994, the TV series

which changed the world of comedy sitcoms forever.

In addition to making six little-known actors—Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer—become superstars and among the highest-paid actors in television history, they also changed our lives forever. because it's hard to find someone who hasn't watched at least one episode of this iconic show and wasn't worried about what was happening in their lives.

In 2021, HBO Max and the creators of the series "Friends" will begin filming a special edition of the series with the participation of all our favorite actors.

The original producers and director of the series: Martha Kaufman, David Crane and Kevin Bright will also return to the project.

According to the producers and the actors themselves, the special episode will not be a continuation of the series — the actors will appear in it in the role of themselves.

On this occasion, we decided to recall the most interesting facts about this cult series to prepare you for the upcoming premiere.

1. The name should have been longer

Initially, the creators of the series Martha Kaufman and David Crane did not plan to call the series "Friends", they just wanted to create a show about several best friends who gather in the evenings in a cafe and chat about various topics.

The series was to be called "Insomnia Cafe", and such an idea came to them when Marta and David drove by a cafe with the same name.

Besides the different title, the early plot was also very different, for example, Ross and Rachel were not the main characters, Joey and Monica were supposed to be a couple, but Phoebe and Chandler were originally written as supporting characters.

But after NBC bought the pilot, it was called Friends Like Us.

Also, the president of NBC, Warren Littlefield, came up with his own name for the pilot, offering to call it "Across the Corridor".

By the time it was filmed, the title had changed again to "Six Singles".

In the summer of 1994, they began to prepare for the filming of a new series with the final title "Friends".

TV series "Friends" / Photo: Getty Images

2. The cast could have been different

The characters of the main characters of the series were registered for almost six months, and hundreds of candidates were reviewed at the casting.

The only actor for whom the role was personally written was David Schwimmer.

The thing is that initially Schwimmer had already worked in one of Kaufman and Crane's projects, so they knew that he would play the role of botanist-paleontologist Ross perfectly.

But he, having received such an offer, refused, because he was completely disappointed in TV series and planned to continue working as a theater actor.

After much persuasion, David still agreed.

There was also a question about who would play Chandler, because, despite the fact that Matthew Perry was very liked at the casting, in 1994 he starred in a series called LAX 2194, and the creators were initially categorically against the actors playing in two projects at the same time "Friends".

The same problem was with Jennifer Aniston, who played in the TV series "Muddling Through" and its creators fundamentally did not let the actress go to spite her competitors.

Jennifer Aniston in the series Muddling Through / Photo: Getty Images

3. The actresses changed their roles

Before the premiere of the show, Courteney Cox was the most famous actress in the series, because she had already appeared in the comedy "Ace Ventura", as well as in commercials and Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark music video.

Therefore, at first she was offered to play the role of Rachel, but after reading the script, the actress realized that the role of Monica is more suitable for her.

The same story happened with Jennifer Aniston.

She was invited to play Monica in the series, and after reviewing the script, Aniston realized that Rachel was more suitable for her - and it was her dialogue that the girl read at the casting.

Therefore, as a result, the actresses simply changed their roles.

TV series "Friends" / Photo: Getty Images

4. The screen saver was not filmed in New York

Despite the fact that the action of the series takes place in New York, its screensaver with the fountain was filmed in a completely different place.

Although the fountain in the splash screen looks a lot like the Pulitzer Fountain in Central Park, it was actually filmed in Burbank, California, on the Warner Brothers ranch, and the house in the background is a set from My Wife Charmed Me.

Moreover, the water in it was very cold.

5. Trip to Las Vegas

Series director James Burroughs, who directed several episodes of the show between 1995 and 1997, brought six actors to Las Vegas to relax and unwind.

"This is your last chance to remain anonymous," Burroughs told them.

"Once the show airs, you'll never be able to go anywhere without being harassed."

6. Lisa Kudrow couldn't play the guitar

The actress who played Phoebe couldn't play the guitar at all - or even hold it correctly.

To correct this situation, a special teacher was invited, but Kudrow, after learning a few chords, quickly got bored of it all and stopped practicing, arguing that Phoebe only knows a few chords anyway.

TV series "Friends" / Photo: Getty Images

7. Live spectators

For many, it may come as a surprise that the laughter we hear in the background is not an overlay of sound engineers, but real, because the filming of the series took place with a live audience in the pavilion.

And this is when the shooting of one series lasted five hours.

There were several takes on one scene, plus 20 minutes to change scenery.

But even under such circumstances, there were many people willing to be present in the pavilion - up to 300 people were recruited every day.

8. The actors were in solidarity with each other

During the entire first season, each actor received about 22 thousand dollars per episode.

But supposedly, until the second season, each of them had a different salary.

Therefore, in 1997, all six united and refused to work until their salaries were raised to the same amount.

They repeated this story several more times, realizing that they could not be fired from the show.

Until the last season, each of them earned $ 1 million per episode.

9. Sister Phoebe was invented for a reason

Lisa Kudrow was in a similar situation as Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry when she started acting in Friends.

It all started long before Kudrow was invited to the project.

At first, she played minor roles.

Once she got a call from agent Danny Jacobson and offered to play a waitress in the new TV series "Everybody's Crazy About You."

The role did not require an audition, it was without words.

Lisa agreed and played her well, soon she appeared in several more episodes and even got the name Ursula.

Lisa Kudrow as Ursula Boof / Photo: Getty Images

But the problem was that "Everybody's Crazy About You" and "Friends" were supposed to go back-to-back in the evening network.

And both shows were set in Manhattan.

That's why the creators of "Friends" decided to come up with Phoebe's twin sister - the rude waitress Ursula.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

10. Monika's apartment number

At the beginning of the series, the number 5 was on the door of Monica's apartment. Later, the producers realized that this was meaningless, since Monica lived on the top floor of the house.

Therefore, they changed her apartment number to 20. The number in Chandler and Joey's apartment, respectively, also changed from 4 to 19.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

11. Pregnancy of actresses

Lisa Kudrow became pregnant with her son Julian Murray in 1997.

It was decided to introduce the pregnancy of the actress into the plot of the series, making Phoebe a surrogate mother for her brother's triplets.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

But the pregnancy of Courtney Corks in the last season was decided not to be included in the script of the series, since it had already been stated that Chandler and Monica could not have children.

Thus, during filming, the pregnancy of the actress was hidden with the help of costumes and props.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

But actress Helen Baxendale, who played the second wife of Ross Emily in the series, had to leave the series completely due to pregnancy.

She became pregnant in between filming seasons 4 and 5 and couldn't continue traveling to the set from England, so her character Emily had to suddenly disappear from Ross's life.

In her last few appearances, she wore baggy clothes to hide her stomach, and the camera often zoomed in on her face.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

12. Board with inscriptions

The game Magna Doodle became an integral part of the series and often only the most attentive fans of the show noticed the Easter eggs on it.

There were often clues, funny writings and drawings on the board that always hung by the front door of Chandler and Joey's apartment.

Matt LeBlanc loved this chalkboard so much that he took it with him after the series ended, just like the table football.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

13. The neighbor across the street

For several seasons, we all laughed at the "ugly naked uncle" jokes, but no one ever saw him, and he himself appeared in the series only twice, and his face was never shown.

The name of the actor who appeared in these episodes was not revealed until 2016.

As it turned out, he was played by an extra named John Gauguin.

This information was revealed by HuffPost reporter Todd Van Luling, who conducted an entire investigation.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

14. Bruce Willis appeared on the show for a reason

The famous actor Bruce Willis appeared in several episodes of the series.

He played the father of Ross's girlfriend because he lost to Matthew Perry, with whom he starred in the movie "Nine Yards".

Perry believed the film would be number one at the box office on its opening weekend, but Willis disagreed.

The actors argued and Willis lost.

As a result of the match, he was forced to donate his earnings to charity.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

15. Gunter is a real barista

James Michael Tyler, the actor who played Hunter on Central Perk, was working as a barista in real life when he was cast in the series.

Moreover, he got his role completely by accident - a person who knew how to use a coffee machine was needed.

During the first year and a half, his character's task was simply to silently bring and brew coffee.

And Gunter's first text appeared only in the 33rd episode.

It consisted of one word "Yes".

"I had a job at a coffee shop called The Bourgeois Pig in Hollywood, which is still there," Tyler said.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

Besides, James wasn't naturally blond at all.

The whole thing is that his friend was studying to be a hairdresser and James allowed him to experiment with bleaching his hair.

Therefore, the actor came to auditions with completely white hair.

The producers liked this image so much that the actor had to dye his hair every week.

As a result, he learned to do it on his own.

16. The frame on Monika's door

The famous frame on the front door in Monica's apartment was originally a mirror, but one of the crew members accidentally broke it.

As a result, set designer Craig Grand decided it would be better that way and left the frame in place.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

17. White dog

Remember the white dog statue that Joey buys when he gets rich?

According to rumors, it actually belongs to Jennifer Aniston.

This gift was given to her by one of her acquaintances "for good luck" even before the beginning of filming of the series.

After this episode, the producers liked the prop so much that they decided to keep it for future episodes, so the dog appeared repeatedly in several more episodes of the show.

The series "Friends" / Photo: screenshot from the video

18. Orange sofa

The famous sofa, on which the friends spent half the airtime, was found in a Warner Brothers warehouse.

But he fit into the plot perfectly, becoming the hallmark of the show.

TV series "Friends" / Photo: Getty Images

19. Song from the movie

One of the most famous melodies from the series, of course, also became the track that started the sitcom "Friends".

However, when the series first aired in the 1990s, TV channels were just starting to get rid of such theme songs during the show's opening credits.

But that quickly changed when "I'm Be There For You" quickly reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song received constant airplay on radio, television and in supermarkets, thus generating additional publicity for the series.

20. Names of characters

All our favorite characters were not named by random names, but in honor of the characters of the 1970s soap opera "All My Children".

Ross is named after Ross Chandler, Joey is named after Joey Martin, Chandler is named after the Chandler family, Monica is named after Monique Daisy Cortland, Rachel Green is Janet Green, and Phoebe is named after Phoebe Tyler Wallingford.

TV series "Friends" / Photo: Getty Images

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