By Noah Villaverde
Copyright slashfilm
Throughout 10 seasons comprised of 236 episodes, “Friends” dominated television as one of the most popular sitcoms in history. The everyday lives of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courteney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Ross (David Schwimmer) have been a fixture of viewers’ lives, whether it was originally on the air, syndicated reruns, on DVD and Blu-ray, or through numerous streaming services, jumping from Netflix to HBO Max, serving as comfort watching for young adults going through the similar trials and tribulations of the characters. The success of “Friends,” particularly on streaming, has led to all competing services chasing just a taste of that success, despite the medium not being built to find the next “Friends,” but rather to kill it.
Without a doubt, much of the success of “Friends” can be attributed to its main cast. Admittedly, while the New York City-set series remains a product of its time and, by today’s standards, falls short in not featuring any characters of color in its main cast, millions still hold the six friends close to their hearts. Their collective chemistry remains some of the most palpable ever televised, and according to Antenna, “Friends: The Reunion” drove more new subscriptions to HBO Max on its opening weekend than any of Warner Bros. Pictures’ new releases that year. It is hard to imagine any other actors who could have brought these beloved friends to life, but an actor who played a significant recurring guest role nearly played Ross Geller before David Schwimmer was cast — Mitchell Whitfield.
