Friends: The one that we can’t quit

On July 9, 2019, Netflix announced the unthinkable—the streaming service will officially be losing Friends. The NBC sitcom was arguably the last great live-studio-audience megahit, and whether or not you’re a fan, there’s a good chance you’ve hummed “Smelly Cat” or [made that one gesture](. Binging reruns of the show isn’t just for those who spent Thursdays between 1993 and 2004 glued to the TV. New generations continue to embrace the gang despite [entirely accurate takedowns]( the show’s homophobia, sexism, lack of diversity, transphobia, and fat-shaming. The “real lives” of six white, cis-gendered 20-somethings hanging out all day in New York’s West Village on entry-level salaries weren’t real at all. But wistfulness for an era where humans sat around drinking coffee together is keeping a newer, woker generation tuning in. Why is Friends always there for us? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Obsession] Friends August 23, 2019 On July 9, 2019, Netflix announced the unthinkable—the streaming service will officially be losing Friends. The NBC sitcom was arguably the last great live-studio-audience megahit, and whether or not you’re a fan, there’s a good chance you’ve hummed “Smelly Cat” or [made that one gesture](. Binging reruns of the show isn’t just for those who spent Thursdays between 1993 and 2004 glued to the TV. New generations continue to embrace the gang despite [entirely accurate takedowns]( the show’s homophobia, sexism, lack of diversity, transphobia, and fat-shaming. The “real lives” of six white, cis-gendered 20-somethings hanging out all day in New York’s West Village on entry-level salaries weren’t real at all. But wistfulness for an era where humans sat around drinking coffee together is keeping a newer, woker generation tuning in. Why is Friends always there for us? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Giphy The one with the digits 1,000+: Times you probably figure Joey says “How you doin’?” [<20:]( Times Joey actually utters the phrase [47.36%:]( Joey’s success rate when using this phrase [23:]( Black actors who said words over 10 seasons [32%:]( Proportion of Lower Manhattanites who were white, according to the 2000 US census [86:]( Buzzfeed quizzes that will tell you which Friends character you are [$200:]( Monica’s rent due to a rent control fraud she pulled off by pretending to be her dead grandmother [$4,000–$5,000:]( What that apartment, at 90 Bedford Street in Manhattan, would likely rent for today, at minimum [$1,000,000:]( Per-episode salary received by all six main actors, who negotiated as a bloc in 2002 [$20,000,000:]( How much each of those main six earns from syndication royalties, annually [1,070:]( Pieces in Lego’s new Central Perk set [$130:]( Price of a Kyrie 5 Nike shoe, which comes in a Friends-themed colorway. Pro basketball player Kyrie Irving, who was two when the show first aired, has [the Friends logo tattooed on his arm](. The one with all the throughlines The making of a megahit --------------------------------------------------------------- Friends did what it did so well that it spawned [years of copycats]( some successful in their own right, some flops, but none of them came close to the Friends zone. How? Friends started with the right bones: attractive people wearing the latest fashions, sharing a space and time. But the show radically expanded on a concept that had only recently been applied to sitcoms—the “throughline.” Cheers writer and director James Burrows led Diane and Sam through a “will they or won’t they” relationship with dramatic success. He’d go on to direct 15 memorable Friends episodes in the 1990s, including “The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break.” Co-creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman took Burrows’ Cheers legacy and exploded it, embedding plot aspects, characters, and jokes that would recur over and over, [without a break](. A gag in season nine that hearkens back to season three encourages viewer investment and rewards superfans. [Maclean’s Jaime Weinman]( sees Friends as both the apex and the death knell of the sitcom as we knew it. “For better or worse, the basic idea of the sitcom since its inception—that most of the characters are basically in the same place all the time, and so are their relationships — was threatened by Cheers but really demolished by Friends,” [Weinman told Vox](. “Now we expect character relationships to be constantly evolving, to the point that we’re surprised if characters don’t get together and break up multiple times during a run.” Giphy The one with the brief history 1987: [Marta Kauffman]( and [David Crane]( work together on their first sitcom episode, a pilot for a show called Everything’s Relative that never gets picked up. [1993:]( After achieving critical acclaim with the [adult-oriented cable sitcom Dream On]( Kauffman and Crane present a treatment of a show called Insomnia Café to producer/director Kevin S. Bright. [1994:]( NBC buys the pilot, and the show briefly goes by Across the Hall, then Six of One, before Friends gains traction. Courteney Cox is the only actor with any existing star power. [1995:]( Jennifer Aniston’s haircut, which would come to be known as “The Rachel”, sparks a massive trend, though Aniston herself famously hated it. [1996:]( Secondary female characters Carol and Susan wed, to less-than-expected controversy, but the two don’t kiss. [1997:]( Speculation that Chandler is gay runs so high, that David Crane (himself gay) makes an official announcement that Chandler is, in fact, not. [2003:]( Charlie, the show’s first recurring black character, makes her appearance. [2004:]( Central Perk turns out the lights, and Friends wraps after 10 seasons. [2006:]( 30 Rock smirks onto the scene with a completely different comedic vibe—no laugh track, rampant general absurdity, and a healthy dose of self-deprecation. 2015: Friends is available on Netflix, ready to be discovered by 21st-century teens. [2019:]( Netflix announces it’s losing Friends in 2020 to Warner’s new streaming service, but[says it’ll be fine.]( The one with the quote “They’re watching DVDs of Friends on a giant, monolithic plasma screen…. I hate Friends but I’ve seen most of the episodes. The laugh track reverberates throughout this mostly empty space, echoed by their laughter.” —From [Severance]( a 2018 dystopian novel by Ling Ma Giphy The one with the quiz Who is the TV Guide addressed to? Regina PhalangeMs. Chanandler BongRachem GreenMr. Ken Adams Correct. Incorrect. Bad news, you just lost yourself an apartment. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. The one with the loneliness From the land before smartphones --------------------------------------------------------------- Generation Z is lapping up Friends faster than Joey can eat a jar of jam, but they’re not gathering around the TV like their predecessors. Instead, [they’re watching it on their phones, and they’re alone.]( A January 2019 [media survey from Childwise]( found that the majority of viewers younger than 16 prefer to watch Monica and Co. over any other program. The report found that the “focus on friendships and relationships was relatable to teens”—even though the folks on screen were living their lives in a pre-internet world, for the most part. The show straddled the dawn of the internet age, but the rise of tech barely made a dent in the plot (except for the one where Chandler shows off his brand new brick of a laptop, and mayhem ensues). Even in a 21st-century season, Monica catches Chandler watching porn… on a television. How quaint! Maybe it’s the lack of tech itself that makes Friends so appealing. It’s certainly not the show’s inclusivity—though, to be fair, [it tracks with other shows of its time]( [have you watched Seinfeld lately]( And the show’s funniest moments are when humans are speaking rapidly at each other (and, often, engaging in some seriously good physical comedy). It’s nice to know that the kids still value face-to-face communication, even if they’re valuing it while they’re alone on their phones. Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Friends? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – Giphy The one with the lightning round Which Friend is best at friendship? PhoebeRachelMonicaJoey Correct. After multiple rewatchings, it’s clear that Joey’s the only one of the gang that’s really not a terrible human being. Incorrect. Over and over, this Friend acted towards another Friend in a way a real-life friend would not tolerate. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. The one with the 🐰 hole Sitcom episodes adhere to a particular formula, whether or not there are general story arcs running through. Writing for The Atlantic, Noah Charney [lays out that formula]( he discovered while doing research for his own sitcom screenplay—to the minute. Once you know it, you’ll see it everywhere. In his forthcoming book Generation Friends, Saul Austerlitz [goes inside the writers’ room]( to show how Friends’ writers navigated the construction of the 72 plots a typical season of the show required. The one with all of the ones Short on time? Interested in finding fresh new hellscapes? See how many seconds you can bear to watch every episode of Friends, at the same time. Giphy The one with the poll Could Joey *be* wearing any more clothes? [Click here to vote]( He could absolutely fit on another of Chandler’s sweater vestsHe’s hit the actual limit of clothes-wearingI don’t understand the question and I refuse to respond to it 💬let's talk! In yesterday’s poll about [jollof]( Nigeria (21%) and Ghana (20%) were nearly tied for where you think the best jollof comes from, though 58% of you said that you wanted a taste test before deciding on whose jollof reigns supreme. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20Friends&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) [🎲 Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Susan Howson]( edited by [Annaliese Griffin]( and produced by [Luiz Romero](. The correct answer to the quiz is Ms. Chanandler Bong. The correct answer to the quiz is Joey. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! 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