F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The show, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, spanning ten seasons. The series revolves around the lives of six friends in their 20s and early 30s living in Manhattan, New York City. The main cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer. The show's development began under the working title "Insomnia Cafe" in late 1993, with the idea being pitched to Kevin S. Bright, who then collaborated with the creators to present it to NBC. After various script revisions and title changes, the series was eventually named "Friends" and was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. The show was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions and Warner Bros. Television. During its run, "Friends" achieved significant success, consistently ranking among the top television shows and reaching the number-one spot in its eighth season. The series finale, which aired on May 6, 2004, was watched by approximately 52.5 million American viewers, making it one of the most-watched series finales in television history. The show received critical acclaim, earning numerous award nominations and winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2002. "Friends" has been recognized as one of the most popular and influential television shows of all time, receiving accolades from various sources such as TV Guide, Empire magazine, and the Writers Guild of America. The original cast members reunited for "Friends: The Reunion," a special released on HBO Max in 2021.

Rachel Karen Green (Jennifer Aniston) is the spoiled but warm-hearted and likeable daughter of a rich vascular surgeon and his wife. Rachel is introduced into the series in the first episode after she leaves her fiance Barry at the altar, and attempts to live independently without any financial support from her parents. She flees from her almost-wedding to New York City, to find her friend from high school Monica Geller. Rachel then moves into Monica's apartment and meets Phoebe Buffay, Chandler Bing and Joey Tribbiani. Rachel already knows Ross Geller as he is Monica's brother and they all three went to the same high school.

Ross Geller, Ph.D. (David Schwimmer): A paleontologist working at a museum of prehistory, and later a professor of paleontology at New York University. The most intelligent of the six main characters but at the same time a clumsy, and quirky individual, Ross has three failed marriages during the series, and is involved in an on-off relationship with Rachel. Towards the end of the final episode, he and Rachel reconcile stating that they will never break up again. It's revealed in the spinoff Joey that they have remarried. He is also the father of his ex-wife Carol's son Ben, and Rachel's daughter Emma.

Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan (Lisa Kudrow) is an odd, ditzy but nonetheless sweet-natured, kind-hearted masseuse who was once homeless, and sometimes tells her friends outlandish tales of her days on the street. She is an aspiring musician who plays the guitar and sings songs with somewhat unusual lyrics at the coffee shop. She has an identical twin sister named Ursula, who is also played by Kudrow, just as odd as Phoebe and appeared as a recurring character in the sitcom Mad About You. After a series of dates and relationships with a number of men, she meets Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd) in season nine, whom she eventually marries in season ten. She also became a surrogate mother for the child of her half-brother Frank Jr. (Giovanni Ribisi), and gives birth to his triplets in the fifth season.

Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani, Jr. (Matt LeBlanc): A good-natured but not-so-bright struggling actor and food lover, who becomes famous for his role on a fictionalized version of Days of Our Lives as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey is a womanizer, with many girlfriends throughout the series (his usual pick-up line "How you doin'?"), and develops a crush on his friend Rachel in season eight. He has a brief relationship with Rachel at the start of Season 10.

Monica E. Geller (Courteney Cox) is the mother hen of the group, who is known for her obsessive-compulsive and competitive nature. Monica is often jokingly teased for having been an extremely overweight child by the others, especially her brother Ross. In "The One with the Football", Ross even says to her, "Cheater, cheater, compulsive eater." Monica is an intelligent, kind-hearted person who works primarily as a chef throughout the show.

Chandler Muriel Bing (Matthew Perry): An executive in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for a large multi-national corporation. Chandler later quits his job and becomes a junior copywriter at an advertising agency. Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor, and, an intelligent man at the end of the day despite all his goofy quirkiness, often mocks his good friend Joey (though never with any malice, even while exasperated) for the latter's stupidity. He eventually falls in deep mutual love with Monica; an emotional Chandler tells her that she "makes him happier than he ever thought he could be" while proposing to her at the close of season six, with the two of them marrying at the close of season seven. By the end of the series, he and Monica adopt twins, whom they name Jack and Erica named after her father and the children's biological mother.