It’s been 20 years since Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) ran back to Ross (David Schwimmer) after requesting to be let off the plane, marking an end to one of television’s greatest love stories. Like these two lovebirds, fans ofFriendsrefuse to let go, but who can blame them? This deeply unconventional, bittersweet tapestry of various adults pining for human connection resonates on many levels. It achieves its powerful effects almost effortlessly, using relevant themes, relatable subplots, and cheerful scoring to create an atmosphere rich in glee and contemplation.
Friends is the popular sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, released back in 1994 and ran for ten seasons. The show follows a group of six twentysomethings through their lives in New York City and their time spent between their two apartments and their local coffee shop. The show features the group navigating tricky relationships with one another and comical misadventures.
During its run, the series was nominated for a whopping 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for the brilliance of Season 8. In addition to that, the finale was watched by approximately 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth-most-watched series finale in television history, at that time.
Unfortunately, the final season only had 18 episodes, compared to other seasons which had 24 episodes. Understandably, fans might wonder what influenced the decision to prune Season 10. Had the budget ballooned? Had the quality declined? No, Jennifer Aniston was to blame.
Jennifer Aniston Portrayed Friends’ Breakout Character
When they conceived the story about six twenty-somethings trying to make it in life while bonding with each other, David Crane and Marta Kauffmanimagined that all the cast members would be treasured equally.But even though fans ended up liking them all,they adored Jennifer Aniston, who played the fragile, optimistic Rachel Green with an eccentric purity of heart.
Introduced as a naïve runaway bride who reunites with her childhood best friend Monica Geller and catches the eye of Monica’s brother, Ross,Rachel came across as someone you knew.Her on-and-off relationship with Ross would become a source of both frustration and delight among fans, but we all had to understand because romantic relationships aren’t that easy to manage, especially when filled with obstacles. No matter how many times their paths diverged, their underlying affection for each other remained completely real, if not realized, hence they never ceased to be one oftelevision’s best couples.
Friends: How Old Are the Main Characters?
The ages and birthdays of the characters in Friends were depicted inconsistently throughout the series.
Away from her relationships,Rachel had a huge impact on American (and even global) culture. Her Season 2 haircut, named “The Rachel,” triggered an international phenomenon, with many people imitating her, whileher fashion choices made her a style icon of the 1990s. And the truth is,Rachel wouldn’t have been adored by the public if Aniston hadn’t consistently put in great performances.
For her work,she won both an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in A Television Series – Comedy or Musical. Given Rachel’s prominence, Jennifer Aniston was always destined to define how the show would end. And she did.
Hollywood Came Calling
There are plenty ofgreatFriendsepisodesto enjoy, and fans would have been happy to have even more. Unfortunately, the last season ended quicker than others, for a sensible reason. In his memoir, the late actor Matthew Perry (best known for playing Chandler) revealed why Season 10 was shortened. Perry claimed that the length was “mostly by Jenny’s design.”
“For a start, Jennifer Aniston had decided that she didn’t want to do the show anymore. Jennifer wanted to do movies.”
By the ninth and tenth seasons, Aniston had become one of the highest-paid television actors of all time, earning about $1 million per episode. As expected, movie studios sought her for blockbusters, and when she was cast,she proved to be extremely bankable.When she starred inBruce Almightyin 2003, opposite Jim Carrey, the film ended up grossing $484 million worldwide. She was thus offered more movie roles and quickly established herself as one ofthe world’s best rom-com stars.
Aniston, too,confirmed that she was partly responsible for the way the show ended. Speaking to NBC’s Matt Lauer, she said:
“I wanted it to end when people still loved us and we were on a high. And then I was also feeling like, ‘How much more of Rachel do I have in me?”
Still, Perry clarified that Aniston’s choice to do movies didn’t mess with anyone’s bag.
Friends: The Chandler (And Ross) Crossovers You Never Knew Existed
To get viewers interested in newer shows like Caroline in the City and The Single Guy in the ’90s, NBC crossed over some friendly faces.
In the memoir, he insisted that everyone was okay with the decision.
“The truth was, we were all ready forFriendsto be done. All the characters were basically happy at this point, too, and no one wants to watch a bunch of happy people doing happy things — what’s funny about that?”
AfterFriendsended, Aniston became even more prolific,averaging about three movies each year. She would maintain that trend until 2018, when she signed up for the lead role in the Apple TV+ original series,The Morning Show.
Jennifer Aniston Almost Missed Out on Playing Rachel
It’s hard to picture anyone other than Jennifer Aniston as Rachel, butshe wasn’t the first choice for the role. In fact, the role had initially been deemed so insignificant that it was the last to be cast. Aniston auditioned shortly afterdeclining a positionas a cast member onSNL, a choice that triggered widespread ridicule. Who rejectsSNL? An actress who has total belief in her abilities.
Téa Leoni, who was being hailed as “the next Lucille Ball”, was offered the role, butshe made arguably the worst decision in television history by declining in favor of starring inThe Naked Truth, a sitcom that only lasted for a single season.Courteney Cox was also eyed for the role because of her upbeat personality, and because she was the most famous cast member at the time, but she insisted on playing Monica instead.
The Morning Show: Why the AppleTV Series Was Perfect for Jennifer Aniston’s Return to Television
After almost two decades away from TV, Jennifer Aniston made her turn in The Morning Show. Here’s why it was the perfect show for her.
Before finding success withFriends,Aniston had a poor sitcom run, starring in six shows that had all been canceled prematurely. Casting her as Rachel had also been a complicated exercise because she was starring in the sitcomMuddling Through, withCBS refusing to release her from her contract.Worried about her availability, the producers left her out of the first grouping of cast photos and started looking for alternatives.
Speaking to Today,director James Burrows admittedthatAniston was almost sacked. Thankfully,Muddling Throughproved to be a disaster, getting canceled after only 10 episodes, and two weeks before the pilot ofFriendsaired. Just like that, one of the greatest television characters of all time was born.
Friendsis available to stream in the US on Max
