How has it already been two decades since the final ever episode of Friends? (Picture by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
So no one told us 20 years was going to go by in the blink of an eye.
Somehow, two whole decades have passed since the finale of Friends – an episode titled The Last One – was broadcast, with millions tuning in to find out what would happen to Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey.
The beloved sitcom is – and continues to be – a sensational phenomenon, with a new generation of people discovering on streamers, and older generations constantly rewatching it to relive all of those heartfelt and hysterical moments.
So what was it really like to be in the studio audience to watch Friends and witness Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc doing what they do best?
Several people who were present at those famed tapings (because yes, that audience was real and not just the product of canned laughter) have revealed what it was like to watch historic TV moments unfold.
From Ross’ pet monkey causing havoc to Matthew being his usual comedic self, here’s what it was like.
Free pizza and merch… could this BE any more exciting?
Better pizza than Rachel’s English trifle… (Picture: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Over the years, diehard Friends fans on Reddit have opened up about what it was like to be in the studio audience… and it sounds like one of the highlights (apart from watching the show) was the free pizza attendees were given.
Reddit user u/manafrmheavn explained that it was a ‘looooong day’ when they were served pizza at the taping for Monica and Chandler’s wedding, which aired in 2001 in a special double-length episode.
User u/pad_rad was also given pizza when they watched the 1999 episode The One With The Cop, which featured the unforgettable ‘pivot’ sequence, when Ross enlists Chandler and Rachel’s help to – unsuccessfully – carry a sofa up the stairs in his apartment building.
‘They provided pizzas for the audience and everyone got a Friends frisbee,’ they added, pointing out that it has been a while since the experience, and so their memory might be slightly ‘fuzzy’.
Matthew Perry being his signature goofy self off-camera
No one could have captured Chandler better than Matthew (Picture: Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
While Chandler was known for his comedic ways, so was the late actor Matthew, who died in October 2023 aged 54 years old.
Friends fan u/smriversong revealed that when they were in the audience to watch the show, they saw Matthew ‘kind of interacting with another extra by making funny faces’, before they managed to get his attention.
One might find it hard to imagine what it was like seeing these actors who are so famous for these particular characters being themselves in front of the audience when the cameras weren’t rolling.
The Reddit user added that David was very friendly, smiling and telling them ‘Hey guys!’ when they waved at him.
Another going by the handle u/pawz364 said that the Ross star gave them a ‘sympathetic look’ when he saw them ‘hysterically crying’ over the cast coming out at the beginning to see them, while u/UnKnOwN769 added that the actor’s cologne apparently ‘smelt very good’.
Tapings could last into the early hours
The tapings sounded like they could have been exhausting (Picture: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
While Friends episodes would only last half an hour each – if that – the tapings of the episodes unsurprisingly took far longer.
Friends fan u/pawz364, who attended the taping for Monica and Chandler’s wedding reception, shared on Reddit: ‘It was amazing to see it live. The taping lasted over 8 hours, they ordered pizza for us for dinner. I didn’t leave my seat for a second of the taping because I didn’t want to miss anything.
‘Before the taping started they showed us the season finale from season 7 to remind us what happened. They also had a comedian entertain us before and during filming breaks. They tossed a bunch of Friends merchandise out to the crowd.’
User u/BeachBlonde22 said that when they attended a taping in 1995, they were ‘exhausted’ when it kept going until 2am – and were also distracted by Jennifer’s then-boyfriend Tate Donovan (who played Joshua on the sitcom) sitting right next to them.
U/pad_rad added: ‘From memory it started late afternoon and finished at about 2am. It took a long time.’ Wowzers!
Crew members had to prepare for the unexpected – including a puker
Perhaps the person who vomited could have a soak in Chandler and Monica’s bathtub? (Picture: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
In the world of showbusiness… you’ve got to be ready for anything that comes your way.
That sentiment must have certainly been felt when the crew members working on the set of Friends had to deal with someone vomiting in the audience due to excitement.
Reddit user u/ashortergiraffe explained that they heard about the incident, as it happened to someone that they knew who was at a taping.
‘Not me, but my sister’s middle school best friend’s sister went once. She was so excited she actually threw up,’ they wrote.
‘I specifically remember her saying that one of the people handling the audience just shouted “We got a puker!,” and escorted her out.’
Ross’ pet monkey was just as badly behaved in real life
Who can forget when Marcel swallowed a Scrabble tile? (Picture: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Ross’ monkey Marcel made his debut on Friends in season one, with the character eventually having to give him up because he had reached sexual maturity and humping pretty much everything in sight.
While the monkey was misbehaving on the show, it turns out that the real capuchin monkey was also apparently mischievous in real life.
‘My parents went to a taping for the first season, they saw S1 E17,’ said u/UnKnOwN769, in reference to the episode The One with Two Parts, Part Two.
In that particular episode, Marcel is rushed to the hospital by Ross, Chandler and Joey when he accidentally swallows a Scrabble tile.
‘They said there were some issues with Ross’ pet monkey and that it wasn’t cooperating very well,’ the Reddit user said.
During the 2021 Friends reunion, David admitted he had difficulty working with his simian co-star, stating: ‘The monkey would mess up scenes and when it didn’t do its job right, we would have to go again over and over. The monkey didn’t hit its mark, I’m sorry.’
One iconic episode was even funnier behind the scenes
There are so many iconic moments that spring to mind from Friends (Picture: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
When you think about the best episodes of Friends, there are some that certainly stand out. And the ‘pivot’ episode – when Ross develops a very unique way of shrieking the word at Chandler and Rachel while trying to hoist a sofa up his stairs.
If you thought that episode was hysterical already, especially when Chandler yells at Ross to ‘shut up’ in a hilarious imitation of his college friend, apparently it was even funnier behind the scenes.
‘I was in the audience for TOW the Cop (the ‘pivot’ episode),’ said u/pad_rad.
‘It was all filmed in front of the audience except the very first scene, where Joey’s dreaming. That had been filmed before we arrived and we watched it on screens before they started filming the rest of the episode.’
They continued: ‘The pivot scene was even funnier than it looks in the bloopers. Everyone was in hysterics.’
The Friends fan added: ‘It was a great night and I feel very lucky to have experienced it.’
Before the days of mass social media… no spoiler warnings
Can you imagine keeping *this* steamy moment a secret back then?! (Picture: Robert Isenberg/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Nowadays, TV fans are warned to avoid social media at all costs before they’ve watched the latest episodes of shows in case they accidentally stumble across spoilers.
But back when Friends was in production, this apparently wasn’t as much of a concern, to the extent that audience members in the studio were seemingly not even warned about spilling the beans to other members of the public.
‘I don’t remember them saying anything about spoilers. The internet wasn’t a big problem back then,’ u/pad_rad said.
Can you imagine being in the audience when it was revealed that Rachel was pregnant, or when Ross accidentally said Rachel’s name at his wedding to Emily, or when Monica proposed to Chandler… and not being warned to keep it under wraps?!
How lucky all of those Friends fans were who got to be a part of TV history.
Friends is available to stream on Netflix.
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