The Daily Telegraph

Netflix makes a new generation of Friends

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FRIENDS has been named the most popular streamed show on Netflix after winning over the millennial generation.

The series, which was first broadcast in 1994, has beaten recent releases to top a list of the UK’S most popular shows on paid-for streaming services.

Netflix UK added Friends in January in reponse to popular demand and twice as many episodes were streamed in the first three months of 2018 than its nearest rival, Amazon’s The Grand Tour.

The data, which was released by Ofcom, the broadcasti­ng regulator, is based on a survey of 2,500 viewers, who rank the most-watched programmes on subscripti­on streaming services.

The bounce in Friends’ popularity is surprising given that many viewers said its humour had aged badly.

Rebecca Reid, a writer, told the BBC’S 5 Live in January: “The homophobia is staggering. The punchline of every joke about Ross is that his exwife is a lesbian, as if that’s some failing of his and that it’s hilarious.

“The sexism’s pretty rampant as well... [and] it’s the whitest show in the whole world.” However, she did acknowledg­e that she did “sort of love it”.

 ??  ?? Despite being nearly 25 years old, Friends, the story of six young New Yorkers, has been a huge hit for Netflix
Despite being nearly 25 years old, Friends, the story of six young New Yorkers, has been a huge hit for Netflix

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