BEHIND-THESCENES SCOOP
All the scandals, script changes and character classics! inspo that helped define these small-screen
Secrets from the sets of Friends, The Office and other classic sitcoms.
2005–2013 THEOFFICE
If ever a show seemed full of improv, it’s this nine-season mockumentary. But John Krasinski, who starred as Jim, has said it ain’t so: 90 percent of the hilarity was “exactly what the writers wrote.” A rare exception was the Season 3 scene in which Michael (Steve Carell) planted a kiss on Oscar (Oscar Nunez) instead of a hug; it was only one take, but it was the one they used. As for Jim’s slow-burning romance with Pam (Jenna Fischer), it was originally conceived for an interracial couple. But the screen chemistry between John and Jenna was off the charts — and the rest is an office affair for the ages.
2007–2019 THEBIGBANGTHEORY
The only elements that worked in the pilot were brainiacs Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons). After a retooling, Kaley Cuoco was cast; she and Johnny dated and split in secret, while their alter egos married. Injuries abounded over 12 seasons: Mayim Bialik broke her arm and Kaley her leg, causing her to film scenes in Season 4 behind a counter. Not hidden? That spanking Sheldon gave Mayim’s Amy in Season 6 — it was meant to be offscreen until they saw how amusingly kinky it could be.
1994–2004 FRIENDS
For 10 seasons, Friends was there for us.
But would it have been as big a hit with Joey (Matt Leblanc) and Monica (Courteney Cox) as the will-they-or-won’t-they couple, rather than Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), per the original pitch? With the additions of Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry, the cast became extremely tight-knit, doing a group hug before each episode and insisting they get paid equally, a TV first. (Each pocketed $1M an episode in their last year.) Together, they weathered Matthew’s addiction struggles — he went to rehab in 1997 and 2001 — and
Jen’s initial hesitation to do a final season. At the end,
Matt laid claim to Joey’s foosball table and they all walked away a lot more famous.
1987–1997 MARRIED ...WITH CHILDREN
The Bundy family was so dysfunctional that the first working title for this 11-season sitcom was Not the Cosbys. Ed O’neill drew inspiration from a crude high school pal to play Al, and Katey Sagal wanted Peggy to dress like a cocktail waitress. The budget was tiny at first, with some props on loan from the cast and crew’s homes. And one episode, “I’ll See You in Court,” was so racy it was axed in 1989 and didn’t surface until reruns in 2002,
TWO AND 2003–2015 A HALF MEN
Backstage drama grew to overshadow the comedy over this show’s 12 seasons. Charlie Sheen’s drug problems were so severe by Season 8 that he couldn’t remember his lines, according to his co-star Jon Cryer, and he was replaced by Ashton Kutcher. Angus T. Jones, who played young Jake, bashed the show’s morals during Season 10 and urged viewers to stop watching. They didn’t, though — instead, they made a game out of listening for the line in the script that gives each episode its title.