‘Friends’ turns 25
They’ve been here for us for more than a day, a week, a month or even a year as the 1994-2004 NBC sitcom “Friends” notches a new milestone later this month, celebrating the 25th anniversary of its premiere on Sept. 22.
With recent hand-wringing upon the end of “The Big Bang Theory” that TV shows that bring together a broad segment of country may no longer be viable due to the overwhelming number of series available via broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, it’s worth remembering the same response accompanied the end of “Friends” in 2004.
While communal TV has diminished, the longevity and value of one-time hits is on the rise in the streaming era.
“Friends” cultivated enough of a new audience with its reruns on Netflix that the series recently sold for $425 million in a deal that will relocate the show from Netflix to WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, which launches next spring. A similar deal will move “The Office” from Netflix to the upcoming NBCUniversal streaming service. Sony will be looking to bring in big bucks for “Seinfeld” when its current deal with Hulu expires in 2021.
Classic library series can attract old fans to new subscription platforms and also introduce those platforms’ younger consumers to a show that’s entirely new to them. “Friends,” a classic that’s so far avoided a reboot in this revival-happy TV era, chronicles the lives and loves of New York twentysomethings Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Monica (Courteney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow).
Along the way there were couplings — Ross and Rachel — followed by uncouplings (“We were on a break!”), a monkey named Marcel, multiple Monica-prepared Thanksgiving dinners (Brad Pitt, then married to Aniston, guest-starred in one of those), Chandlerisms (“Could she BE more out of my league?”), Joeyisms (“How you doin’?”) and Phoebe singing “Smelly Cat.”
At the height of its popularity in season two, “Friends” drew an average of more than 29 million viewers per week, including almost 53 million viewers who watched a post-Super Bowl episode in 1996. (For perspective on how ratings have declined since the 1995-96 TV season, last season “The Big Bang Theory” was tops among scripted series, drawing an average of 18.1 million weekly viewers.)
So it’s no wonder that Warner Bros., which owns “Friends” and produced the series for NBC, is going all out in its celebration of the show’s 25th anniversary.
A “Friends 25” pop-up experience, which sold out before opening day, is in operation through Oct. 6 in Manhattan.
Assorted replicas of the show’s iconic Central Perk coffee shop orange couch are touching down around the world this month, allowing fans to take selfies seated on it in locations as varied as the observation deck of the Empire State Building (Sept. 21-22), the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (Monday through Oct. 16) and at Comic Con Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa (Sept. 21-24).
Fathom Events will screen episodes of “Friends” in movie theaters nationwide Sept. 23, 28 and Oct. 2. And Warner Bros. has created a free “Friends 25” app (compatible with iPhones iOS7 and above and Android phones; download at https:// friends25app.com) complete with photo filters, trivia, wallpapers, recipes and more.
And it’s not just Warner Bros. that’s celebrating. Artist and former Pittsburgher Burton Morris, whose paintings appeared on the walls of the Central Perk coffee shop set throughout the show’s run, will present “The Art of ‘Friends’” show at Taglialatella Gallery, 229 10th Ave., in New York, Thursday through Oct. 16.
More than a dozen of Mr. Morris’ original pop art paintings and designs, created while he lived in Pittsburgh from 1994 to 2003, were featured over the 10 seasons “Friends” was on the air, and for his gallery show he will display several of these pop art icons, including the steaming coffee cup, the Statue of Liberty, King Kong and Uncle Sam in a show that mixes familiar images from the “Friends” set with new works inspired by the series.
In addition to “Friends,” another TV classic celebrates a significant anniversary this month: “The Brady Bunch” turns 50 on Sept. 26 and two digital subchannels available locally will celebrate with marathons of episodes.
Decades (low-power Channel 61.6) will broadcast “Brady Bunch” episodes beginning at 1 p.m. Sept. 28 followed by episodes of 1981’s “The Brady Brides” (7 a.m.noon Sept. 29) and 1990 drama series “The Bradys” (noon-6 p.m. Sept. 29).
MeTV (Channel 11.2) marathons episodes of the original 1969-74 “Brady Bunch” noon-2 p.m. Sept. 29.
TV writer Rob Owen:
rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook for breaking TV news.