Friends unknown facts – title change, trading roles and never filmed in New York

2022-09-22

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Friends began in 1994 and aired its last episode in 2004, but the iconic sitcom continues to dominate the television industry.

The series follows six friends as they navigate through life and hardships in their mid 20s while living in New York.

The NBC comedy broke mainstream media upon its release and will always rival the title of greatest sitcom of all time.

READ MORE: David Schwimmer pokes fun at Friends' co-star Jennifer Aniston's sultry shower snap

But while fans pride themselves on knowing every detail about the series, there are some things that many don't know.

As it's 28 years since Friends premiered, Daily Star has looked at some of the unknown facts from the beloved series.

Secret first name

Friends has one of the most recognisable titles in television, but it wasn't always what creators had in mind.

As the series creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane began writing the show, their seven-page pitch was originally referred to as Insomnia Café.

Before the cameras started rolling, the title was changed once again to Friends Like Us, while former NBC executive Karey Burke revealed that Six of One was also in the running.

By the time the show premiered on September 22, 1994, NBC settled on the shortened version that remains amongst the most iconic.

Swapping roles

It's hard to imagine anyone other than Jennifer Aniston, 53, and Courtney Cox playing Rachel Green and Monica Geller, but could you see one of them swapping roles?

It turns out that producers originally wanted Courtney, 58, to play Rachel and they believed in it so much that they even offered her the part

Luckily, Courtney decided that she wanted to play Monica instead, paving the way for best pal Jennifer to take on the role she will always be remembered for.

Original love story

Ross and Rachel's love story is a pivotal part of Friends and their on-off relationship remained a central storyline for all 10 seasons.

This was largely down to Jennifer and David Schwimmer's undeniable chemistry, something no one noticed until the shows pilot.

But as it turns out, the show's creators dabbled with the idea of Joey and Monica being the primary love story, believing they were the more "natural pairing" out of all the characters.

Co-creator David Crane explained: "When we were originally conceiving the show, we actually thought that Monica and Joey might become a thing and then we cast it, and just went ‘that’s not the right energy'."

And thankfully this didn't happen because it opened the door to Monica and Chandler who went on to become a fan favourite couple after their fling evolved into a relationship.

The series creators confessed that their entanglement was only meant to be a one night thing, but the reaction from fans was so strong that they had to pursue it further.

Lost a bet

A highly memorable part of season six was the introduction of Bruce Willis who played the father of one of Ross's girlfriends.

By the time the Die Hard actor guest starred in the series, countless other celebrities had already enjoyed a stint on the show.

But the reason behind his three episode run was because he lost a bet with Matthew Perry while shooting the 2000 film The Whole Nine Yards.

While the circumstances surrounding the bet are still unclear, it is known that the Hollywood megastar donated his earnings from the show to charity.

Never filmed in New York

Despite Friends being set in New York, no part of the show was ever filmed there.

Aside from the exterior shots of the Manhattan skyline or the outside of Monica's apartment, everything was filmed in California.

Season one was filmed on Stage 5 of Warner Bros. Studios, while Stage 24 was used for the other nine, which later became known as The Friends Stage after the show concluded in 2004.

Other notable set locations include London, which fans will remember staged Ross's wedding in the season four finale.

Producers knew that Friends had an incredibly strong UK fanbase, which was a contributing factor to shoot on-location in the capital instead of using a set.

Other California locations used were Leo Carrilo State Park in Malibu which was used for the beach in Montauk, while the Vasquez Rocks appeared for the set used for Joey's movie in Las Vegas.

$11 to his name

It's hardly surprising that several of the main cast were struggling actors before they secured a role on Friends in 1994.

But Matt Le Blanc was on a whole different level to his castmates, having no more that $11 to his name when he was cast as the beloved Joey Tribbiani.

Speaking on an episode of Conan in 2019, the actor revealed he would have "starved" had he not landed the part.

“I had, I think, I was down to $11,” the now 55-year-old explained.

"That’s holding out too long. Because even if I said at that point, ‘All right, I’m going to go get a waiter job,’ by the time that $11 ran out, it would have been before the first paycheck on that job. I would have starved," he confessed.

Luckily things turned out better than Matt ever could've imagined as he went on to become one of the highest-earning TV stars of all time.

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