In the 1980s and 1990s, when Sitcoms had started to rule the primetime of all television networks as well as the hearts of young Americans, David Crane and Marta Kauffman created a sitcom show that was about to go down in history as one of the most popular shows on American television ever. ‘œFriends’, as this show was titled, was an episodic sitcom series, the first episode of which was aired on 22nd September, 1994. The response from the viewers were so positive that the show continued to run for ten long seasons till the production house decided to put a formal end to the show. The last episode was aired on 6th May, 2004 and was lamented by many viewers who actually wrote letters to the Bright/Kauffman/Crane productions to resume the show for another season. Friends became one of the most successful American sitcoms of all time with regard to viewership and popularity as well as critical acclaim. The story is about 6 young friends living in an apartment in Manhattan, New York.

Although almost all of 1990s American population was hooked to Friends, there are still some little known facts about the show. Some of these are:

• The show was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmy Awards and won six of them. The series won the 2002 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. It also won an American Comedy Award, GLAAD Media Award, one Golden Globe Award and Six People’s Choice Awards.

• Courtney Cox, who played Monica Geller on the show, is the only cast member to have never been nominated for an Emmy Award.

• The character of Phoebe Buffay was originally offered to Ellen DeGeneres, who declined it. Lisa Kudrow, who went on to play the character, became one of the most popular actors on the show.

• The character of Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry, was conceived as a gay youth in the original script.

• The Orange Couch of the Central Perk, the scene of many a memorable moments on the show, was actually found in the basement of the Warner Bros. Studio, where the series was shot.

• The theme song of the show, ‘œI’ll be there for you’, was placed no.1 on the Billboard Hot Airplay Chart for 8 consecutive weeks!

• During the first season of the show, the cast members were paid $22,500 per episode. When the 10th season was on air, they were earning $1 million per episode!

• The final episode of the series was viewed by more than 52 million viewers across USA. This makes it the 4th most viewed series finale in the history of US television.

• Although the story revolved around Manhattan, the show was never shot in New York.

• ‘œFriends’ has been the final sitcom to hit the No1 spot with regard to television ratings in the history of US television till now.

These are just some of the fascinating facts about Friends that you might not have known. To conclude, all the main cast members became popular by the name of the characters they played and provided them platforms for a successful career. For instance, Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green, made it big in Hollywood later on.