It’s hard to imagine Friends without any of the original cast, especially Matthew Perry’s Chandler and Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe Buffay, who are ingrained in the sitcom’s DNA. But while the writers made sure to serve six core characters with equal importance, having six primary figures in the sitcom wasn’t initially on the writers’ cards.
Before Perry and Kudrow entered the picture, the writers originally intended a different fate for their respective characters, which would’ve been a huge waste of their potential.
Chandler and Phoebe Were Initially Intended To Be Second Fiddles
In terms of character growth in Friends, Chandler undergoes the most development in terms of maturity as similar to Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel, he has one of the strongest arcs among the main 6. As for Lisa Kudrow, her portrayal of Phoebe still serves as a blueprint for kooky characters in sitcoms, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the shoes of the eccentric character other than her.
But while these two played a major role in boosting Friends from great to iconic, initially, their characters were intended to be more secondary. According to co-creator Marta Kaufman, unlike Aniston’s Rachel, Courteney Cox’s Monica, Matt LeBlanc’s Joey, and David Schwimmer’s Ross, Phoebe, and Chandler were initially thought of as (via Looper) “a little more secondary”.
Fortunately, this didn’t last long, as upon the arrival of Perry and Kudrow, the writers realized that having them serve as second fiddles to the main cast would be a huge waste of their potential. Not only did the decision to elevate Kudrow and Perry’s involvement work greatly in the show’s favor, but the latter even cemented himself as the biggest fan-favorite to emerge from the NBC show.
Lisa Kudrow on Her Experience of Watching Friends for the First Time
While Friends made both Perry and The Comeback star huge sitcom sensations, it wasn’t until recently that the latter decided to watch the iconic show for herself. To avoid the risk of getting embarrassed by her own work, Kudrow ignored watching the iconic sitcom, and it was Perry’s tragic demise, which finally pushed her to visit it. Speaking of her experience, the actress revealed “I’m laughing out loud, and everyone is hilarious”, especially Matthew Perry. She said (via THR):
Matthew, obviously, is just uniquely hilarious. No one ever knew that cadence or comedic rhythm before him
Moreover, the Emmy winner also realized that she might’ve been a little too harsh on herself all these years, as Kudrow joked that she even sometimes laughed at her portrayal of Phoebe.
Friends is available to stream on Max.
