FRIENDS has been regarded as one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time. Its comedy and cast have turned it into a classic, and for good reason. The series has heartwarming moments mixed in with hilarious dynamics, and some of the most beloved characters in television. However, it is important to remember that just because the series is iconic, does not mean that it is timeless in every way.
There are some plot points, jokes, and elements that haven’t really aged well as time passed since the show. During an interview, Lisa Kudrow, the actress behind Phoebe Buffay, recently revealed that there was one particular element that she found to be especially frustrating; laugh tracks.
Lisa Kudrow Hated The Laugh Tracks in FRIENDS
Laugh tracks were one of the darker points in the history of comedy in cinema. While they were originally supposed to be a representation that the series was shot in front of a live audience, they would often be put into a show post-production, ruining the true intention behind them.
Acting as an indicator of when the audience at home should laugh, it is safe to say that fans are glad that the concept has been retired in the years since.
However, FRIENDS famously had laugh tracks, with every single episode being recorded in front of a live audience. While this may have sounded excellent on paper for those in attendance, the same was not the case for those on the stage of a highly successful show. During a recent interview with Variety, Lisa Kudrow revealed them to be one of the most frustrating parts of filming the series.
Because they were laughing for too long. It wasn’t that funny. That’s why. It wasn’t an honest response and it irritated me. Now you’re just ruining the timing of the rest of the show. There are other lines. Sometimes I would just look out if they’d been laughing too long, and go, ‘Come on’. Really angry.
The actress revealed how they would often become quite frustrating during filming. Although all the scenes had to be shot in an extremely crisp manner and things had to keep going, the show and actors would often have to be paused for minutes on end, waiting for the laughter to subside. Naturally, Kudrow got quite frustrated by this.
FRIENDS—For The Audience Present or the Ones At Home?
Lisa Kudrow continued in the interview that when they were on set, they were not putting on a play but filming for the audiences at home. While everyone in the cast and crew understood this, the audience seemed to have quite a difficult time understanding this.
A TV show is not for the studio audience. It is made for the TV viewers at home. That’s who we are in service to. If it was a stage play, yeah laugh as long as you want. I’ll figure out things to keep my character busy waiting to continue with it. That’s fine. It’s being filmed and now I’m just standing there … you do like nod, ‘Yeah, I said that.’ It’s terrible.
She mentioned that had they actually been putting on a play, she would have preferred that they kept laughing for as long as they wanted. However, since they were filming for release, they got into quite a lot of awkward situations. There were several moments where they would have to stay paused with a frozen expression while the audience cheered for a joke that wasn’t that funny.
They instructed our audience not to do anything like that, I think.
It is also safe to assume that the duration of laughter must have gone up as the show began to gain popularity. Kudrow also added that the audience was also specifically schooled on how they should behave, but the efforts were in vain.
FRIENDS is available for streaming on Netflix.
