Six Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘Friends’

1. In the early 90’s, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, the creators of ‘Friends’ came forward with a pitch for a show called ‘Insomnia Cafe’. Yes, that was the show’s original name. When NBC bought the pilot, other names such as ‘Friends Like Us’, ‘Across the Hall’, and ‘Six of One’ were bandied about, till finally, it simply became ‘Friends’ with the first episode airing September 22nd, 1994.

2. David Schwimmer was the first ‘friend’ to be cast. In fact, the role of Ross was written with him in mind. Executive producer of the show Kevin Bright, had worked with Schwimmer, and suggested the writers keep his voice in mind when developing the character of Ross.

3. The opening credits of the show were filmed in a Warner Bros. studio lot, not Pulitzer Fountain in Central Park, New York so don’t let any tour-guide fool you into believing otherwise.

4. The cast of ‘Friends‘ showed exceptional solidarity regarding pay packages. They were the first TV crew to negotiate as a group. When the show went on air, each member was receiving about $22,000 per episode. For the second season however, everyone was offered a different package. They refused to work unless all earned an equal amount of $100,000. When the final season went on air, each one of the ‘Friends’ were taking home a million dollars each per episode.

5. The sixth season premiere was a special one. Courtney Cox had just gotten married to David Arquette, and the first episode was dedicated to the newly-wed couple. Cox’s name appeared in the credits as Courteney Cox-Arquette and in an affectionate gesture of solidarity, the names of all the ‘Friends’ carried the same surname appearing as Lisa Kudrow-Arquette and so on.

6. A crew of actors rarely become as close when shooting as the cast of ‘Friends’ did. Every week before the shoot would begin, the six would get into a huddle. David Schwimmer recalls how emotional everyone became, the last time they did this. The memory would become a lasting one, just as remembrance of the ‘Friends’ antics would make fans smile long after the last show went on air.