Editing Friends (section)

== Production ==

=== Conception ===
{{blockquote|text=It's about sex, love, relationships, careers, a time in your life when everything's possible. And it's about friendship because when you're single and in the city, your friends are your family.|sign=The original treatment used by David Crane, [[Marta Kauffman]] and [[Kevin Bright]] to pitch the series to [[NBC]].<ref name="friendsorigins1">{{Cite web |last=Lauer, Matt |date=May 5, 2004 |title=''Friends'' creators share show's beginnings |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4899445 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002162908/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4899445/ |archive-date=October 2, 2013 |access-date=May 4, 2005 |website=[[NBC News]]}}</ref>}}

David Crane and Marta Kauffman began developing three new television pilots that would premiere in 1994 after their sitcom ''[[Family Album (1993 TV series)|Family Album]]'' was cancelled by [[CBS]] in 1993.<ref>Wild, p. 206</ref> Kauffman and Crane decided to pitch the series about "six people in their 20s making their way in Manhattan" to NBC since they thought it would fit best there.<ref name="Kolbert1">Kolbert, Elizabeth (March 8, 1994). [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E6DF163DF93BA35750C0A962958260 "Birth of a TV Show: A Drama All Its Own"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122060730/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E6DF163DF93BA35750C0A962958260 |date=January 22, 2009 }}. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.</ref> (Film director and screenwriter [[Cameron Crowe]] has asserted that the concept originated with [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|Warner Bros. Television]] wanting him to make his 1992 movie ''[[Singles (1992 film)|Singles]]'' into a television show.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Sottile |first=Alexis |date=2017-09-18 |title='Singles' at 25: Cameron Crowe on Making the Definitive Grunge Movie |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/singles-at-25-cameron-crowe-on-making-the-definitive-grunge-movie-118103/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=2023-05-01 |archive-date=May 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501120632/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/singles-at-25-cameron-crowe-on-making-the-definitive-grunge-movie-118103/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |date=July 27, 2015 |orig-date=September 3, 2000 |title=As Crowe flies |url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/on-the-set-of-almost-famous/2395201a-f25a-4c6a-9191-8f99524b95af |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=[[The Chicago Sun-Times]] |language=en |via=[[WBEZ Chicago]] |archive-date=May 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501120633/https://www.wbez.org/stories/on-the-set-of-almost-famous/2395201a-f25a-4c6a-9191-8f99524b95af |url-status=live }}</ref> Crowe alleges that when he refused permission, the idea was then taken over by Crane and Kaufman, who changed some details from the premise of the movie while developing the show.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />)

Crane and Kauffman presented the idea to their production partner Kevin Bright, who had served as executive producer on their [[HBO]] series ''[[Dream On (TV series)|Dream On]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Behind the Scenes |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488124/415695 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203061651/http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488124/415695 |archive-date=February 3, 2009 |access-date=January 10, 2009 |publisher=[[TV2 (New Zealand)|TV2]]}}</ref> The idea for the series was conceived when Crane and Kauffman began thinking about the time when they had finished college and started living by themselves in New York; Kauffman believed they were looking at a time when the future was "more of a question mark."<ref name="friendsorigins1" /> They found the concept to be interesting, as they believed "everybody knows that feeling",<ref name="friendsorigins1" /> and because it was also how they felt about their own lives at the time.<ref name="friendsorigins1" /> The team titled the series ''Insomnia Cafe'' and pitched the idea as a seven-page [[Film treatment|treatment]] to NBC in December 1993.<ref name="friendsorigins1" /><ref name="Kolbert1" />

At the same time, [[Warren Littlefield]], the then-president of [[NBC Entertainment]], was seeking a comedy involving young people living together and sharing expenses after he regretted passing on the Black sitcom ''[[Living Single]]''. Littlefield wanted the group to share memorable periods of their lives with friends, who had become "new, surrogate family members."<ref name="friendsorigin" /> However, Littlefield found difficulty in bringing the concept to life and found the scripts developed by NBC to be terrible. When Kauffman, Crane and Bright pitched ''Insomnia Cafe'', Littlefield was impressed that they knew who their characters were.<ref name="friendsorigin" /> NBC bought the idea as a [[put pilot]], meaning they risked financial penalties if the pilot was not filmed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stallings |first=Penny |title=The Ultimate Friends Companion |publisher=Channel 4 Books |year=2000 |isbn=0-7522-7231-4 |location=London |pages=102–103}}</ref>

Kauffman and Crane took three days to write the pilot script for a show they titled ''Friends Like Us.''<ref name="friendsorigins1" /><ref>Wild, p. 215</ref> Littlefield wanted the series to "represent [[Generation X]] and explore a new kind of tribal bonding", but the rest disagreed. Crane argued that it was not a series for one generation, and wanted to produce a series that everyone would enjoy watching.<ref name="friendsorigin" /> NBC liked the script and ordered the series. They changed the title to ''Six of One'', mainly because they felt ''Friends Like Us'' was too similar to the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] sitcom ''[[Ellen (TV series)|These Friends of Mine]]''.<ref name="friendsconcept">{{Cite news |last=Kolbert, Elizabeth |date=May 9, 1994 |title=The Conception and Delivery of a Sitcom: Everyone's a Critic |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405EEDF1239F93AA35756C0A962958260 |url-status=live |access-date=December 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122060548/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405EEDF1239F93AA35756C0A962958260 |archive-date=January 22, 2009}}</ref>

=== Casting ===
{{See also|The Pilot (Friends)}}
[[File:Courteney Cox '10 PaleyFest.jpg|thumb|upright|The producers wanted [[Courteney Cox]] (''pictured'') to portray Rachel; however, Cox wanted to play Monica and co-creator Marta Kauffman agreed after watching the audition.]]
Once it became apparent that the series was a favored project at NBC, Littlefield reported that he was getting calls from every agent in town, wanting their client to be a part of the series.<ref name="friendsorigin" /> Auditions for the lead roles took place in New York and Los Angeles.<ref name="friendswrit" /> The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors who had applied for each role down to 75. Those who received a callback read in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. At the end of March, the number of potential actors had been reduced to three or four for each part, and these actors were asked to read for [[Leslie Moonves|Les Moonves]], then president of Warner Bros. Television.<ref name="Kolbert2">Kolbert, Elizabeth (April 6, 1994). "[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/06/arts/finding-the-absolutely-perfect-actor-the-high-stress-business-of-casting.html Finding the Absolutely Perfect Actor: The High-Stress Business of Casting] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008185205/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/06/arts/finding-the-absolutely-perfect-actor-the-high-stress-business-of-casting.html |date=October 8, 2016 }}", ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.</ref>

Having worked with David Schwimmer in the past,<ref name="friendswrit" /> the series creators wrote the character of Ross Geller with him in mind, and he was the first actor cast.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Couric, Katie |date=May 5, 2004 |title=Can David Schwimmer leave Ross Geller behind? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/4908086 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831112036/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4908086 |archive-date=August 31, 2013 |access-date=December 23, 2008 |website=[[NBC News]]}}</ref> Courteney Cox wanted to play the role of Monica Geller because she liked the "strong" character, but the producers had her in mind to play Rachel Green because of her "cheery, upbeat energy", which was not how they envisioned Monica; after Cox's audition, though, Kauffman agreed with Cox, and she got the role.<ref name="friendsorigins1" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Friends Til the end: The Official Celebration of all Ten years |publisher=Time Home Entertainment |year=2004}}</ref> When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for Joey Tribbiani, he put a "different spin" on the character.<ref name="friendsorigins1" /> He played Joey more simple-minded than intended and gave the character heart. Although Crane and Kauffman did not want LeBlanc for the role at the time, they were told by the network to cast him.<ref name="friendsorigins1" /> Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast as Rachel, Chandler Bing and Phoebe Buffay based on their auditions.<ref name="friendswrit" /> Perry and Aniston, both still under contract to other shows that year, ''LAX 2194'' and ''[[Muddling Through]]'', were cast days before shooting of the pilot began.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/matthew-perry-tribute-david-janollari-chandler-friends-1235633427/ |title=Warner Bros. Exec Recalls Casting Chandler: "It Was Magic" |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=October 31, 2023 |access-date=October 31, 2023 |archive-date=October 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031205130/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/matthew-perry-tribute-david-janollari-chandler-friends-1235633427/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

More changes occurred to the series's storylines during the casting process. The writers found that they had to adjust the characters they had written to suit the actors, and the discovery process of the characters occurred throughout the first season. Kauffman acknowledged that Joey's character became "this whole new being", and that "it wasn't until we did the first Thanksgiving episode that we realized how much fun Monica's neuroses are."<ref name="friendsnewsday" />

=== Writing ===
In the weeks after NBC's pick up of ''Friends'', Crane, Kauffman and Bright reviewed sent-in scripts that writers had originally prepared for other series, mainly unproduced ''[[Seinfeld]]'' episodes.<ref name="friendsborn" /> Kauffman and Crane hired a team of seven young writers because "When you're 40, you can't do it anymore. The networks and studios are looking for young people coming in out of college."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shayne, Bob |date=June 10, 2001 |title=No Experience Wanted |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-10-ca-8511-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616165543/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jun/10/entertainment/ca-8511 |archive-date=June 16, 2009}}</ref> The creators felt that using six equal characters, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for "myriad storylines and give the show legs."<ref name="friendsorigin2" /> The majority of the storyline ideas came from the writers, although the actors added ideas.<ref name="friendswrit">{{Cite news |date=April 23, 2004 |title=''Friends'': Kevin Bright |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/community/chat/2002-04-23-friends.htm |url-status=live |access-date=December 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715065109/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/community/chat/2002-04-23-friends.htm |archive-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> Although the writers originally planned the big love story to be between Joey and Monica, the idea of a romantic interest between Ross and Rachel emerged during the period when Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot script.<ref name="friendsorigins1" />

During the production of the pilot, NBC requested that the script be changed to feature one dominant storyline and several minor ones, but the writers refused, wanting to keep three storylines of equal weight.<ref name="friendsconcept" /> NBC also wanted the writers to include an older character to balance out the young ones. Crane and Kauffman were forced to comply and wrote a draft of an early episode that featured "Pat the Cop" who would be used to provide advice to the other characters. Crane found the storyline to be terrible, and Kauffman joked, "You know the {{Sic|kids}} book, ''[[Pat the Bunny]]''? We had Pat the Cop." NBC eventually relented and dropped the idea.<ref name="friendsorigins1" />

Each summer, the producers would outline the storylines for the subsequent season.<ref name="joeyrach" /> Before an episode went into production, Kauffman and Crane would revise the script written by another writer, mainly if something concerning either the series or a character felt foreign.<ref name="friendsborn">{{Cite news |last=Kolbert, Elizabeth |date=May 23, 1994 |title=A Sitcom is Born: Only Time Will Tell the Road to Prime Time |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E5DF1E38F930A15756C0A962958260 |url-status=live |access-date=January 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122060645/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E5DF1E38F930A15756C0A962958260 |archive-date=January 22, 2009}}</ref> The hardest episodes to write were always "the first one and the last one of each season."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Radloff |first=Jessica |title=The Creators of Friends Reveal Brand-New Secrets About the Show |language=en |work=Glamour |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/exclusive-the-creators-of-frie |url-status=live |access-date=December 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005712/https://www.glamour.com/story/exclusive-the-creators-of-frie |archive-date=December 4, 2018}}</ref> Unlike other storylines, the idea for a relationship between Joey and Rachel was decided on halfway through the eighth season. The creators did not want Ross and Rachel to get back together so soon, and while looking for a romantic impediment, a writer suggested Joey's romantic interest in Rachel.<ref name="joeyrach" />

The storyline was incorporated into the season; however, when the actors feared that the storyline would make their characters unlikable, the storyline was wrapped up, until it again resurfaced in the season's finale. For the ninth season, the writers were unsure about the amount of storyline to give to Rachel's baby Emma Geller-Green, as they wanted the show neither to revolve around a baby nor pretend there to be none.<ref name="joeyrach">{{Cite news |last=Bauder, David |date=May 15, 2002 |title=Baby episode could make ''Friends'' TV's top show |work=Seattle Times |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20020515/wfriends/baby-episode-could-make-friends-tvs-top-show |url-status=live |access-date=January 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122135945/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020515&slug=wfriends |archive-date=January 22, 2009}}</ref> Crane said that it took them a while to accept the idea of a tenth season, which they decided to do because they had enough stories left to tell to justify the season. Kauffman and Crane would not have signed on for an eleventh season, even if all the cast members had wanted to continue.<ref name="friendsnewsday" />

The episode title format—"The One ..."<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 5, 2004 |title=Have yourself a mocha latte and reminisce a bit |url=http://www.ocala.com/news/20040505/have-yourself-a-mocha-latte-and-reminisce-a-bit |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211172257/http://www.ocala.com/news/20040505/have-yourself-a-mocha-latte-and-reminisce-a-bit |archive-date=February 11, 2018 |access-date=February 11, 2018 |publisher=Ocala.com}}</ref>—was created when the producers realized that the episode titles would not be featured in the opening credits, and therefore would be unknown to most of the audience. Episode titles officially begin with "The One ..." except the title of the [[The Pilot (Friends)|pilot episode]] and the series finale "The Last One". The season 5 episode "The One Hundredth" has the alternative title of "The One With The Triplet".

=== Filming ===
[[File:The House used in Friends (48072768102).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Greenwich Village]] building, 90 Bedford Street, used as the friends' apartment block in [[establishing shot]]s]]
The first season was shot on Stage 5 at [[Warner Bros. Studios Burbank|Warner Bros. Studios]] in [[Burbank, California]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Endrst, James |date=February 23, 1995 |title=''Friends'' wins friends with caffeine-fueled energy |work=[[Austin American-Statesman]] |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAD97908003E2DA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=January 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125074027/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAD97908003E2DA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |archive-date=November 25, 2018}}</ref> NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but eventually consented to the coffee house concept.<ref name="friendsorigins1" /> The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the [[Warner Bros. Ranch]] at 4:00&nbsp;am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning.<ref>{{cite news|title= F. Y. I.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 27, 2005|author=Pollak, Michael<!--|access-date=December 31, 2008 -->}}</ref> At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage&nbsp;24, which was renamed The ''Friends'' Stage after the series finale.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blake, Lindsay |date=May 25, 2021 |title=Revisit These Iconic Locations Made Famous by Jennifer Aniston and ''Friends'' on the Hit Show |url=https://www.dirt.com/gallery/locations/filming-locations/1203383350-1203383350/lb-friends-filming-locations-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004014332/https://www.dirt.com/gallery/locations/filming-locations/1203383350-1203383350/lb-friends-filming-locations-2/ |archive-date=October 4, 2021 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |website=Dirt.com}}</ref>

Filming for the series began during the summer of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters.<ref name="friendsorigins1" /> A hired comedian entertained the studio audience between takes.<ref name="filmhours" /> Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script.<ref name="filmhours">{{Cite web |last=Kiesewetter, John |date=January 27, 2002 |title=''Friends'' grows in stature, ratings |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/01/27/tem_friends_grows_in.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204193030/http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/01/27/tem_friends_grows_in.html |archive-date=December 4, 2012 |access-date=January 5, 2009 |publisher=[[The National Enquirer]]}}</ref>

Although the producers always wanted to find the right stories to take advantage of being on location, ''Friends'' was never shot in New York. Bright felt that filming outside the studio made episodes less funny, even when shooting on the lot outside, and that the live audience was an integral part of the series.<ref name="friendswrit" /> When the series was criticized for incorrectly depicting New York, with the financially struggling group of friends being able to afford huge apartments, Bright noted that the set had to be big enough for the cameras, lighting, and "for the audience to be able to see what's going on".<ref name="friendswrit" /> The apartments also needed to provide a place for the actors to execute the actions in the scripts.<ref name="friendswrit" />

The fourth-season finale was shot on location in London because the producers were aware of the series' popularity in the UK.<ref name="friendswrit" /> The scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences each made up of 500 people. These were the show's largest audiences throughout its run. The fifth-season finale, set in [[Las Vegas]], was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, although Bright met people who thought it was filmed on location.<ref name="friendsjoeystuff" />