Yahoo Lifestyle Friends Is 20 years Old Today
Happy 20th birthday Friends. It's been 20 years since Rachel, Ross, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler and Monica came into our lives. In celebration, here are five ways the show changed the world.
Introduced us to the 'Rachel'
Jennifer Aniston may have famously moved on from the 'Rachel' - she called it the "ugliest haircut I've ever seen" in 2011 - but we haven't. For us it's still the haircut that defined a decade, and Friends the medium that gave it to us. Thank you.
Made flatting seem glamorous
Six friends living across the hall from each other in a palatial loft-style spread in the West Village, where the living space features floor-to-ceiling windows and is bigger than your average Manhattan one-bedroom? Realistic it wasn't. But who cared? Not us.
Pioneered the cafe culture
Okay, so it had some help from Frasier. But Friends really was the show that made us think that hanging out in a coffee shop with your friends was the best way to spend a rainy afternoon. And for the Friends buffs visiting New York soon? You're in luck. They've opened a pop-up Central Perk in New York (even though the show famously filmed in Los Angeles).
Showed us that friends were the new family
We've all been there. Starting out in a new city, no family around, and wondering who would be your new support system. Friends showed us that those people could be, well, your friends. All together now: "I'll be there for you".
Kick-started the career of six young actors and actresses
Friends was the show that made movie stars out of TV actors and actresses. The six main characters of the show - Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc - negotiated as a unit, seeing their pay cheques rise from $75,000 an episode in season three to $1 million an episode in seasons 9 and 10. The $22 million that NBC forked out an episode in 2002 to its six stars was almost unheard of in television today and turned each of the six leads into stars in their own right.
RELATED:
Jennifer Aniston slams incessant baby pressure
