Friends: A Reading of the Sitcom

by Simone Knox, Kai Hanno Schwind

This book offers a long overdue, extensive study of one of the most beloved television  Friends. Why has this sitcom become the seminal success that it is? And how does it continue to engage viewers around the world a quarter century after its first broadcast? Featuring original interviews with key creative personnel (including co-creator Marta Kauffman and executive producer Kevin S. Bright), the book provides answers by identifying a strategy of intimacy that informs Friends’ use of humour, performance, style and set design. The authors provide fascinating analyses of some of the most well-remembered scenes—the one where Ross can’t get his leather pants back on, and Ross and Rachel’s break-up, to name just a couple—and reflect on how and why A-list guest performances sometimes fell short of the standards set by the ensemble cast. Also considered are the iconic look of Monica’s apartment as well as the programme’s much discussed politics of representation and the critical backlash it has received in recent years. An exploration of Joey, the infamous spin-off, and several attempts to adapt Friends’ successful formula across the globe, round out the discussion, with insights into mistranslated jokes and much more. For students, scholars, creative industry practitioners and fans alike, this is a compelling read that lets us glimpse behind the scenes of what has become a cultural phenomenon and semi-permanent fixture in many of our homes.

399 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 16, 2019

Reviews

[Gemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a very detailed study of a select few aspects of the sitcom FRIENDS, such as a study of the set design of Monica's apartment, acting choices and the live audience, humour and more recent adaptations/influences. For fans of the sitcom it is a fascinating read but not an easy one. This is packed full of academic terminology and theory which will probably only appeal to readers interested in a scholarly analysis of the show.
Due to the level of detail, the book could not cover all aspects worthy of attention, however I was disappointed by some of the omissions, e.g. only briefly mentioning the representation of LGBT+ characters and the problematic aspects of this to a more modern audience, while spending almost an entire chapter discussing the representation of race based on one black character.
It is obvious this book was written by genuine fans of the show but I did get the sense that this resulted in some of the more negative criticisms of the show being glossed over when a discussion of these would have been interesting to read.

[Shant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that views Friends from a literary perspective, the authors did a great job at analyzing things from lines to joke delivery to the set to show how Friends was so successful. My favorite chapters included the descriptions for each characters' type of humor, analyzing Brad Pitt's (bad) performance in front of a multicam setup, and the chapter analyzing Charlie's reaction to Monica's dreadlocks in Barbados. It was also reading about Friends' relation to overseas dubbing, specifically, the failure of the first dubbed version of it in Germany, and how they fixed it when another company began to take over the dubbing duties.

[Arjun]

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October 12
Chapter 2
The One with the Scholarship—Or (Relative) Lack Thereof