What’s the Consensus: Does Friends deserve the hype?

We’re all familiar with the show, but are we all on the same page about it?

Reader, I sense that this one is going to be more divisive than usual, but the question needed to be asked: how do we feel about Friends? One of the most popular television shows of all time, it has also received its fair share of criticism, and I want to know where we stand with it.

In its 10 seasons, Friends was nominated for over 60 Primetime Emmy Awards, suggesting that it was beloved by television viewers at that time, and, it would seem that love carried on: Friends: The Reunion, which aired in May of 2020, was watched by an estimated 29 per cent of U.S. streaming households on the first day of release.

Friends ran from 1994 to 2004, giving it a following of millennial viewers who probably made up a large part of that reunion audience. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug, after all. The thing is, a lot of good TV shows have been made since 2004. If we’re talking about sitcoms that can be compared to Friends, there are solid (and similarly beloved) shows like The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.

And, 30-minute comedies continued to evolve beyond that style of humour — single set sitcoms — even at the same time as Friends was airing: The Office, Arrested Development, 30 Rock, and Modern Family are all excellent comedies that have also stood the test of time.

When Friends was put on Netflix in 2015, it gained two things: a whole new generation of (younger) fans, and a whole lot of people left wondering, why did I ever like this show? Many felt that, through their older and more *refined* comedy lenses, the show just fell short of their memories — and was actually pretty problematic.

So, Concordians, whether you’re a first-year fresh out of CEGEP, or a mature student like myself who feels ancient in your classrooms, I want to know how you feel about Friends.

What’s the Consensus?

Click here to cast your vote:

https://ivlv.me/yHL0b

The results from each poll will be published in the following edition of this column.

Last time, we asked readers if they think that smoking cigarettes is still cool. The results: 17% said yes and 83% said no.

 

Feature graphic by James Fay

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