American Sitcom, Friends
Matthew Perry, Chandler, Dies 17 Years Later
Friends: The Reunion
Do you know what the steady-seller of American sitcoms and the most profitable drama of the 21st century is? It’s none other than Friends, which maintained its popularity at its peak for 10 years.
Even though it ended 19 years ago, it still has a large fan base and maintains its popularity as it is served again on online streaming sites.
However, there was no news about sequels or movies, so fans couldn’t help but feel anxious.
In 2021, Friends, the six cast members, gathered on the public stage for the first time in 17 years, creating a buzz. Today, we will look at the recent status of the cast of Friends and Friends: The Reunion.
Rachel Green – Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston, who played the role of Rachel Green, was undoubtedly the most popular star among the characters of Friends. She earned the nickname “American Sweetheart” and rose to the status of a rom-com queen.
The character Rachel was the one who grew the most in Friends, successfully evoking empathy from the viewers.
Even after Friends, she continued to build a solid filmography by appearing in romantic comedy films such as He’s Just Not That Into You and Just Go with It.
Recently, she has been continuously working on projects, appearing in the Netflix movie Murder Mystery 2, especially in 2019 released The Morning Show Season 1. She participated in the planning and showed her production capabilities beyond being an actress.
Monica Geller – Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox played the role of Monica Geller, the mother of the living room in Friends. Her character was endearing with her obsessive-compulsive disorder and her childhood obesity complex.
Courteney Cox hit the box office during the airing of *Friends* by playing the role of gossip reporter Gale Weathers in the Scream series.
However, after the end of Friends, Courteney Cox went downhill due to excessive plastic surgery issues and box office failures. Fortunately, she received reviews that she had a second heyday when the drama Cougar Town hit the jackpot in 2009.
Courteney Cox received critical and audience acclaim and love by taking on the production and lead role in Cougar Town. Recently, she has been actively acting, starring in the horror movie Scream VI.
Chandler Bing – Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry, who played Chandler, who was in charge of ‘killing the country’ with his bitter humor in Friends. Although Friends was a hit, his movie performance was not that good.
After several years of box office failure, the movie The Whole Nine Yards, where he co-starred with Bruce Willis in 2000, seemed to see the light again.
However, from the early 2000s, Matthew Perry suffered from severe drug and alcohol addiction and went downhill again. A few years ago, he made fans happy by returning in a somewhat improved form as the sitcom The Odd Couple was successful.
However, in 2018, he nearly died from an Oxycodone addiction. On October 28 of this year, Matthew Perry was found dead at his home.
In response, Warner Brothers, who produced Friends, said, “We were shocked by the death of our dear friend Matthew Perry,” and “Matthew was a talented actor who played a big part in the Warner Brothers TV production group.”
Ross Geller – David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer played the timid nerd Ross in Friends. Not only did he play the lead role, but he also directed and produced some episodes, contributing to the popularity of Friends.
In 2001, he made a mark in the drama Band of Brothers as the inflexible captain, Herbert Sobel. After Friends, David Schwimmer took a break from acting to focus on production and directing.
Then, in 2016, he appeared in the drama American Crime Story and performed well. David Schwimmer played Robert Kardashian, one of O.J. Simpson’s lawyers.
Joey Tribbiani – Matt LeBlanc
Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey, who is a playboy but has innocent and kind charm, starred in the sitcom Joey, a Friends spin-off after it ended.
David Schwimmer, who played Ross, produced the show, exciting the hearts of Friends fans. However, Joey got canceled due to poor ratings.
After the failure of Joey, Matt LeBlanc briefly turned his eyes to the movie scene but also failed to achieve good results. Then, in 2011, the sitcom Episodes hit the jackpot, and he even won the Golden Globe Best Actor Award.
From 2016 to 2020, Matt LeBlanc starred as a housewife in the sitcom Man With A Plan, produced seasonally, and once again achieved good results, rising to the ranks of TV stars.
Phoebe Buffay – Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe and her twin sister Ursula in Friends, cannot be left out either. Lisa Kudrow received a lot of love as the odd one who composed strange songs every time in Friends.
Phoebe’s signature song, “Smelly Cat,” was so popular that she even appeared as a guest at Taylor Swift’s concert in 2015 and sang the song.
After Friends, Lisa Kudrow played various roles in dramas and movies as a scene-stealer. Especially the sitcom Web Therapy, which she produced and starred in, had a modest box office success and generated a fan base.
In addition, she made cameos in the movie Long Shot and the sitcom The Good Place, bringing joy to fans. She also worked as a voice actor in the animated films El Americano: The Movie and The Boss Baby.
Reunion after 17 years
As mentioned earlier, after the end of Friends, the six cast members never appeared on the official stage. They often gathered in groups of three or four, but never all six together. Then, it was confirmed that they would reunite on the OTT streaming site HBO MAX.
Friends: The Reunion, conducted as a talk show, featured not only the six cast members but also James Michael Tyler, who played the role of the manager of the Central Perk café in Friends, and Tom Selleck, who appeared as a significant scene stealer.
They reenacted by reading the lines of the famous scenes of Friends again and also shared various episodes by recalling the memories of the shooting at the time.
In addition, RM of BTS, who had previously revealed that he had studied English with Friends, also appeared as a guest. He also appeared as one of the many people who had memories of Friends.
By. Choi Danielle
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