Over the course of its first 10-season run, Friends grew into one of the most adored sitcoms of the 1990s and 2000s, offering easy laughs and familiar comfort to audiences worldwide.
But away from the cameras, the atmosphere wasn’t always as warm as the show appeared, and some moments behind the scenes reportedly left certain cast members feeling uneasy on set.
More than two decades after the final episode aired, Lisa Kudrow — who played Phoebe Buffay — has spoken more openly about what she says was going on during production, including behaviour she felt threatened to sour the experience.
And while many might assume the tension came from co-stars, Kudrow suggested the bigger issue was with people working off-screen, including members of the crew and the writing team.
“There was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes,” Kudrow explained in an interview with The Times, published on April 23.
“Don’t forget we were recording in front of a live audience of 400, and if you messed up one of these writers’ lines or it didn’t get the perfect response they could be like, ‘Can’t the b**ch f**king read? She’s not even trying. She f**ked up my line’.”
Kudrow also alleged that inappropriate talk was common in private conversations, and that she and other cast members — including Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox — were frequently subjected to sexualised remarks.
“Back in the room the guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies about Jennifer and Courteney. It was intense,” she remarked.
While she indicated the comments contributed to what felt like a harsh working environment, she also explained why she didn’t challenge it at the time.
She told The Times that the dynamic between the Friends cast and its writers ‘could be brutal’.
“But these guys — and it was mostly men in there — were sitting up until 3 a.m. trying to write the show so my attitude was, ‘Say what you like about me behind my back because then it doesn’t matter’,” she said.
Friends aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004, running for 10 seasons and becoming a global phenomenon. Kudrow and Aniston both won Emmy Awards, and the sitcom remains a staple of syndicated re-runs across numerous networks.
Beyond its popularity, the series also cemented a long-lasting bond among the six main actors. Kudrow has previously said that maintaining the group’s dynamic required effort, but that the connection endured after filming ended.
In a separate, more recent reflection, Kudrow said that outside the show she often felt overlooked professionally — especially by parts of her representation — and that it affected how her career was viewed.
“Nobody cared about me… There were certain parts of [my talent agency] that just referred to me as ‘the sixth Friend,'” she said.
“There was no vision for me, and no expectations about the kind of career I could have.”
The LADbible Group has reached out to Warner Bros. and Kudrow’s reps for comment.