‘Friends’ writer claims stars sabotaged jokes, lacked positivity.
A Former “Friends” Writer Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Drama
Unveiling the Truth About the Hit Sitcom
A former “Friends” writer has recently opened up about her less-than-ideal experience on set, shedding light on the behavior of the show’s top stars.
Patty Lin, in her book “End Credits: How I Broke Up with Hollywood,” shared her firsthand account of working on the beloved NBC series. An excerpt from her book was recently published in Time.
Lin initially had reservations about joining the writing team for season 7 of “Friends” due to her lack of experience in comedy. However, given the show’s immense popularity at the time, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
The iconic sitcom, which aired from 1994 to 2004, starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, and Matthew Perry.
Lin recalls her initial excitement about table reads, where she got to be in the same room as the cast. The allure of being close to the “Big Stars” and enjoying a catered breakfast buffet quickly faded as she realized the actors’ discontent with being tied to the show. Lin felt they were solely focused on how each script served their own interests.
According to Lin, the show’s leads would intentionally sabotage jokes they didn’t like, resulting in the dismissal of numerous good jokes. She partly blames the show’s creators for not intervening and supporting the writers.
Lin describes a negative atmosphere on set, with the actors voicing their opinions during script discussions but rarely offering feasible solutions. These sessions lacked the expected levity of a sitcom production.
She also felt like an outsider in the show’s writers room, describing it as “cliquey.”
Despite the challenges, Lin acknowledges that working on “Friends” taught her an important lesson. She ultimately decided that sitcoms were not for her and went on to work on other successful shows like “Desperate Housewives” and “Breaking Bad.”
Reflecting on her time on ”Friends,” Lin concludes, “I didn’t learn that much, except that I never wanted to work on a sitcom again.” However, she recognizes that the show remains her most recognizable credit.
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