{"id":544725,"date":"2021-05-28T17:36:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T21:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=544725"},"modified":"2021-05-28T17:36:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T21:36:35","slug":"la-times-writer-angry-friends-reunion-wasnt-more-diverse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/la-times-writer-angry-friends-reunion-wasnt-more-diverse\/","title":{"rendered":"LA Times Writer Angry \u201cFriends\u201d Reunion Wasn\u2019t More Diverse"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fla-times-writer-angry-friends-reunion-wasnt-more-diverse%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=544725&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-138425601-1-1024x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/tv\/story\/2021-05-27\/friends-the-reunion-hbo-max-diversity\"><span>The Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/a><span> would like the show \u201cFriends\u201d to go back in time and retroactively feature a more diverse cast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt should have been subtitled, \u2018The One Where they Ignored Diversity \u2014 Again,\u2019\u201d television reporter Greg Braxton wrote in a column published a day after the series\u2019 much-anticipated reunion aired on HBO Max.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Braxton went on to say that, given today\u2019s more \u201cdiverse and inclusive\u201d TV landscape, \u201cit\u2019s uncomfortable \u2014 if not outright inappropriate \u2014 to raise a glass to a sitcom that was so blind to the multiculturalism of the world where it took place.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He also argued the show\u2019s timing, appearing a year after George Floyd\u2019s death \u201csparked massive protests against police brutality and amid the ongoing conversation about race relations and white supremacy,\u201d made its lack of focus on race all the more offensive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In separate interviews with<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-features\/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624\/\"> <span>The Hollywood Reporter<\/span><\/a><span>, Friends\u2019 executive producer Kevin Bright and creator Marta Kauffman defended their casting choices, saying they were based on chemistry not color.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cFor the parts of Chandler and Phoebe, we saw everybody and we picked what we thought were the two best actors. There are different priorities today and so much has changed,\u201d Bright said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s important for today\u2019s shows to be reflective of the ways society truly is. But for our experience, the three of us, that may have been our experience when we were young and in New York. But we didn\u2019t intend to have an all-white cast. That was not the goal, either. Obviously, the chemistry between these six actors speaks for itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When asked if, given the criticism the show has faced recently, he would have done anything differently, Bright said, \u201cNo. I don\u2019t have any regrets other than hindsight. I would have been insane not to hire those six actors. What can I say? I wish Lisa [Kudrow] was black?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For her part, Kauffman told THR, \u201cWe saw people of every race, religion, color. These were the six people we cast. So, it was certainly not conscious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The heyday of nineties sitcoms also included many hits where the casts were mostly or entirely black, including \u201cThe Fresh Prince of Bel Air,\u201d \u201cMartin,\u201d and \u201cLiving Single.\u201d In fact, Queen Latifah, star of \u201cLiving Single,\u201d<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=J3qwRHb616I\"> <span>told<\/span><\/a><span> \u201cLate, Late Show\u201d host James Corden in 2016 that her series about a group of six African American pals living in New York City helped pave the way for \u201cFriends.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI heard a rumor which I think could be true which was that \u2018Living Single\u2019 was a jumping off point for another huge sitcom on NBC, right?\u201d Corden asked. \u201cYes, \u2018Friends,\u2019\u201d Latifah responded, smiling. \u201cAnd it was interesting, because when \u2018Living Single\u2019 came out, shortly thereafter, Warren Littlefield, who was president of NBC, they asked him if he could have any show on television, any of the new shows, which one would it be. And he said, \u2018Living Single.\u2019 It was in the newspaper. And the next thing you know, here comes \u2018Friends.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Latifah concluded by calling \u201cFriends\u201d an \u201camazing show\u201d and remarking that NBC did a \u201cgreat job\u201d with it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cFriends\u201d isn\u2019t the only beloved nineties sitcom getting renewed attention at the moment. \u201cThe Fresh Prince\u201d will be<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2020\/tv\/news\/fresh-prince-of-bel-air-drama-series-reboot-peacock-1234762356\/\"> <span>getting<\/span><\/a><span> a \u201cgritty\u201d reboot on NBC\u2019s streaming platform, Peacock. No word on whether some of the original roles will be recast as white.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>member<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Times would like the show \u201cFriends\u201d to go back in time and retroactively feature a more diverse cast.\u201cIt should have been subtitled, \u2018The One Where they Ignored &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2313452,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-138425601-1-1024x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"LA Times Writer Angry \u201cFriends\u201d Reunion Wasn\u2019t More Diverse","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-544725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-138425601-1-1024x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"LA Times Writer Angry \u201cFriends\u201d Reunion Wasn\u2019t More Diverse","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2313452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}