Friends has played such a huge role in pop culture, and in the lives of fans who still reference the iconic NBC sitcom on the daily (guilty as charged), that it’s a bit jarring to learn that its core actors aren’t as familiar with the show's details as people who have enjoyed multiple rewatches over the past 20+ years. Courteney Cox blamed her bad memory when she talked about not being able to remember filming scenes and episodes from the show, and now one of her co-stars has echoed Cox's sentiments.
Lisa Kudrow garnered six Emmy nominations (and one win) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role of flighty Phoebe Buffay on Friends. She was recently a guest on Andy Cohen Live, where she took a question from a caller who referenced Courteney Cox’s comments about that time in her life being a blur, and Kudrow admitted that the experience was the same for her:
Yeah, Courteney and I are completely in the same boat. We don’t even remember what the episodes were. I know I haven’t seen all the episodes.
So not only does Lisa Kudrow not remember what went into making the episodes, but she admitted that she hasn’t even watched all of the episodes to the career-defining series. That is a tough piece of trivia for this Friends fan to wrap her mind around, but The Comeback actress’ reasoning actually makes sense. For one thing, Friends premiered in 1994, and I’m sure we all have aspects of our careers that we don’t remember 28 or even 18 years later.
As for not seeing all of the episodes, there are plenty of actors who don’t watch their work. However, Lisa Kudrow said the cast actually did watch the show together in the beginning, but “then you get busy and then you’re tired.” When they stopped watching the episodes together, she didn’t always have time to make Friends appointment viewing, which everything was back then. She said:
You’re not sitting and watching TV at 8 o’clock on a Thursday, because, you know, I have a kid and things are happening, and there wasn’t TiVo yet. And now you have to explain what TiVo is.
Ah, TiVo. Who can forget the first rendition of DVR? Plenty of people, probably, as it’s not around anymore. With Friends playing in syndication nearly constantly and also streaming alongside some of the best shows on HBO Max (not to mention the DVDs, if you’re still a little old school), it’s easy to forget that back when the sitcom aired, missing an episode live meant you missed it altogether until summer repeats. Seriously, how did we do that?
Lisa Kudrow’s comments come after Courteney Cox made her claims on Sunday Sitdown. The Monica Gellar actress, whose Friends connection helped to land her current gig on Shining Vale, said when she was asked questions about the show on Friends: The Reunion, she had trouble answering because she didn’t “remember being there.” She continued:
I see it on TV sometimes and I stop and go, ‘Oh my God, I don’t remember this at all.’ But it’s so funny.
Matthew Perry, who talked about his struggles on the HBO Max reunion, has also admitted to not remembering some of his time on Friends, but for a much sadder reason. The Chandler Bing actor struggled with addiction and previously said he doesn’t remember three years, between Seasons 3 and 6, as he was “a little out of it at the time.”
The Friends actors may have let the experience slip from their memories as they moved on to other projects, but don’t worry, the fans will be there for you, as far as keeping the episodes tattooed in our brains. All 10 seasons, including the reunion special, are available for streaming with an HBO Max subscription.
