It’s hard to imagine anyone not watching Friends. However, those people exist, and it turns out an actor from another one of the best comedies of that era is one of them. Yeah, Julia Louis-Dreyfus may have been part of Seinfeld’s funniest moments, but that doesn’t mean she was tuned into other funny moments happening over on Friends. I have to say, though, while I’m surprised she has barely watched Friends, I do understand the reason why she hasn’t.
When she stopped by the Friends Keep Secrets podcast, she dropped some fun facts about her time on “the biggest show ever.” And naturally, the topic came around to the friends-themed sitcom thanks to co-host Lil Dicky, who asked the Veep actor, “Did you like Friends?” That’s how we got to this bombshell, as she admitted:
I didn’t really watch Friends. Sorry. I mean, I’ve seen bits and bobs of it, but I was, you know — I have to tell you something. When I was doing Seinfeld, I had both of my kids during that time. And you’ll see, if you want children, you’ll see if you’re working and you have kids, that’s a balancing act like no other.
She’s not the first celebrity to get real about the ‘challenges’ of being a working mom. Zoe Saldaña has called the nomadic life of an actor challenging to balance as a parent. Even with the stability of a long-running series, Louis-Dreyfus would have been working long hours on set and parenting when at home. So it’s understandable she wouldn’t have time for anything else.
However, the question didn’t surprise me, as while the sitcoms weren’t technically “pitted against each other,” fans often consider them rivals for being the most iconic. We even see it regarding the fashions, particularly between Elaine and Rachel. (However, Louis-Dreyfus has apologized for her character’s fashion.) Even her costar Jerry Seinfeld has previously (and cheekily) gone off about Friends. He often gives credit to their comedy for the latter’s success. But while they were briefly airing at the same time, there wasn’t an actual rivalry.
Furthermore, I was surprised that Louis-Dreyfus brought up the crossover that was never in the cards. Back in 1994, NBC decided to do a “Blackout Thursday” with its sitcoms each having a blackout-themed episode. However, Seinfeld famously didn’t participate and refused to change the content of their episode for that week. The Elaine actor shared that co-creator Larry David would never “in a million years go along with that.” The two comedies being so separate from each other may be another reason why she never fully watched Friends.
However, thanks to the dedication of Seinfeld fans watching the sitcom with a Netflix subscription, the antics of Elaine and her friends haven't gone away. But fans, like the hosts of Friends Keep Secrets, still want the tea from the Seinfeld cast about their opinions on Friends.
So I don’t see Louis-Dreyfus or her co-stars ever getting away from the Friends questions. However, I do wonder if anyone has ever asked Lisa Kudrow if she’s seen Seinfeld.
