Friends is an American comedy television series. It was on television from September 22, 1994 to May 8, 2004. It is about 6 friends who lived in Manhattan, New York City. They were in their 20s and 30s. The names of the "friends" were: Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe and Joey.

Friends got positive reviews through most of its run. It is one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. The series won many awards and was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmy Awards. TV Guide ranked it #21 on their list of the 50 greatest TV shows of all time.

The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. At first, the executive producers were Crane, Kauffman and Kevin Bright. Other producers were brought in during later seasons. In all, there were 236 episodes. There is a spin-off to this show named Joey.

The series finale aired on May 6, 2004, and was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth most-watched series finale in television history, and the most-watched television episode of the 2000s decade.

A reunion special was released in May 2021 on HBO Max.

The Friends 
 Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) - She used to be fat, is a control freak, and is compulsively organized. She is Ross' sister and in season 7, marries long-term boyfriend Chandler and adopts 2 babies (Jack and Erica) in the last episode of the series.
 Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) - Early in the series, he was a self-confessed commitment-phobe, but in season 7 finale, he marries Monica, his girlfriend of three years. One of his most famed traits is his finely-tuned sense of humour. His father is a transsexual, and works in Las Vegas and his mother is a renowned adult book writer.
 Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) - He's the 'stupid' one, and is a struggling actor, but scored a break in season 2 in the soap opera Days Of Our Lives, and then again in season 7. He remained on Days of Our Lives until the end of the series. He had a lot of sexual partners and flings throughout the series, but had strong feelings for a fellow actress in season 3 and fell in love with his roommate, Rachel, in season 8. Post-finale he was the main character in the spin-off, Joey.
 Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) - She's quirky, flakey, and fun-loving. She got married to Mike in season 10, but before this relationship she had never had a serious commitment. She also plays guitar and is a masseuse. Phoebe is known to have lived on the streets as a young adult after her mother committed suicide.
 Rachel  Green (Jennifer Aniston) - She first moved to New York in the first episode after running off from the altar. She is perhaps the character who has made the most development (going from spoiled, rich Daddy's girl to an independent and confident woman). She had a famous on-off relationship with Ross, which spanned the entire series. She has a daughter with Ross Geller named Emma.
 Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) - A paleontologist. He had a famous on-off relationship with Rachel, who he had a crush since he was 15. He has been married three times, once to Carol, once to Emily and once to Rachel, in a drunken Vegas wedding. He is not married at the end of the show, but has two children- Ben, to his first wife and Emma, to Rachel. He and Rachel seem to be back together at the end of the show.

Other key characters 
 Janice - Portrayed by Maggie Wheeler, An on-off girlfriend of Chandler's who has a shrieking nasal voice and is most famous for her 'oh - my - god' catchphrase, and her loud, annoying laugh. 
 Gunther - Portrayed by James Michael Tyler, The bleached blonde haired guy who works in 'Central Perk'. He appears in the majority of episodes. Gunther is madly in love with Rachel, who does not find out until the very last episode.
 Treeger - Portrayed by Mike Hagerty, The superintendent for the apartment building most of the friends live in. His most active role is in the episode where Joey practices dancing with him because he is too afraid to dance with girls.
 Mike- Portrayed by Paul Rudd, he was one of Phoebe's significant boyfriends. He and Phoebe meet when Joey and Phoebe decide to set each other up with blind dates, but Joey forgets on the day of, and ends up bringing a random person who happens to have the name Mike (Joey told Phoebe that was his name before he found Mike). They decide to move in together, but on moving day, broke up due to Mike not wanting to marry again after his painful divorce. They end up getting back together, and marrying. In the finale, it is revealed that they will have a baby together.
 Jack Geller - Portrayed by Elliott Gould, The father of Ross Geller and Monica Bing; the grandfather of Ben and Emma Geller. 
 Judy Geller- Portrayed by Christina Pickles, The mother of Ross Geller and Monica Bing, also the grandmother of Ben and Emma Geller.

Guest stars  
Many guest stars of the show include: Hank Azaria, Cosimo Fusco, Larry Hankin, Tom Selleck, Jennifer Grey, Morgan Fairchild, Lauren Tom, Marlo Thomas, Aisha Tyler, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Bruce Willis, George Clooney, Greg Kinnear, Dakota Fanning, Danny DeVito, Ralph Lauren, Phil Leeds, Julia Roberts, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Brooke Shields, Ben Stiller, Jon Favreau, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Shelley Berman, Susan Sarandon, Bob Balaban, Phill Lewis, Denise Richards, Winona Ryder, Sean Penn, Eddie Cahill, Michael Chiklis,  Kathleen Turner, Malin Åkerman, Jason Alexander, Maggie Baird and Brad Pitt.

References

1994 American television series debuts
2004 American television series endings
1990s American sitcoms
1990s romance television series
2000s American sitcoms
2000s romance television series
Manhattan in fiction
NBC network shows
Romantic comedy television series
Television series about friendship
Television series about siblings
Television series set in New York City
English-language television programs