Friends

:This article is about the fandom. For pages with similar titles, see Friend.
Friends (often stylized as F•R•I•E•N•D•S or F.R.I.E.N.D.S) was an American television sitcom of ten seasons about six friends in their 20s and 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City. The series has derived a spin-off titled Joey (2004–2006) and a special called Friends: The Reunion (2021).
==Canon==
Ross Geller, Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing, and Phoebe Buffay are six twenty-somethings living in New York City. Over the course of 10 years and seasons, these friends go through life lessons.
===Trivia===
It has been rumored that the main characters are named after All My Children characters—Ross for Ross Chandler, Joey for Joey Martin, Chandler for the Chandler family, Monica for Monique/Daisy Cortland, Rachel Green for Janet Green, and Phoebe for Phoebe Tyler Wallingford—but this theory has been debunked.Why Fans Think The Character Names On Friends Were Inspired By This Soap by Michelle Mehrtens at Looper, 14 November 2021. References the book Friends Fun Facts: 3000 Little-Known Facts About the Show (Sitcom Preservation Society, 2021), which states: "There have been many false reports that Friends characters were named after All My Children characters [...]. This is merely a coincidence."
Another rumor is that Friends would be copied/riping off/plagiarized Living Single, a NBC TV Show from 1993 to 1998 that chronicles the lives of six Black friends while living in a Brooklyn brownstone.
==Characters==
===Main Characters===
* Courteney Cox as Monica Geller
* Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green
* David Schwimmer as Ross Geller
* Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
* Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani
* Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay
===Other Notable Characters===
* Mike Hannigan
* Carol Willick & Susan Bunch
* Gunther
==Fandom==
Comprised of the most diverse types of fans, the fandom has been massive and active since the start of the show. Fanfiction can be found online as well as in several multifandom zines (such as Dyad and Alter Egos).
Online resources include Friends fansites and archives such as the Joey/Chandler Slash Archive by Glowstick Chick. Fanworks can also be found at multifandom archives including FFN and AO3 and can also be found on RareSlash, FanFic World, SlashCom, and Mako's webpage, and Friends/X-Files crossovers can be found on X-OVER.
==Shipping==
The pairings of the show vary between the canons and those created by the fans inside and outside the virtual environment, such as Chandler/Monica that were going to be a one-night stand, but the enthusiastic applause from the audience led the producers to support the ship and make them canon on the show. On the other hand, there was the case of actors Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc, who planned a skit to reveal a possible romance between Phoebe/Joey, but the producers rejected the proposal saying the pair didn't fit into the show's plot. 
Chandler/Joey is the fandom's biggest slash pairing, based on their close friendship. There have been unsubstantiated rumors that Chandler's character was originally intended to be gay.TV Legends: Was Chandler on Friends Originally Meant To Be Gay? by Brian Cronin at Comic Book Resources, January 05, 2017. Here's Why Some 'Friends' Fans Think Chandler Was Originally Meant To Be Gay by Curtis M. Wong at HuffPost, April 13, 2021.
Ross/Rachel is one of the show's canon pairings, but has come under fire due to the development of the characters over the seasons. Rachel/Joey was a canon created by producers to expose that good choices are not always made, there was some criticism from fans while others were pleased in return for Rachel and Ross's troubled relationship, is often considered endgame). Another canon couple adored by fans is Phoebe/Mike.
Some femmeslash pairings are Rachel/Monica and Phoebe/Monica, and on a smaller scale Phoebe/Rachel.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanart===
===Fanfiction===
* (Rachel Green/Joey Tribbiani) by interabang
* (Chandler Bing/Monica Geller) by interabang
* (Ross Geller/Joey Tribbiani) by interabang
===Vids===
* Say something by Somethingpeerless (Joey/Rachel) - 2014 vid.
===Meta===
* Bracelet Buddies: a Joey Tribbiani/Chandler Bing Manifesto by usedusernames at ship_manifesto (Jun 2008)
* Joey Tribianni Character Manifesto by secondalto at het_reccers (Jul 2011)
* Monica Geller/Chandler Bing Shipper Manifesto by lurknomore at het_reccers (Sep 2012)
==Archives, Communities & Resources==
* Friends tag on Archive of Our Own
* Friends category on FanFiction.net
* Joey/Chandler Slash Archive
* f.r.i.e.n.d.s tag on Tumblr
* Friends Slash Yahoo Group
* RossandRach (French)
* Friends Central at Wikia
===LiveJournal Communities===
* friendsnbc
* friendsfanworks
* friends_icons
* friendsicontest
* friends_rating
* _joeychandler
* mondlers
===DeviantArt Groups===
* FriendsTV
* FRIENDS-FanClub
* F-R-I-E-N-D-S
===Fanlistings===
* Love + Coffee, a fanlisting (defunct)
* Bracelet Buddies, a Joey & Chandler fanlisting (defunct)
* Decaf, a Rachel & Monica fanlisting (defunct)
==References==
Category:Friends