Friends

:For other uses, see Friends (disambiguation).

Trivia

• The character of Ursula (Phoebe's twin sister) first appeared in the sitcom Mad About You as a not-so-quick-witted waitress. Lisa Kudrow played Ursula on both Mad About You and Friends. Phoebe was not originally supposed to have a twin, but the show's creators added the fact to explain why Kudrow was appearing on two different shows, at one point on the same night. Ursula would go on to make several appearances on Friends, played simultaneously by Kudrow. Producers used split-screen photography and doubles to create the illusion the two both appeared in a scene at the same time. Later, Helen Hunt appeared on an episode of Friends and her character mistakenly thought Phoebe was Ursula.
• James Michael Tyler's character came into the series by accident. He can be seen as an extra throughout the first season, and when given a line in the second, the directors were adequately impressed that they created him a full-time part: Gunther. Additionally, it's been reported that Tyler got the job because he was the only extra who knew how to operate the espresso machine, having been working at an actual coffee shop at the time. In addition to playing Gunther, Tyler remained an actual coffee shop employee for the first four seasons of the show.
• Central Perk, the coffee shop on the show, is based on Chomondley's (pronounced Chumley's), a coffee shop/lounge in Usen Castle at Brandeis University, the alma mater of the show's creators.
• Katie, who played Marcel, Ross' pet monkey, would become even more famous as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's Rally Monkey.
• Although the show was filmed in California, it took place in the West Village in Manhattan, New York City. The exterior shot of the Friends' apartment building is actually located at Grove and Bedford streets in the Village.
• The picture frame around the peep hole in Monica and Rachel's apartment originally was a framed mirror, but a crew member accidentally broke it. The producers liked the look and decided not to replace the mirror.
• 55 people were paid to come to the studio and watch the first four episodes of "The Six of Us"; this show's title was changed to "Friends"
• Not all episodes were filmed in front of a studio audience. Most episodes were filmed with a laugh track, like the episode of Ursula and Phoebe together.

Further trivia can be found in the series' IMDb entry.

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