Random Behind the Scenes Drama from the Set of Friends (16 items)

(#15) The writers worked really long hours.

“Our hours were crazy. There were so many mornings when we were all finishing the rewrites. We’d get notes from the studio and the network,” David Crane recalls in the Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV book. Kauffman added that they paid special attention to how the audience reacted.

“But it was our notes that killed us. We knew we had to listen to the audience. Their silence tells you a lot. Laughing in good and bad ways. Laughing at setups instead of jokes,” she said.
(#10) Matt LeBlanc was so upset at the end of Friends he started smoking again.
Remember the episode where Joey has to smoke for a role and can’t seem to figure out how to hold a cigarette? In real life, LeBlanc was actually a smoker. The fact that Friends was coming to an end prompted him to pick up the habit after a four-year break. “I had quit smoking for four years, and in that final two weeks I started again because we were so aware that our time together was coming to an end,” he once said.
(#8) Jennifer Aniston was almost replaced as Rachel.
When Friends started filming, Aniston wasn’t technically available. She was already starring on a show that was on the air called Muddling Through. The series was short-lived, however, and Aniston was eventually able to commit to Friends full-time. It's hard to imagine a world without "The Rachel."
(#6) Courteney Cox initially made everyone nervous.
According to David Schwimmer, Cox was the one who made everyone else nervous in the beginning because “she was the one big name in the cast.” However, she ended up pushing them to become a team and have each other’s backs. “It was our second day of work, and we went outside on a break together," said Matthew Perry. "She said, 'This is an ensemble show. I think we should really all try to help each other out.'”
(#16) Filming the final episode was very emotional for the entire cast.
Filming the final episode of Friends was very emotional for everyone involved. “I mean, the last scene we just wept, cried our eyes out... [A]nd then a couple of us stayed really late and we crawled up to the roof of Stage 24 [at Warner Bros.] and we drank champagne and watched the sun rise. It was really wonderful,” Aniston recalls.
(#13) Matt LeBlanc really needed the gig.
Matt LeBlanc was struggling to make it as an actor for years before he landed the part of Joey. He only had $11.00 in his pocket when he started Friends and admitted the show saved his career. Come to think of it, the role of a broke actor fit him like a glove.