Non­fic­tion

Gen­er­a­tion Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Tele­vi­sion Era

Saul Auster­litz
January 1, 2013

A nos­tal­gic, fas­ci­nat­ing, behind-the-scenes look at the block­buster suc­cess of NBC’s Friends, includ­ing brand-new inter­views with the series cre­ators, pub­lished for the 25th anniver­sary of the show’s premiere.

Discussion Questions

Cour­tesy of Saul Austerlitz

  1. Which of the show’s two cen­tral cou­ples, Ross and Rachel or Chan­dler and Mon­i­ca, feels truer to your per­son­al experience?

  2. Why do you think the show con­nect­ed so deeply with its audi­ence in the 1990s and ear­ly 2000s?

  3. And why do you think the show con­tin­ues to find new gen­er­a­tions of audi­ences, when oth­er shows from its era do not?

  4. Do you have a per­son­al favorite episode? If so, which one, and why?

  5. Are there par­tic­u­lar char­ac­ters or sto­ry­lines that you believe have not aged well?

  6. Do you think a con­tem­po­rary sit­com could con­nect with audi­ences the way Friends did?

  7. Does Friends say some­thing rel­e­vant about the life of young adults? What do you see as its message?

  8. What was the atmos­phere like in the Friends writ­ers’ room? In what way did that envi­ron­ment con­tribute to the show?


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