From New Girl to Happy Endings: Five TV shows that wouldn’t exist without Friends

There must be something about the date September 22. This year, it’s the date that marked the 20th anniversary of Lost, the 25th anniversary of The West Wing and the 30th anniversary of Friends.

For a time, it must have been a good omen to premiere your new show on September 22 because, apparently, if they do they will then go on to be highly influential and enduring in the pantheon of TV culture.

Friends was one of the most defining American TV shows of the 1990s and ran for 236 episodes across 10 seasons. It made global superstars of its six leads — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.

Friends creator Marta Kauffman told the US Today Show this week that it was immediately clear the six stars had a connection.

“When the six of them got onstage together, I literally got a chill up my spine and thought, ‘This is special’.”

In the three decades since the friends walked into Central Perk, the show has gone on to entertain generations as younger viewers rediscovered it on streaming.

Not every joke holds up (many, many don’t) but its format of six mates hanging out and sharing their work, family and relationship dramas without anything too challenging, controversial or political was a winning formula.

Its simplicity and emphasis on friendship and love ensured its longevity. It didn’t need an organising structure such as a workplace or bar to keep everyone together.

As a juggernaut cultural movement, Friends was hugely influential in the sitcoms that followed it. Here are five that (likely) would never have been commissioned if not for the wild success of Friends.

NEW GIRL

A series that was built around the inherent charm of Zooey Deschanel who was, for a time, the epitome of “adorkable”, New Girl followed a group of roommates turned friends. The series started with Jess moving into the loft apartment of unambitious Nick, ladies’ man Schmidt and charismatic Coach (the latter was swapped out for the sensitive Winston before rejoining the cast in season four).

Soon, they’re thick as thieves and Jess’ friend Cece is a mainstay of the group. There are, inevitably, some romances within the group but mostly the series will be remembered for its easy-going chemistry and its fictional drinking game, True American.

Watch it: Disney+

BIG BANG THEORY

Yes, the distinction here is that Big Bang Theory was mostly about socially awkward super geniuses rather than regular people with boring jobs, but the structure was very similar.

There were the two main characters who shared an apartment, living across the hall from another while two more flitted seemed to go in and out as if they lived there too.

It wasn’t the most critically beloved, but Big Bang Theory was massively popular globally with fans particularly fond of Sheldon Cooper’s straightforward manner. And, what do you know, the characters also hooked up with each other. Shock horror.

Watch it: Prime Video, Paramount+, Netflix, Stan

HAPPY ENDINGS

Eleven years after its cancellation, Happy Endings is still cited as an “axed too soon” favourite that should have had a longer life than its three season run. It had a great cast including Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr and Casey Wilson, and a wicked sense of humour.

Like Friends, it starts with an aborted wedding but between two of the core six characters. How do you stay friends with someone after that? And what happens to the rest of group dynamic? Lots of sitcom shenanigans ensue.

Watch it: Digital rental

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

Like its predecessor, How I Met Your Mother was set in New York City but filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles, but that doesn’t stop fans from visiting the “real” NYC bars the show based its MacLaren’s drinking hole on.

While the framing device was supposed to be an older Ted regaling his kids with the story of how he met their mother, most of series’ nine seasons had nothing to do with the tease. Instead, it was a casual collection of adventures and misadventures of five friends trying to make it in the city.

Watch it: Disney+

THE SECRET LIFE OF US

OK, so there’s no actual evidence local series The Secret Life of Us was directly influenced by Friends, especially as it’s not a sitcom like everything else on this list.

But the series did revolve around twenty-something friends who lived in the same St Kilda apartment block, trying to navigate life, love and work. The quintessentially Australian series supercharged the careers of Deborah Mailman, Joel Edgerton and Samuel Johnson while Claudia Karvan cemented her status as one of our most in-demand actors.

It was at the forefront in its representation of Indigenous and LGBTQI characters, but more than that, it was just brilliant storytelling.

Watch it: Prime Video

Friends is streaming on Netflix and Stan