Popular television show Friends recently reached its 25 anniversary and despite the lengthy time since the shows creation, it was a celebrated event.
The premise of the show consists of five young adults navigating life together in New York City. While the show is from a different time period and features characters who are far past high school, many teenagers still watch, even if the show aired before they were born. A report by Childwise concluded that this is mainly due to the fact that the program’s “focus on friendships and relationships [are] relatable to teens.”
Senior and avid Friends fan Madeline Murphy agrees that the realness of the show is what makes it attractive. “It’s still famous now because the characters are iconic, relatable and genuinely funny. They struggle with real things, the stupid things in life like bills, breakups and unemployment,” she said. “Even though it’s in a different time and there’s an age difference, the comedy is universal and everything is relatable.”
Although many teens were not born when the show first aired in 1994, that element has an appeal to some viewers. A show set in a different time period has the potential to transport viewers to a place they never experienced. Murphy enjoys watching a different atmosphere on screen. “I’m kind of obsessed with different time periods; the nineties were so iconic and Friends embodies that perfectly,” she said.
The Childwise report also found that aspects of the show other than the storyline and general content were interesting to youth. The research found that teenagers usually enjoy binge-watching shows one episode after another. Streaming service Netflix allows viewers to watch Friends without limit or interruption on a variety of devices.
When Friends was first aired, it was appealing to a society 25 years behind the society of today. Not only has the way people watch changed- so has how the show is perceived. While the show has received some backlash for being behind current times, many of today’s youth are able to look past this and are still enchanted by its comedy, relatability and accessibility.
