Friends is an American syndicated television comedy that was enormously successful and popular throughout its ten year run. The production team that developed and produced the series, Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions began creating the program in 1993 under the working title of Insomnia Café. While they were skilled and professional television producers, they could only have dreamed that the show that after numerous rewrites and revisions would become a national sensation and people across the country would organize viewing parties for the final episode of Friends’ last season. This is just one of the numerous television series that is set in New York and part of the cultural orientation that many visitors expect. Tourists staying in one of New Yorks top five star hotels and resorts are extremely familiar with the New York that is represented in this television series.

As is what happens with most or all popular public and cable television series, the stars of them become major celebrities. This was certainly true for the cast of friends. The six main characters in friends were working actors and somewhat familiar to television audiences, though they rose to extreme heights of fame and popularity while working on the series. Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox Arquette, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry compose the six friends that make up the standard cast of the series.

One of the standout features of this series was the equal status and importance of all six of the main characters. None of them stood out as the star of the show and it was frequently considered to be one of television’s first true ensemble programs. This was also one of its most popular features and while none of the characters stood out as the show’s star, in hearts and minds across the nation, there were certainly favorites and stars. Various other actors were featured in recurring and guest star roles. There were also numerous major celebrities that made special guest star appearances, such as Brad Pitt and Jean-Claude Van Damme.