In hindsight, it feels like a foregone conclusion that Friends would be a resounding success. A sitcom about six attractive, relatable, young twentysomethings, living in one of the greatest cities in the world, laying bare their anxieties, romances and blossoming friendships while drinking copious amounts of coffee. And all that with the backdrop of that comically large Manhattan apartment that Monica and Rachel could somehow afford? It was real, but never real enough to puncture its signature escapism – a recipe for triumph.
But, 30 years on from the pilot episode, which aired on NBC in September 1994, no one could have quite predicted the extent of the global staying power that the show would still enjoy today. Partly due to its addition to Netflix in 2015, the show has been exposed to an entirely new generation of fans, many of whom, like myself, weren’t even born when it started. On the surface, Gen Z perhaps doesn’t read as the Friends target audience – our 20s are materially completely different than the prelapsarian Nineties, and we are much more attuned to some of the show’s outdated attitudes to sexuality and race.
And yet, we keep coming back, as do people of all ages, such is the enduring desire to check in with our six friends. The latest iteration of the eternal Friends fandom comes in the form of a new Friends Experience which has just landed in London. An immersive walk-through museum celebrating the sitcom, the capital’s leg – aptly named The One.