Generation Friends

May 27, 2019
The sitcom Friends premiered in 1994 to huge success, and 25 years later, according to this entertaining but shallow guide, it remains culturally ubiquitous, with teenagers around the world having “discovered Friends and believed it to be their own.” Austerlitz (Just a Shot Away) begins by explaining how playwrights David Crane and Marta Kauffman crafted an ensemble comedy to recreate the New York social scene they missed after moving to Hollywood. Austerlitz presents many surprising almost-happened stories—such as casting Craig Bierko from The Long Kiss Goodnight as Chandler and comedian Janeane Garofalo as Monica. In straightforward prose, Austerlitz writes of how the cast members bonded, such as in 1996, when David Schwimmer, “the show’s first breakout star,” told the others that “we should all go in together” to equally renegotiate their contracts. The narrative loses momentum, however, once the show gets off the ground, with revealing behind-the-scenes tidbits giving way to baggy analysis in which Austerlitz’s fandom dulls the writing (“Watching a new episode was like coming home”). Austerlitz nods to less celebratory moments, such as Amaani Lyle’s lawsuit claiming the writers’ room was a hostile work environment, but never digs deep. Though packing his narrative with fun details, Austerlitz misses the opportunity to fully explore why the show continues to appeal to new audiences.

June 15, 2019
The story of "one of the most beloved series on television." Austerlitz (Just a Shot Away: Peace, Love, and Tragedy With the Rolling Stones at Altamont, 2014, etc.) returns to a subject he's quite adept at analyzing, the TV sitcom, which he comprehensively covered in his 2014 book, Sitcom. With 236 episodes, Friends ran from 1994 to 2004, garnering one Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. The author conducted numerous interviews with writers, directors, crew members, and actors to tell this story of a show in which "comic minimalism was conjoined to a soap-opera maximalism." Austerlitz begins with the writers who created it, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, who were there to the end. Their initial pitch to the executives was a show like Cheers but set in a coffee shop, Central Perk. After it received the go-ahead, the casting director's initial list had African American and Asian American actors, but the producers went with an all-white cast of three men and three women. David Schwimmer's Ross was selected right away, with Matthew Perry's Chandler last. James Burrows, of Taxi and Cheers fame, directed. NBC execs were worried it wouldn't reach a wide enough audience, but they eventually slotted it for Thursdays before Seinfeld. Austerlitz chronicles how Friends evolved: adding additional sets, fine-tuning Courteney Cox's Monica, and the key decision to include the characters' past so "stories were often retold instead of depicted." The lack of diversity was brought up when the cast appeared on Oprah. Ross' ex-wife was a lesbian, and there was "The One With the Lesbian Wedding," while other episodes added black and Asian American actors; but Austerlitz calls the show with Chandler's transgender father (played by Kathleen Turner) "inept." Friends weathered a hostile work environment lawsuit and Perry's drug-and-alcohol addiction, and guest actors were common, from Elliott Gould and Charlton Heston to Julia Roberts and George Clooney, helping "provide a jolt to the ratings." On its 25th anniversary, the show's die-hard fans will love Austerlitz's detailed, discerning, and sumptuous history.

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July 1, 2019

Though the final episode of Friends was broadcast in 2004, between syndication and streaming the hit sitcom has never stopped airing. Viewers too young to remember Must See TV are now devoted Friends watchers via Netflix, which has reportedly paid $100 million to keep the program available through 2019. Austerlitz (writing & comedy history, New York Univ.; Just a Shot Away) describes how Marta Kauffman and David Crane pitched a show about a group of emerging adults just as NBC executive Warren Littlefield sought to capture the youth market. Guiding readers through Hollywood politics, notes from the network, and a complicated casting process, the author documents the creation of the legendary television show. He demonstrates not only how the cast achieved movie star levels of celebrity but also how fame extended to the series's costume designer and actress Jennifer Aniston's hair stylist, with viewers seeking to resemble the characters they loved. Austerlitz also goes behind the scenes, detailing overnight writing sessions, contract negotiations, and disagreements with directors. VERDICT Necessarily covering the same ground as Kelsey Miller in her best-selling I'll Be There for You, the author approaches Friends as a pop culture historian, incorporating his recent interviews with the show's creators in this workmanlike effort. For followers of the program and lovers of pop culture.--Terry Bosky, Madison, WI

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2019
Timed to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the premiere of the hit sitcom Friends, Austerlitz's history peels back the curtain to give fans a look at the making of the show, which was first known as Insomnia Cafe when Dream On cocreators Marta Kauffman and David Crane and producing partner Kevin Bright brought the idea to NBC at the end of 1993. Championed by NBC president Warren Littlefield, the show underwent an arduous casting process to find the six actors who would bring the coffee-loving sextet to life. Friends quickly became a monster hit, capturing the struggles of the young Gen-X audience NBC was aiming to engage and launching its six leads to mega-stardom. Austerlitz offers glimpses into the writers' room, as writers worked long into the night to mine their own lives for story ideas. He also chronicles the origins of the show's core romantic plot lines, acknowledges its shortcomings in terms of racial diversity and other failings, and delves into the show's second life on Netflix and its appeal to a new generation. Chock full of behind-the-scenes info, this fond accounting is a must-read for both new and old Friends fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)