how friends became a generation-spanning obsession

Matthew Perry was signed up to play an alien baggage handler in a futuristic sitcom about airport staff when he was cast as Chandler Bing. Lisa Kudrow was a migraine specialist with a biology degree, when she decided she could deliver lines better than the actors she saw on television. Matt Le Blanc went to his first acting audition by accident, when he followed a woman whose bottom he was admiring.If you don’t know these sorts of facts about the cast of Friends, can you really call yourself a committed fan? Don’t worry – in time for the show’s 25th anniversary this month, you’ll have a chance to swat up. Pop culture historian Saul Austerlitz has written the definitive insider account of the show called Still Friends.

Austerlitz is an adjunct professor of writing and comedy at New York University and has written four books already, one of which is entirely about sitcoms. He was reading an article in the New York Times about how Friends had found an entirely new audience in young people, when he decided there could be a book on the subject.

“I read that teenagers in school were discovering Friends, fighting over it, talking about it and making it their own,” he says. “I found that so fascinating because it’s just so rare for a show to find a new, young audience. Usually it’s popular at a time and it has loyal fans, but barely ever does a show go on to find new ones.”

For those of us who watched it the first time round, a cheeky rewatch is all about nostalgia. It resonates with new viewers, Austerlitz says, because it’s a compelling mix of reality and fantasy. “Teenagers can look at Friends to find out what adulthood might hold for them. First jobs, first relationships, first heartbreak and then marriage and kids. They can get clued in on their possible future.

Read more on The Telegraph.