Although Friends aired in 1994 and wrapped up in 2004, many fans still watch the show today. With the series being made available on streaming platforms, a new generation of audiences can now catch up with its glory days. Whether you’ve seen all the episodes a hundred times or just beginning to follow their journey, you can bet there are some details in the show that you may need to catch up on. See if you can catch these tiny attributes in the show yourself!
Polite burglar
Most Friends fans are familiar with the dry-erase board that Chandler and Joey have hanging on their door. They would use it to leave each other messages or other dumb content. In The One With the Cat, where Joey and Chandler were being robbed, if you notice, the robber left a cheeky note on the board thanking them for all their stuff.
The signature couch
Have you ever wondered how the gang always be sitting on that couch in Central Perk no matter how busy the café gets, there’s always the couch available. Well, if you have a sharp eye, you’ll notice a “Reserved” sign on the coffee table whenever the friends hang out there. It looks like they’ve reserved that couch indefinitely! That’s why no one else has sat on it, except for that one episode where the guys get bullied.
Ross’s birthday
Writing across hundreds of episodes means continuity can sometimes be improved or more accurate. For example, when exactly is Ross’s birthday? In one episode, he tells Gunther his birthday is in December. However, in another episode, he tells Joey that his birthday is October 18th. So which one is it?
Breaking character
Sometimes the cast can’t hide their laughter while filming. In this episode, as Phoebe obnoxiously “Eeee” s to Ross’s bagpipe playing, Jennifer Aniston struggles to keep a straight face in the frame. She breaks character by laughing here in a futile attempt to cover up her face. In a recent interview, Matt LeBlanc shared that if Jen covered up her face, she was probably breaking character!
Which apartment?
Some fans would notice that the number on Monica’s apartment was sometimes different. As seen here, earlier episodes had the apartment door indicating Apartment 5. However, this later changed to 20. Some fans reason that the view from Monica’s balcony implies a high-rise apartment that wouldn’t have looked that way from apartment number 5. Apartment number 20 seems more appropriate for that view.
The chick and the duck
Joey and Chandler’s fowl friends make quite an appearance in the show. Not only do they keep the two guys company, but they’ve also been a source of entertainment. However, they seemed to disappear as the seasons rolled by. It was only said in passing that the chick and the duck were “on a farm” now.
The potato
The friends have enjoyed their share of cakes, scones, muffins, and cookies at Central Perk. It seems the baked goods in the place are just as tasty as the coffee! In one of the episodes, Joey and Gunther are conversing over the counter, where a cake display sits between them. However, it’s just a raw potato instead of a cake under the cover! This was probably one of those sneaky pranks they played on set.
Breaking character 2
Here, Matt LeBlanc was caught on camera-breaking character when he was sneakily hiding behind David Schwimmer in this episode. Despite being almost out of frame, there is no missing that Matt was struggling to stop bursting out in laughter. We can’t blame him because David Schwimmer was ridiculously funny in that scene!
A hidden message
This next one is specific, and if you’re unfamiliar with American Sign Language, you probably would have missed this. Pay attention to Ross’s shirt here. The design on it is ASL for the word “friends.” It’s pretty meta when you think about it, but it’s so niched that nobody will get it unless they understand ASL.
FDNY honor
Friends aired for ten seasons, during which several disastrous world events happened, the most fatal being the 9/11 attacks. The show couldn’t just keep quiet, so they did a tribute in the best way they knew how – Easter eggs. As homage to The New York City Fire Department, which risked their lives to rescue those in the towers that day, show creators would leave easter eggs of the FDNY logo in the shots. This can be seen on Joey’s shirt and the dry-erase board at Chandler and Joey’s.
