Friends is considered one one of the best sitcoms of all time, and ran for a whopping ten season on NBC. New audiences continue to discover the show thanks to those with a Max subscription, and on common piece of criticism was the show's noticeable lack of diversity. The leading cast is all white, and so are the majority of the show's characters. And its another day, and another Friends actor is talking about this issue with the beloved series.
What Adam Goldberg said about Friends' lack of diversity
Actor Adam Goldberg had a three episode arc during Friends' second season on the air. He played Chandler's rebound roommate Eddie, who moved in shortly after Joey moved out of their apartment. While speaking with The Independent, he addressed how the show primarily hired white actors, offering:
And in terms of diversity, looking back, it seems insane. I’ve heard Black people speak about this and it’s like, you never expected to see yourself, so when you didn’t, it was not a surprise, and you ended up identifying to characters, irrespective of their race.
For a show set in New York City, the fact that there are so few characters of color in Friends definitely is definitely noticeable. And now that time has passed, we now understand the power of representation in the media.
Obviously Adam Goldberg only spent a few episodes working on Friends, so what have other contributors said about the lack of diversity on the show? Let's break it all down.
What other Friends actors have said about it.
A lot has changed since Friends was on the air, particularly in the way more diverse stories are told in the media. And as as such, certain actors and producers of the show have opened up to discuss what went wrong in that regard. Lisa Kudrow broke her silence on the subject, sharing why she thinks the show was primarily written about white people. As she offered:
Well, I feel like it was a show created by two people who went to Brandeis and wrote about their lives after college. And for shows especially, when it’s going to be a comedy that’s character-driven, you write what you know. They have no business writing stories about the experiences of being a person of color. I think at that time, the big problem that I was seeing was, ‘Where’s the apprenticeship?’
Another major player on Friends was co-creator and producer Marta Kauffman, whose name fans might recognize from the show's infamous credits song. Back in 2022, Kauffman shared how her perspective has changed, saying:
I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years. Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.
One major exception in how Friends did its casting was when actress Aisha Tyler's Charlie debuted as the first major Black character on the show. Tyler spoke about what it was like making history in this way, saying:
There [wasn't dialogue] about the fact that it was an interracial relationship. There was no commentary on the show about my character being Black, and I think they had just written this character as this kind of love triangle between Ross and Joey. They happened to hire a Black woman, which — I don't know that I'm advocating for colorblind casting any more than I'm advocating for people doing a better job at making shows diverse.
Serious points were made. It certainly seems like Friends was simply not worried about representation in this matter, even once Aisha Tyler finally joined the cast. Plenty has changed since the show's series finale in 2004, and one has to wonder how different the series would be if it were created nowadays. But it's too late, and smart money says the ongoing discourse about the sitcom's lack of diversity will continue.
Friends is streaming in its entirety on Max, including that Friends reunion special. For now, check the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
