Friends creators rule out reboot: ‘It’s not going to beat what we did’
Marta Kauffman and David Crane also reveal disagreements with NBC over slut-shaming Courtney Cox’s character Monica
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Your support makes all the difference.The creators of Friends have ruled out a reboot of the beloved sitcom, saying: "It’s not going to beat what we did."
During a Tribeca TV Festival panel celebrating the show’s 25th anniversary, co-creator Marta Kauffman said: “We will not be doing a reunion show. We will not be doing a reboot."
“There are two reasons for that," explained Kauffman.
"One of the reasons we won’t do a reunion is because this is a show about a time in your life when your friends are your family. And when you have a family, that changes. But the other reason is it’s not going to beat what we did.”
Co-creator David Crane added: “We did the show we wanted to do. We got it right, and we put a bow on it. If you visited those characters now, it just would not be the same DNA and chances are, it wouldn’t be as good.”
Kauffman and Crane also revealed disagreements they had over the pilot episode with an NBC executive, who they claim effectively slut-shamed Courtney Cox’s character Monica.
In the pilot, Monica sleeps with Paul The Wine Guy on the first date after he tells her that since his wife left him, he hasn’t been able to perform sexually.
Shortly afterwards, Monica discovers that her co-worker was told the same thing and also slept with Paul, so she never speaks to him again.
“The person who was the head of NBC at the time felt that Monica got what she deserved for sleeping with a guy on the first date,” Kauffman revealed, adding that this unnamed executive painted the character as a “slut” or “whore”.
Describing her fury at the situation, Kauffman added: “Fire was coming out of my nose.”
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