Before we begin, no we are not talking about friendly people in New York City (one could argue that New York City houses less friendly people than other places around the country). Rather, we are talking about the iconic American sitcom named “Friends”. Airing from 1994 to 2004, this amazing television show provided not just a decade’s worth of entertainment, but a decade’s worth of insight into what it is like living in New York City.
At its core, this sitcom conveyed much of the struggles that many young people face in everyday life, with New York City being the representative city for many other places in the United States. The series begins with Rachel moving to New York City (after running off from getting married) and working in a coffee shop, living with her childhood friend Monica, who is a chef. Their friends also have fairly low-level jobs (or in some cases no secure job whatsoever) – for example, Joey is a struggling actor, and Phoebe is a masseuse and musician. Despite these problems, all six of the main characters do their best to live out their lives to the fullest.
The series as a whole does such a great job because they focus on all of the various aspects of their lives, from changing career paths, to romance and love. Characters are constantly trying to develop their own professional careers, from Rachel’s ambitions to be a fashion designer, to even Joey just trying to make it as an actor. From the romantic aspect of it, characters are also constantly in and out of relationships, many times involving people within their own friend group itself. There was no greater romance evident in this series than the one between Rachel and Ross, and that romance is honestly what probably kept a lot of people heavily invested in the show during its entire run, especially when things got in the way of that romance (for example Ross getting married to another woman, albeit for a relatively brief period of time).
While the show itself was a show about everyday life, the fact of the matter is that it used New York City as a backdrop, and as a result, many people know so much more about New York City as a result of watching the iconic show. From the various boroughs, to general New York City mannerisms and lifestyles, there is no doubt that Friends was not just a show about friends, but a show that captured the heart and spirit of New York City as well.