Friends Almost Didn't Have Central Perk - And The Sofa ... - The Mirror

Friends almost didn't have Central Perk - and the sofa wasn't originally orange

In a new book devoted to 90s sitcom Friends a writer has revealed some shocking behind-the-scenes facts about the show

CommentsTVCourtney Pochin Lifestyle Editor19:33, 05 Feb 2019Updated 20:09, 05 Feb 2019

If you thought you knew everything there was to know about Friends, you might want to think again.

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Writer Kelsey Miller has penned the 'ultimate' book for fans of the hit 90s sitcom, which starred Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry as six friends who navigated life in New York City.

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The book journeys through the show's creation, revealing interesting facts along the way, including how each star nabbed their role, before going on to take a behind-the-scenes look at each season of the comedy.

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But one of the most shocking things Miller reveals along the way is that Friends almost wasn't set in Central Perk.

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The iconic coffee shop that Ross, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler and Joey spend most of their time hanging out in was very nearly a diner.

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In the book, Miller explains that in the early 90s, people didn't spend time sitting in cafés drinking from enormous mugs, and so the network suggested they switch out Central Perk for a diner - much like the one seen in Seinfeld.

She goes on to quote one of the show's producers, Kevin Bright as saying: "You gotta remember what time it was. Starbucks hadn't really taken hold yet."

However Bright, along with the show's creators Kauffman and Crane, ultimately pushed for the coffeehouse to remain, claiming audiences would somehow figure out what it was.

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Eventually the network relented, but only if they changed one specific thing about Central Perk - the colour of the sofa the friends are often seen sitting on.

According to Kauffman the instantly recognisable orange sofa was originally meant to be beige, but everyone was happy to make the change.

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The sofa and the setting weren't the only major things that were changed in the early production stages - initially the show wasn't even called Friends.

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The sitcom started out as a show titled Insomnia Café and was described as a show "about six people in their twenties who hang out at this coffee house".

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But after NBC bought the script and commissioned a pilot episode, they changed the title to Friend Like Us.

Friends Like Us later became Six of One, however right before it premiered on TV in 1994, the network decided they wanted to make another change, and the name simply became Friends.

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Despite ending in 2004, Friends is still one of the most successful shows around, with Netflix recently paying a whopping £78 million to retain the rights to the show on their streaming platform.

The cast also still profit off the show's popularity, as it reportedly brings in around $1billion each year in syndication revenue.

USA Today reports that the cast receive two percent of all syndication, meaning they're taking home around $20million (£15,641,300) each annually.

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