It's been 20 years since the series finale of NBC's blockbuster sitcom Friends — which means Ross and Rachel should be celebrating their platinum anniversary, and Monica and Chandler's twins are off having fun at college. But alas, we can only surmise what the Friends gang and their progeny would be up to in sitcom land now, so best to stick to nostalgia and just reflect back on one of the biggest television moments of all time.
The Friends finale aired on May 6, 2004 and finally answered the series-long running Ross and Rachel question for fans of will-they-or-won't-they? (They did). As the series' co-creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman have stated in interviews, the fact that everyone's favorite TV couple of Ross Geller and Rachel Green, memorably played by David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, would ultimately end up together wasn't a big surprise. The main question was how to make them do so in a satisfying way to their legions of fans.
It's generally agreed that the series finale gave the couple a pretty on point rom-com sendoff. As Ross, having finally and whole-heartedly declared his love for Rachel, is frantically checking his answering machine for clues as to whether or not she got off the plane (thus affirming the same feelings for him), he and the audience don't realize Rachel is in the apartment with him as she surprises him with the declaration, “I got off the plane.” (Thank goodness the finale took place well before Ring cameras and voicemail, or the moment would have been ruined.)
Monica and Chandler, meanwhile, played by Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry, are vacating their apartment and moving out to a house in the suburbs to raise their newly adopted baby twins Jack and Erica. (They thought the birth mom Erica was just pregnant with one baby — turns out it was twins! Yet another finale twist that today's technology would have spoiled.)
As the group leaves apartment 20 for the last time, it's fitting that Matthew Perry gets to deliver the final line. When Rachel convinces Monica and Chandler to stay to grab a coffee together, Chandler jokingly asks “Where?” (Of course it would be at the show's other main staple set — Central Perk). Perry, who tragically passed away last year, revealed in his memoirs that he told Marta Kauffman how much he wanted to deliver the last line of the episode, and she gave it to him.
Courteney Cox took to Instagram on Monday to express the emotional weight of the anniversary. Along with video of that last scene, she shared the post “It’s been 20 years since the series finale of Friends. I don’t know how we were able to act through all the tears. Forever grateful ♥️.”
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Meanwhile, Phoebe (the quirky and lovable Lisa Kudrow) ends up getting married to Paul Rudd, and Joey settles into bachelor life while gearing up for his ill-fated move to LA for his spinoff Joey sitcom.
As a whole, the Friends finale was successful in its mission — hitting its fans with all the feels. What might have started as a Seinfeld-esque knockoff about a group of six New York friends morphed into a beloved sitcom with a great degree of heart. The finale was watched by 52.5 million people, which feels like an insurmountable number today (especially for network broadcast television). It's no surprise that fans far and wide are sharing their own reflections on a series finale forever etched in television history and viewers' hearts.
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