Jerry Seinfeld has humorously suggested that NBC developed Friends as a replica of his iconic sitcom Seinfeld, but with a more aesthetically pleasing cast. The 72-year-old comedian, who co-created and starred in the eponymous series, made the remark during his performance on Tuesday at the third Netflix Is a Joke festival in Los Angeles.
While engaging with the audience, Seinfeld asked attendees to name his all-time favourite television show. When one person responded with Friends, the comedian shared his theory about the beloved programme, which premiered shortly after Seinfeld.
“My show came on — ’89, ’90. Friends came on a few years later,” Seinfeld recalled. “I think NBC was watching my show and went, ‘Hey, this is working pretty well. Why don’t we try the same thing with good-looking people?’ And that was a pretty good idea. I think that kind of worked.”
Seinfeld debuted on NBC in 1989, starring Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards. The seminal comedy, which revolved around four single friends living in New York City, earned 10 Emmy Awards over its nine-season run. In 1994, NBC launched Friends, featuring Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, and Matt LeBlanc. The 10-season series similarly tracked a group of six friends navigating love and life in Manhattan, ultimately winning six Emmys.
Lisa Kudrow has previously acknowledged how Seinfeld paved the way for Friends. In a 2022 interview with The Daily Beast, Kudrow noted that while the first season of Friends had “fine” ratings, it wasn’t until reruns aired after Seinfeld that the show truly “exploded.”
The Comeback star also recalled a memorable encounter with Seinfeld, who once approached her to claim credit for Friends’ success. “I remember going to some party and Jerry Seinfeld was there, and I said, ‘Hi,’ and he said, ‘You’re welcome,’” Kudrow recounted. “I said, ‘Why, thank you… what?’ And he said, ‘You’re on after us in the summer, and you’re welcome.’ And I said, ‘That’s exactly right. Thank you.’”
Kudrow later revealed that Courteney Cox, who once guest-starred on Seinfeld, provided invaluable insider advice to the Friends cast. “She was also the one who, when we were first shooting the pilot, would say: ‘Listen y’all, I did Seinfeld. They help each other all the time. If you think I could be doing something funnier, tell me. You’ve gotta tell me. We need to help each other out,’” Kudrow said on a 2025 episode of the Fly on the Wall podcast, adding that Cox’s advice “set a tone which carried through the whole ten years for us.”
