I realised something recently; it’s been 23 years since the television show Friends first aired, a show with sub par review s that went on to average 20 million viewers and still airs 8 times per day. To put that in perspective Parks and Rec struggles to average 4 million viewers, and that is the Golden State Warriors of TV Casts. Friends is one of the most popular shows on Netflix, in Britain the show has actually grown 11 percent since 2015.  What makes this show so popular across generations?

Writers
People always scoff at this because Friends wasn’t seen as a pioneering in anyway (except for all the nipples) however, it was quite funny. What Friends really gives you is a cast of incredibly relatable characters that everyone can see themselves in.  You may even be a combination of two characters, but every episode has at least one “Oh I would totally do that” moment.

Knowing when it’s over
A TV series is like milk, it has an expiration date.  It may be two seasons, five seasons even 15 seasons but a story line eventually runs out. Once that happens you get Grey’s Anatomy.  Friends knew when it had runs its course and left its audience equally happy and heartbroken. The iconic “I got off the plane” scene...I’m tearing up now.

Fashion goes full circle
‘90s fashion and décor is back in! Which means many of the items you see in Friends are very now, so it doesn’t seem outdated as you go along, well anything after season one.  Sometimes I can understand the poor ratings in the beginning. Speaking of fashion did you ever notice the nipples in every scene? That’s actually by design, Friends needed greater sex appeal moving forward but the directors didn’t want to cross any lines or ruffle any feathers. So by turning down the heat, they turned it up.

It's Still Timely
While some of the colloquialisms may be different, the major live events remain the same, as do the reactions to them. You may not have a friend who has been divorced three times; in 2017 that’s equal to the friend that’s been in a multiple long term relationships. Come to think of it, Ross alone is an endless source of cringe worthy moments that you can see one if not more of your friends doing.  The wrong women’s name at your wedding!?  

Rachel
Rachel is the one character who truly breaks  mould, I mean Ross is neurotic, obsessive and a little bit odd, no wonder he is a paleontologist. Monica is very similar except she used to be a fat kid so cooking is a great fit. Joey is Joey and Phoebe falls in love with freaking Paul Rudd. Rachel, she goes from wanting for nothing to working as a waitress and cutting up her father’s credit cards.  Electing a different life whilst having literally no real life experience, but by leaning on her friends she beats the odds and ends up working her way up to a powerful position with a fashion mogul. #SLAY#BOSS#QUEEN