Fifteen years have passed since Friends wrapped up, closing the doors of Central Perk with a finale that pulled in over 52 million viewers. But, believe it or not, that tenth season we all clung to almost didn’t happen. Co-creator David Crane revealed that the iconic sitcom wasn’t just practically canceled once—but twice—before it reached its bittersweet end.
“There were three seasons where we thought it was going to be the last season,” Crane shared with RadioTimes. The team was told during season eight, “This is the end.” And then, like a plot twist only Friends could pull off, they got the green light for another season. Season nine? Same story: “Absolutely the last season,” they were told—until, surprise, it wasn’t. By season 10, Crane and his team finally put their foot down, knowing they couldn’t keep dancing around the show’s fate. “So we definitively knew it was the last one,” he confirmed.
And for those die-hard fans still hoping for an elusive eleventh season? That was never on the table. By season 10, schedules were tight, and the cast had branched into other projects. The final season even ran shorter—just 18 episodes, compared to the usual 22 or more. “Because of schedules and whatever, that 10th season is short,” Crane said. For once, the beloved Friends cast had to adjust to real-life constraints, making the most of their final lap around the show.
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The finale, titled The Last One, gave fans the ultimate payoff they’d been waiting for: Ross and Rachel finally reunited, Monica and Chandler became parents and prepped for life outside of Manhattan, and Phoebe and Joey seemed set to embark on their adventures. Crane and his writing team toyed with other endings but quickly realized that Friends demanded something fans would find deeply satisfying. “We knew the questions we had to answer,” Crane noted. For Friends, that meant the most pressing question: “Do Ross and Rachel get together?”
Of course, the answer was a resounding yes. After years of on-again, off-again romantic chaos, Crane knew they owed fans a solid conclusion. “We have tortured people for 10 years. We owe them a happy ending,” he quipped. But Crane also wanted the finale to be true to Friends’ tone—unexpected, heartfelt, and humorous. Even after a decade, the Friends team wasn’t ready to serve up a predictably “happily-ever-after” ending. Instead, they kept fans guessing right up to the closing credits.
So, what would’ve happened if Friends had ended after season eight or nine? According to Crane, we’d still be looking at that same ending. “I think we would have landed in the same place,” he reflected. Friends might have taken a slightly different journey, but the final destination—Ross and Rachel’s long-awaited reunion and Monica and Chandler’s big family dreams—would’ve stayed intact.
Ultimately, Friends defied its rocky ride through Hollywood’s renewal roulette. With the show’s short-lived close calls and its unforgettable finale, Friends carved out its legendary place in TV history.
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