After Channel 4 broadcast the first ever episode of the immensely popular sitcom Friends; the one with Ross and Rachel; back in 1994, it’s become a recognizable staple of the network, and remained playing on its various channels (mostly residing on E4) for the past 17 years, but no longer; as after tonight’s run, E4 will not be showing any more re-runs of the show.
Friends began back in 1994, and ended after a hugely successful ten-year-run that made each of its stars a household name; David Schwimmer (who’s recently directed the movie Trust), Jennifer Aniston (star of about half the romantic-comedies released nowadays, and the recently released Horrible Bosses), Courteney Cox (Cougar Town), Matthew Perry (Mr. Sunshine), Matt LeBlanc (who got his own short-lived spin-off from the show; Joey), and Lisa Kudrow (Web Therapy); and has had at least one episode (usually a minimum of two) shown by the network every day since its original run came to an end; prompting many viewers to ask, “what’s next?”
Channel 4 announced last year that it would not be renewing its deal with Warner Bros. to screen repeats of the show, and after ending it’s 17-year-run tonight by showing the closing episode of the Season 10; The Last One; at 8pm on E4, E4 will be hoping to replace the show with new episodes of Made in Chelsea, Tool Academy, The Big Bang Theory, and Phoneshop, alongside a number of new US comedies that Channel 4 has invested in; including New Girl, Apartment 23, and the animated series Napoleon Dynamite.
However, this doesn’t quite mark the end of the show for British audiences, as not only are the DVD boxsets widely available, but thanks to the impact it had on late ‘90s British culture, and its lasting popularity, the rights to Friends have now been acquired by another network; Comedy Central.
