‘Friends’ Writer Claims Cast ‘Seemed Unhappy'

Former TV writer Patty Lin has explained that working on hit show 'Friends' wasn't always what it was cracked up to be. 

“My disillusionment [with the business] had begun at my very first writing job but was momentarily staved off by a positive experience at 'Freaks and Geeks.' Then came 'Friends.'”

In her memoir, she documents the ups and downs as a TV writer, and her stint on season 7 of 'Friends' was one of the toughest during her career. She was "excited" to meet the cast; Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc, however.

“The novelty of seeing Big Stars up close wore off fast, along with my zeal about breakfast. The actors seemed unhappy to be chained to a tired old show when they could be branching out, and I felt like they were constantly wondering how every given script would specifically serve them.”

Jennifer Aniston revealed in a 'Farewell to Friends' special in 2004, that she almost didn't return for season 10.

“I wanted it to end when people still loved us and we were on a high. And then I also was feeling like, ‘How much more of Rachel do I have in me?’”

Lin continues to say in her book that she felt disheartened when a joke/line was cut because the actor didn't commit to the bit.

“They all knew how to get a laugh, but if they didn’t like a joke, they seemed to deliberately tank it, knowing we’d rewrite it. Dozens of good jokes would get thrown out just because one of them had mumbled the line through a mouthful of bacon. [Creators] David [Crane] and Marta [Kauffman] never said, ‘This joke is funny. The actor just needs to sell it.’”

She explained after the table read, and rewrites, the team would set up for a run through.

“Then everyone would sit around Monica and Chandler’s apartment and discuss the script. This was the actors’ first opportunity to voice their opinions, which they did vociferously. They rarely had anything positive to say, and when they brought up problems, they didn’t suggest feasible solutions. Seeing themselves as guardians of their characters, they often argued that they would never do or say such-and-such. That was occasionally helpful, but overall, these sessions had a dire, aggressive quality that lacked all the levity you’d expect from the making of a sitcom.”

The writers would then do more rewrites “and worked into the wee hours, endlessly rewriting stuff that was funny the first time.” 

Lin noted when she was hired, she made sure the creators knew she didn’t have a comedy writing background.

“I tried to contribute to the rewrites, but my strength was fixing story problems — not pitching jokes. Being surrounded by an elite cadre of comedy writers had eroded my self-confidence.”

She also compared writing on 'Friends' after only two years in the business as "going straight to the Olympics after just learning to skate.” 

She attributes some of the team’s fatigue and frustrations, to 'Friends' being in its seventh season when she came on board.

“Trust me, any show that makes it to season 7 is hurting for ideas. Much of the time, the writers’ room was like an endless cocktail party where we had run out of polite things to talk about. And so we talked about sex. Constantly.”

The show aired from 1994 - 2004 and ended after 10 seasons. Lin then moved to work on 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Breaking Bad' before she stepped back from TV writing. 

She revealed she "didn’t learn that much” from working on the show, except that she “never wanted to work on a sitcom again.”

“But the choice had been clear at the time. And, for better or worse, 'Friends' would remain my most recognisable credit.”

Her memoir, 'End Credits' is out now.