Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Friends’ Co-Creator Admits She ‘Didn’t Do Enough’ to Promote Diversity on Series

*The iconic NBC series “Friends has long been criticized over its lack of diversity for a show set in a melting pot like New York. 

We previously reported… series star David Schwimmer told the Guardian in January that he pushed for more casting of actors of color, even suggesting that his character Ross date women of color. 

“I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,” Schwimmer said. “One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian-American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part.” 

Ross dated Aisha Tyler’s character, Charlie Wheeler.

Tyler is the only person of color to appear in more than three episodes in the series’ 10-season run. The comedian/actress appeared in nine episodes, while Phill Lewis, who played Chandler’s boss, appeared in three. 

Schwimmer caught heat on Twitter after he proposed an all-black version of “Friends.”

Folks were quick to remind him that “Friends” is basically the all-white reboot of the Fox sitcom “Living Single.”

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Some Twitter users even shared a video of Queen Latifah talking about how “Living Single” inspired his show.

Erika Alexander, who co-starred with Latifah on the show, responded to Schwimmer directly on Twitter, writing: “Hey ⁦David Schwimmer,⁦⁩ r u seriously telling me you’ve never heard of Living Single? We invented the template! [You’re] welcome bro.”

“Living Single” aired for five seasons from August 22, 1993 to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends living in a Brooklyn brownstone.

“Friends” aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, and revolved around six New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s. 

Series co-creator Marta Kauffman addressed the show’s lack of diversity during the 2020 ATX TV From the Couch virtual panel this week. 

“I wish I knew then what I knew today, I would have made very different decisions,” Kauffman said. “I mean we’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough and now all I can think about is, what can I do? What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way? And that’s something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year.”

Meanwhile, Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe on the show recently said that if the series were given the reboot treatment, it “would not be an all-white cast, for sure.”

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