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NBC’s Friends is a show that is truly iconic by any standard. Friends charted the daily trials and tribulations of six, glossy, fashionable New Yorkers played by Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc. It had a ten year run from 1994 to 2006 and was the centerpiece of an invincible line-up of shows broadcast by NBC every Thursday. NBC even had a name for it: “Must See TV”.

Friends allowed NBC to spin off multiple successes simply by running these other shows before or after it aired. These plum slots allowed the new shows to grab Friends’ audiences and when they stabilized, NBC moved them to other nights, freeing up those prized slots for more incubation. Friends didn’t just deliver huge ratings for its owners it also delivered other hit shows. Later in global syndication, it continued to fill NBC’s coffers.

None of this came cheap for NBC. Studios re-negotiate contracts with the staff on their shows every year. Contract negotiations are complex, emotional and egoistic affairs – worthy of their own soap opera some day. A unique feature of the way the six stars of Friends went through contract signings is that they insisted on negotiating together and insisted on getting paid the same amount. This had several benefits: the studio couldn’t use the time worn tactic of securing the services of 1 or 2 stars, and then using them as leverage with the others. And the actor who had had the most successful year outside Friends would use the heat in their career to up the price each year, the benefits to be enjoyed by all. When it ended, each “Friend” was drawing a seven-figure salary per episode!

Apart from all that paisa, the stars also had film and TV offers lined up. And all of them used their new found celebrity to take their career to the next level. Their career arcs make for interesting study. Some fared better than others. The women outdid the men in terms of success.

In a daily series to follow, I’ll focus on the career of each “Friend” and give you an update on their career outside the show. Stay tuned to this site for more!

In this series…

Courtney Cox

Matt LeBlanc

Lisa Kudrow

David Schwimmer

Jennifer Aniston

Matthew Perry