Friends has maintained its legacy as the most comforting and nostalgic sitcom of all time. Even in 2023, many people find it difficult to have a meal without their screens playing Friends. The show draws millions of audiences in the US and is a viable hit on TV, even after two decades of its finale episode. Apart from the hilarious gags, relatable storylines, and popular cameos, there were many other factors because of which the show is still fresh in people’s minds.

Rachel Green’s haircut, catchphrases including “How you doin’?”, and the iconic 90s fashion made the show a pop culture hit. However, there’s one thing that, despite being iconic in fans’ eyes, had complete disapproval from the cast. 

Jennifer Aniston revealed how the cast had no liking for this particular idea

Before the start of any episode in Friends, the cast is seen grooving to the intro song and dancing in the water fountain. However, not many people know that the cast of the Emmy Award-winning show had a strong dislike for the dancing-in-a-pond concept in the opening credits. Jennifer Aniston, during her appearance in The One Show, revealed, “We felt it was a little…I don’t know…dancing in a pond? A fountain felt sort of odd”. Even Courtney Cox talked about the fountain in The Ellen Show and said, ” it’s not fun to be dancing in a fountain for hours and hours“. Nevertheless, the famous fountain set piece is still special for the fans and the Friends Reunion proved it.

The Reunion, which was aired in 2021 and hosted by James Corden, became Sky One’s most watched in its history. The moment when the cast walked toward the live audience and the Friends theme song started playing in the background was unanimously nostalgic. Apart from that, there was also the iconic fountain piece from the intro that had been etched in fans’ memories. The audience just couldn’t hold their excitement in and raised the roof with loud cheers.

Not just the pond-dancing, the cast was not very fond of the theme song either and neither was it the makers’ first pick. 

How the makers almost replaced the iconic Friends theme song 

Friends fans have a habit of belting out the theme song whenever it plays on their screens. Not only that, they even know the lyrics by heart. In fact, without The Rembrandts iconic ‘I’ll Be There For You’, the true essence of the show would not come through. In an interview with REM’s Michael Stipe in 2019 with NME, he shared how the band’s ‘Shiny Happy People’ was the initial choice for the show’s theme song. However, that didn’t work out as the band turned down the project.

After the band’s withdrawal, the producers of the show managed to get hold of The Rembrandts. The band not only lent their catchy tunes to the show but also worked on the theme song’s lyrics. But they were not alone in this. Even Michael Skloff and Allee Willis from Friends’ musical team co-wrote the song with the band to make it suit the show better, as revealed in a 2011 interview with the Independent. This collaborative outcome gave the show the legendary theme song that still echoes in people’s ears.

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