The World After Us: Director explains why Friends is crucial to the plot

One of the most recurring themes in the plot of The World After Usfilm by Netflix released on December 8, 2023 in the streaming catalog, it is the series Friends. According to the director, Sam Esmailthe comedy series was the perfect escape mechanism for the plot of the adaptation of the book of the same name by Rumaan Alam.

The character that brings Friends for the narrative is Rose Sandford (Farrah Mackenzie), daughter of the protagonists, Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts) It is Clay Sandford (Ethan Hawke). During the family trip, the child watches the last season of the series on her tablet, but she is unable to watch the last episode due to the internet and phone signal being out.

During an interview with Collider, Esmail commented on how he decided that Friends would be Rose’s obsession and a recurring theme throughout The World After Us. “There was a big conversation we had for a long time, and you could go through all the shows that are classics that could work, but none of them really had that theme song that was so iconic,” she said.

The song in question is “I’ll Be There For You,” of the The Remembrancets, and always played at the opening of the comedy series. “And I must emphasize this, the lyrics to that song were so perfect for the end of the film. I honestly don’t know what I would have done,” the filmmaker continued.

Right away, Sam Esmail talked about the moment he decided to approach Friends in the movie. “There came a point where, after we looked at other options, I think I looked at the team and said, ‘I don’t think we can afford to lose. Friends,'” he said.

There is no program that fits better at that moment than that program, so we need to use all our powers to guarantee rights, and fortunately we did.