EntertainmentThe Friends plot that almost didn’t exist because the characters were afraid they would seem “promiscuous”David Crane and Marta Kauffman recalled when the studio wanted to change a detail in Monica’s (Courteney Cox) story because they thought the audience would judge the charactertoday at 10:53

In September 2024, the first episode of Friends completes 30 years since its original airing. To celebrate the milestone, the show’s creators, David Crane and Marta Kauffmanreflected on the series and revealed to The Times (via Bustle) some surprising curiosities about the plot and behind the scenes. One of them, specifically, talks about the first plot of Monica Geller, a character from Courteney Cox.

According to the duo, the series’ executives and studio bosses were worried that the audience wouldn’t like the fact that Monica slept with a co-worker on the first date.

Fans may remember the co-star’s character as “Paul the Wine Guy” (John Allen Nelson). in the very first episode of Friendscalled “Pilot”, Paul told Monica that he hadn’t had sex in two years – which would later be revealed as a lie he had made to sleep with the chef.

According to Crane, the studio manager said that the public would not react well to the relationship at the first meeting.

“To try to prove that the audience wouldn’t like Monica if she slept with a guy on the first date, the network handed out a little questionnaire to the audience at our dress rehearsal,” the creator said, revealing that the studio’s questions were “skewed.”

“The question was something like: When Monica sleeps with a guy on the first date, is she a) promiscuous or b) slutty?” The responses, however, came back with an affirmation from the audience that the plot was fine.

Monica and Chandler

The plot of the first episode ended up not being Monica’s only one changed by the audience’s reaction Friends. According to the show’s creator Marta Kauffman, the character’s relationship with Chandler (Matthew Perry) would also have been the result of the public’s ecstatic approval of the couple.

“We thought it was going to be a one-night stand,” Kauffman said. “But they got such a strong response from the audience in London that it really changed the direction we were taking the story.”