No one told us “Friends” was supposed be this way.
In a new interview with Metro UK, Executive Producer and Director Kevin S. Bright revealed that Ross and Rachel – one of TV’s all-time favourite fictional couples – were never supposed to go on that infamous break, which caused their tumultuous relationship status throughout the series.
According to Bright, co-creators and head writers Marta Kauffman and David Crane didn’t initially plan that particular story arch, adding “that [it] came a little bit later.”
Apparently the sexual tension that drove Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer’s characters together seemed to disappear once they shared that long-awaited first kiss on screen. “When [that] happened, we go, ‘Wow, the air has kind of gone out of the balloon,'” Bright admitted.
In an effort to shake things up, Kauffman and Crane came up with an alternate plot line for the pair. “It allowed us to have fun with the show and give people something to root for,” Bright explained. “We were well aware that the audience wanted to keep them together. I thought what Marta and David did… was such a brilliant and brave move with their relationship – as soon as everyone got their wish, the wish was taken away. It made it so much better when they did get [back] together.”
The sitcom continues to be a mainstay in popular culture, with famous scenes and episodes still regularly discussed on social media, including – you guessed it – Ross’ “We were on a break!” one-liners.
