How an 'inside job' leak nearly ruined the Friends finale episode
- Friends aired its series finale called ‘The Last One’ on May 6, 2004
- Marta Kauffman and David Crane were ‘desperate to keep it a secret’
More than 52 million viewers tuned in to watch the series finale of Friends on May 6, 2004 – and some of them may have already known what to expect.
The show’s creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane revealed on TODAY that part of the final episodes’ script had leaked before its premiere.
‘Oh my god, we tried so hard to keep it a secret. We were desperate to keep it a secret and it got out. And it was it was an inside job,’ said Kauffman.
According to Crane, the scripts were numbered and sent out before the episode’s premiere.
‘We knew how many people knew what it was going to be… It became a behind-the-scenes detective show,’ said Crane.
Friends aired its final episode on May 6, 2004, which starred Courtney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Mathew Perry, and Jenifer Aniston
(From L to R) Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and Crane were executive producers during the show’s 10 year run. Kauffman and Crane would go on to write the series finale
Friends premiered on September 22, 1994, and starred Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer.
The series became a force to be reckoned with in television, and it was one of NBC’s top shows during its 10-season run.
Kauffman and Crane co-wrote the final episode titled ‘The Last One,’ and they ‘so wanted to get it right.’
Some of the most popular storylines involve the will-they-won’t-they relationship between Rachel and Ross, played by Aniston and Schwimmer.
In Season 10, Rachel and Ross were friends that shared a daughter together and a big question on fans minds was if the two of them would be together.
According to Kauffman, the person who performed the ‘inside job’ released the part of the script that confirmed Rachel and Ross would reunite in the series finale.
It’s unclear if the mystery behind the script leak has been solved, but when TODAY asked the creators if they found out who it was, they responded: ‘Ish.’
Kauffman and Crane also added a surprise twist into what would end the story of Monica Geller (Cox) and Chandler Bing (Perry).
Not only did those characters leave the show with two babies and a house in the suburbs, but Chandler ended up being the friend who got the last laugh.
More than 52 million viewers tuned into the final episode that Kauffman and Crane called ‘The Last One.’ It completed story arcs for all of the characters, including Ross and Rachel
Kauffman and Crane were terrified that fans would find out what would happen on the series finale. The script did get leaked shortly before the finale aired in 2004
Other popular storylines included Chandler Bing (Perry) and Monica Geller (Cox). Perry, who died in 2023, revealed that he asked Kauffman if he could say the last line
Perry, who died last year at 54, wrote in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing that he requested to say the last line.
‘Before that final episode, I’d taken Marta Kauffman to one side,’ he wrote.
‘”Nobody else will care about this except me,” I said. “So may I please have the last line?'”
Kauffman looked back on Perry’s final line and told TODAY that ‘it’s incredibly poignant.’
‘It’s a legacy for him, one of his many legacies. But that moment… that moment,’ said Kauffman.
Newer generations have since been exposed to the show thanks in part to Netflix and Max, and its legacy led to a 2021 special called Friends: The Reunion.
All six of Friends’ main cast members got together for a reunion special on Max that premiered on May 27, 2021 and it was hosted by James Corden
Kauffman and Crane participated in pre-taped segments and they sat in the audience throughout the entire reunion special
The six stars met and discussed their memories of the show on the Warner Bros. Studio lot, which is where Friends was filmed.
The reunion was filmed over a three-day period at the lot and it included special appearances from David Beckham, Lady Gaga, and Cindy Crawford.
All of the cast members visited different areas of the set and recalled what their time was like when auditioning and working on the show.
Kauffman and Crane were featured in pre-taped segments and they sat in the audience during the reunion.
Kauffman told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 about where all the characters would be today.
‘Ross and Rachel have done a lot of marriage counseling, but they’re doing well. Monica owns a restaurant by now,’ she said.
‘Phoebe has two biological children and seven foster kids with Mike… and Chandler is in a job he hates and still sneaks cigarettes once in a while.’
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