In the conversation of the best sitcoms in television history, it is impossible to ignore the success of Friends. The series about six friends living in New York City dealing with careers and relationships doesn't sound like anything new now, but this cast of characters have become icons of television.
The chemistry between the main cast is what made this series so entertaining during its incredibly popular run. As the series went on, the show found new ways to make these characters interesting. However, there were also some changes that weren't so successful and the characters became worse as a result.
Better: Ross Lightens Up
While the series was always an ensemble, it seemed like the early seasons focused more on Ross and his storylines. His romance with Rachel was a big draw for fans but his whiny and needy pursuit of her made him a pretty unlikeable guy in those early days.
As the series went on, they allowed Ross to lighten up a bit. He stopped constantly being the lovesick manchild and started actually being fun. David Schwimmer seemed to have a lot of fun embracing Ross' goofier side while not taking up as much of the spotlight.
Worse: Joey Becoming Cartoonishly Dumb
Joey was always a hilarious character on the show. The aspiring actor and ladies' man was one of the more consistently entertaining of the main cast, especially with his funny "dumb guy" schtick. The show seemed to realize the popularity of this and really leaned into it.
However, while Joey's dumbness was a fun character trait at first, the show got greedy with how far to take it. Eventually, Joey went from the dumbest guy in the group to possibly the dumbest person on Earth. It started getting uncomfortable laughing at this guy who seemed to have such limited intelligence.
Better: Charming Joey
The show may have gone overboard with Joey's stupidity, but they did improve some of his more unlikable traits as well. Joey was always popular with the ladies and got a lot of dates. However, he also came across as a bit of a creep and sort of disrespectful to women as well.
As Joey got older, the show wisely recognized that having him continue to date in this manner would start to turn people off. They began putting him in more relationships that showed his softer side. He became sweeter and more caring which helped to decrease the creep factor.
Worse: Scary Phoebe
It seems like every sitcom group has the one "weird" friend and a lot of that is probably inspired by Phoebe on Friends. She was the lovable quirky one for much of the show's run, but the show also took a strange turn in making her a bit of a bully as well.
Phoebe lived a tough life before meeting all of her close friends so she can be a bit rough around the edges. But the more she threatened her friends, the more she started to seem weird in a scary way.
Better: Monica And Chandler's Relationship
For a sitcom to start with a group of people who are close friends, it is then very difficult to introduce a romantic element into that dynamic. Yes, Ross and Rachel were an item, but that was established in the very first episode.
Making Monica and Chandler a couple was a much riskier decision but one that paid off wonderfully. Though they didn't seem like an obvious match before, they made such a great couple and it actually made both of them more likable being together.
Worse: Rachel And Joey's Relationship
Given the success of the Monica and Chandler relationship, the show seemingly got arrogant with trying it once again. This time they attempted to make Rachel and Joey an item which quickly proved to be a terrible mistake.
After starting with a storyline involving Joey having a crush on Rachel that was somewhat effective, they eventually made it a full-blown relationship. It felt gimmicky right from the start and it was clear they didn't have anything interesting to do with this couple so they quickly abandoned it.
Better: Phoebe Finds Mike
Adding in another character to this group was an equally risky move. But when that person is Paul Rudd, the risk gets a lot easier to take. Rudd ed the cast in the ninth season as Phoebe's love interest Mike.
While love interests have come and gone on the show, Mike quickly felt like the right guy for Phoebe. He allowed her to be who she really was and made her happy which allowed the character to be even more likable.
Worse: Chandler Becomes A Jerk
Chandler Bing is one of the more divisive sitcom characters out there. Some thought he was easily the funniest character on the show while others found him to be unbearable. But even those die-hard Chandler fans would have to it he sort of turned into a jerk over time.
Chandler's sarcastic sense of humor was always a little too meanspirited, but it eventually got to the point where it was a wonder why these people hung out with him. He would constantly make cruel and unnecessary comments to his good friends just for a laugh.
Better: Rachel's Pregnancy
If a sitcom goes on long enough, a pregnancy storyline is basically guaranteed. Phoebe was the first to get this storyline, albeit in a weird way, but it was Rachel's pregnancy arc that was the real winner.
This storyline came at just the right time when Jennifer Aniston was started to break out beyond the show and the arc really allowed her to show off her talent in some new ways. It affected the entire show for the better and felt like the show working at its top form.
Worse: Rachel As A Parent
Unfortunately, while the show handled Rachel's pregnancy very well, they seemed to forget that this would result in a motherhood storyline to follow. While this could have been just as interesting, the show didn't really seem to have much desire to explore it in depth.
As a result, Rachel's new baby was sort of forgotten about for much of the remaining seasons. They would come up with endless excuses about why the baby wasn't around while Rachel just went about her normal life. It felt like a major copout.