Friends

Season 1

The first season introduces the six main characters: Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross. Rachel arrives at Central Perk after running away from her wedding to her fiancé Barry and moves into an apartment with her friend Monica from high school. Ross, who has had a crush on Rachel since the two of them were in high school, constantly attempts to tell her how he feels about her. However, many obstacles stand in his way, such as the fact that he is expecting a baby with his lesbian ex-wife, Carol. Joey is shown to be a bachelor and struggling actor, while Phoebe works as a masseuse and portrays a sort of "crazy" attribute to her personality based on her troubles as a child after her mother committed suicide. However, the rest of the group loves her regardless. Chandler breaks up with his girlfriend, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), who frequently returns in later seasons. Carol delivers a baby boy who is named Ben. At the end of the season, Chandler accidentally reveals that Ross loves Rachel, who realizes that she feels the same way. The season ends with Rachel waiting at the airport for Ross' arrival from a trip.

Season 2

The second season begins with Rachel waiting at the gate for Ross to declare her love for him. However, she discovers that he is dating Julie (Lauren Tom), someone he knew from graduate school. Rachel's attempts to tell Ross she likes him mirror his failed attempts in the first season, although the characters eventually begin a relationship. Joey gets cast in a part in a fictional version of the soap opera, Days of Our Lives, but his character is killed off after conflicts with the show's writers, rooting from him claiming that he writes many of his own lines. Chandler gets back with Janice, his ex-girlfriend from season one. Monica begins dating Richard (Tom Selleck), a recently divorced family friend and 21 years her senior but they eventually break up.

Season 3

Season three takes on a significantly greater serialized format. Rachel begins working at Bloomingdale's, an upscale department store chain, and Ross becomes jealous of her colleague, Mark. Rachel decides to take a break from their relationship; and Ross, hurt and drunk sleeps with Chloe, "the hot girl from the Xerox place", causing Rachel to break up with him. In the meantime, Chandler has a hard time dealing with their breakup because it reminds him of his parents' divorce. After believing she has no family except her twin sister Ursula (Lisa Kudrow), Phoebe becomes acquainted with her half-brother (Giovanni Ribisi) and birth mother (Teri Garr). Joey develops a relationship with his acting partner Kate (Dina Meyer), and Monica begins a relationship with millionaire Pete Becker (Jon Favreau) which ends because of the disagreements between the two.

Season 4

In the fourth-season premiere, Ross and Rachel briefly reconcile after Ross pretends to read a long letter that Rachel wrote for him, but continues to insist that the two were on a break so they break up again. Joey dates Kathy (Paget Brewster), a girl that Chandler has a crush on. Kathy and Chandler later kiss, which causes drama between Chandler and Joey. Joey forgives Chandler only after he spends a day in a box as punishment. Phoebe becomes a surrogate mother for her brother and his wife Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Monica and Rachel are forced to switch apartments with Joey and Chandler after losing a bet during a quiz game, but, manage to switch back by bribing them with Knicks season tickets and a one-minute kiss (off-screen) between the Rachel and Monica. Ross begins dating an English woman named Emily (Helen Baxendale), and the season finale features their wedding in London. Chandler and Monica sleep together, and Rachel decides to attend Ross and Emily's wedding. While saying his vows, Ross uses the wrong name at the altar (Rachel's), to the shock of his bride and the guests.

Season 5

Season five starts with Ross and Emily's wedding in London. The season features Monica and Chandler trying to keep their new relationship a secret from their friends. Phoebe gives birth to triplets in the show's 100th episode. She gives birth to a boy, Frank Jr. Jr., and two girls: Leslie and Chandler. Emily states that the only condition in which she would remain married to Ross is if he stops all communication with Rachel. Ross agrees, but during a last dinner with all six main characters together, Emily phones Ross and, upon discovering Rachel is there, realizes she does not trust him, which ends the marriage. Phoebe begins a relationship with a police officer, Gary (Michael Rapaport), after finding his badge and using it as her own. Monica and Chandler go public with their relationship, to the surprise and happiness of their friends. They decide to get married on a trip to Las Vegas, but, change their plans after witnessing Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumble out of the wedding chapel.

Season 6

In the sixth-season premiere, Ross and Rachel's marriage is established to be a drunken mistake. Ross and Rachel try to get an annulment because he does not want to have three divorces. However, he realizes he could not do so and tries to keep their wedding a secret from Rachel. Nonetheless, they divorce several episodes later. Monica and Chandler move in together, causing Rachel to move in with Phoebe. Joey lands a role on a cable television series called Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., where he stars alongside a robot. Ross gets a job lecturing at New York University and starts dating one of his students, Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden). The relationship ends because of their maturity differences. Phoebe and Rachel's apartment catches fire, and Rachel moves in with Joey, while Phoebe moves in with Chandler and Monica. Chandler proposes to Monica, who says yes even though her ex-boyfriend Richard confesses his love for her.

Season 7

The seventh season mainly follows the various antics of Monica and Chandler, who begin to plan their wedding and run into financial problems which are quickly fixed by Chandler's secret funds. Joey's television series Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E is cancelled, but he is offered his job back on Days of Our Lives. Meanwhile, Ross tries to introduce Ben to Hanukkah with the help of an Armadillo costume. Phoebe's apartment is fixed, but it is rebuilt with only one large bedroom instead of the original two, so Rachel decides to stay with Joey. The season ends just prior to Monica and Chandler's wedding, with Phoebe and Rachel finding a positive pregnancy test in the bathroom at Monica and Chandler's apartment.

Season 8

In the eighth season, it is revealed at Monica and Chandler's wedding reception that the positive pregnancy test found in the bathroom at Monica and Chandler's apartment belongs to Rachel. Rachel takes another pregnancy test, which Phoebe at first claims is negative, in order to find Rachel's real emotions on the realization of being pregnant. Rachel projects feelings of sadness when she thinks she's not pregnant, so Phoebe tells her the truth. The two of them and Monica then rejoice in the bathroom. The season revolves around Rachel's pregnancy; Ross is revealed to be the father after an investigation involving a red sweater. Rachel and Ross decide to have the baby but do not resume their romantic relationship. Joey develops romantic feelings for Rachel, but she does not reciprocate them. Rachel gives birth to baby Emma in the season finale. At the hospital, Ross's mother offers him an engagement ring because she wants him to marry Rachel. Ross does not intend to ask Rachel to marry him, but he takes the ring anyway and puts it in his jacket pocket. Meanwhile, in the post-delivery room, Joey looks for some tissue for an upset Rachel, picks up Ross's jacket, and the ring falls to the floor. He kneels to pick it up and turns to Rachel, still on his knees and still holding the ring. Rachel accepts what she thinks is his proposal of marriage.

Season 9

Season nine begins with Ross and Rachel living together as roommates with their daughter Emma. Monica and Chandler try to conceive a baby of their own but find out that they are unable to, due to health restrictions. Phoebe begins dating Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd) and chooses to be with him over her ex-boyfriend David (Hank Azaria). Rachel and Emma move in with Joey in the middle of the season, and Rachel develops infatuation towards him, while the rest of the "friends" try hard to get Ross and Rachel back together. The group travels to Barbados in the finale to hear Ross give a keynote speech at a palaeontology conference, where they stay at a hotel. Joey and his girlfriend Charlie (Aisha Tyler) break up, and she begins a relationship with Ross. Upon seeing Ross and Charlie kiss each other, Joey goes to Rachel's hotel room, and the finale ends with them kissing.

Season 10

The tenth season closes several long-running storylines. Charlie breaks up with Ross to get back together with her ex-boyfriend. Joey and Rachel try to contend with Ross' feelings about them being together and decide it would be best to remain friends. Phoebe and Mike get married mid-season outside the Central Perk coffee house. Monica and Chandler apply to adopt a child and are chosen by Erica (Anna Faris). In the series finale, Erica gives birth to twins, to the surprise of Monica and Chandler – a boy and a girl. Monica and Chandler prepare to move to the suburbs, and Joey becomes upset with the changes in his life. Rachel gets fired from her job and accepts a new offer in Paris. Ross tries to get her job back by secretly meeting her boss but eventually gives up after realizing that the Paris job is her dream job. Rachel says a tearful goodbye to everyone but Ross. A hurt and angry Ross confronts Rachel, and they end up sleeping together. Rachel leaves, and Ross, realizing he loves her, chases after her to the airport. Rachel realizes she loves him too, and cancels her flight to Paris, agreeing to stay with him. The series ends with all friends plus Monica and Chandler's new babies leaving the apartment, heading to Central Perk for a final cup of coffee. The finale dialogue used in this series is by Chandler, making a joke for the last time. The camera's last view is of all of the characters' keys to the apartment on the counter table, finishing with a shot of the apartment's purple door.

Conception

It's about sex, love, relationships, careers, a time in your life when everything's possible. And it's about friendship because when you're single and in the city, your friends are your family.

— The original treatment used by Crane, Kauffman and Bright to pitch the series to NBC, .^[40]

David Crane and Marta Kauffman began developing three new television pilots that would premiere in 1994 after their sitcom Family Album was cancelled by CBS in 1993.^[41] Kauffman and Crane decided to pitch the series about "six people in their 20s making their way in Manhattan" to NBC since they thought it would fit best there.^[42] Crane and Kauffman presented the idea to their production partner Kevin Bright, who had served as executive producer on their HBO series Dream On.^[43] The idea for the series was conceived when Crane and Kauffman began thinking about the time when they had finished college and started living by themselves in New York; Kauffman believed they were looking at a time when the future was "more of a question mark."^[40] They found the concept to be interesting, as they believed "everybody knows that feeling",^[40] and because it was also how they felt about their own lives at the time.^[40] The team titled the series Insomnia Cafe and pitched the idea as a seven-page treatment to NBC in December 1993.^[40][42]

At the same time, Warren Littlefield, the then-president of NBC Entertainment, was seeking a comedy involving young people living together and sharing expenses. Littlefield wanted the group to share memorable periods of their lives with friends, who had become "new, surrogate family members."^[18] However, Littlefield found difficulty in bringing the concept to life and found the scripts developed by NBC to be terrible. When Kauffman, Crane and Bright pitched Insomnia Cafe, Littlefield was impressed that they knew who their characters were.^[18] NBC bought the idea as a put pilot, meaning they risked financial penalties if the pilot was not filmed.^[44] Kauffman and Crane took three days to write the pilot script for a show they titled Friends Like Us.^[40][45] Littlefield wanted the series to "represent Generation X and explore a new kind of tribal bonding", but the rest disagreed. Crane argued that it was not a series for one generation, and wanted to produce a series that everyone would enjoy watching.^[18] NBC liked the script and ordered the series. They changed the title to Six of One, mainly because they felt Friends Like Us was too similar to the ABC sitcom These Friends of Mine.^[46]

Casting

The producers wanted Courteney Cox (pictured) to portray Rachel, and Jennifer Aniston as Monica; However, Cox and Aniston disagreed, so Cox was cast as Monica and Aniston as Rachel

Once it became apparent that the series was a favored project at NBC, Littlefield reported that he was getting calls from every agent in town, wanting their client to be a part of the series.^[18] Auditions for the lead roles took place in New York and Los Angeles.^[47] The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors who had applied for each role down to 75. Those who received a callback read again in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. At the end of March, the number of potential actors had been reduced to three or four for each part, and were asked to read for Les Moonves, then-president of Warner Bros. Television.^[48]

Having worked with David Schwimmer in the past,^[47] the series creators wrote the character of Ross with him in mind, and he was the first actor cast.^[49] Cox wanted to play the role of Monica, but the producers had her in mind to play Rachel because of her "cheery, upbeat energy", which was not how they envisioned Monica; after Cox's audition, though, Kauffman agreed with Cox, and she got the role.^[40][50] When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for Joey, he put a "different spin" on the character.^[40] He played Joey more simple-minded than intended and gave the character heart. Although Crane and Kauffman did not want LeBlanc for the role at the time, they were told by the network to cast him.^[40] Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast based on their auditions.^[47]

More changes occurred to the series's storylines during the casting process. The writers found that they had to adjust the characters they had written to suit the actors, and the discovery process of the characters occurred throughout the first season. Kauffman acknowledged that Joey's character became "this whole new being", and that "it wasn't until we did the first Thanksgiving episode that we realized how much fun Monica's neuroses are."^[51]

Writing

In the weeks after NBC's pick up of Friends, Crane, Kauffman and Bright reviewed sent-in scripts that writers had originally prepared for other series, mainly unproduced Seinfeld episodes.^[52] Kauffman and Crane hired a team of seven young writers because "When you're 40, you can't do it anymore. The networks and studios are looking for young people coming in out of college."^[53] The creators felt that using six equal characters, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for "myriad storylines and give the show legs."^[30] The majority of the storyline ideas came from the writers, although the actors added ideas.^[47] Although the writers originally planned the big love story to be between Joey and Monica, the idea of a romantic interest between Ross and Rachel emerged during the period when Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot script.^[40]

During the production of the pilot, NBC requested that the script be changed to feature one dominant storyline and several minor ones, but the writers refused, wanting to keep three storylines of equal weight.^[46] NBC also wanted the writers to include an older character to balance out the young ones. Crane and Kauffman were forced to comply and wrote a draft of an early episode that featured "Pat the Cop." who would be used to provide advice to the other characters. Crane found the storyline to be terrible, and Kauffman joked, "You know the kids [sic] book, Pat the Bunny? We had Pat the Cop." NBC eventually relented and dropped the idea.^[40]

Each summer (June, July, and August in the US), the producers would outline the storylines for the subsequent season.^[54] Before an episode went into production, Kauffman and Crane would revise the script written by another writer, mainly if something concerning either the series or a character felt foreign.^[52] Unlike other storylines, the idea for a relationship between Joey and Rachel was decided on halfway through the eighth season. The creators did not want Ross and Rachel to get back together so soon, and while looking for a romantic impediment, a writer suggested Joey's romantic interest in Rachel. The storyline was incorporated into the season; However, when the actors feared that the storyline would make their characters unlikable, the storyline was wrapped up, until it again resurfaced in the season's finale. For the ninth season, the writers were unsure about the amount of storyline to give to Rachel's baby, as they wanted the show neither to revolve around a baby nor pretend there to be none.^[54] Crane said that it took them a while to accept the idea of a tenth season, which they decided to do because they had enough stories left to tell to justify the season. Kauffman and Crane would not have signed on for an eleventh season, even if all the cast members had wanted to continue.^[51]

The episode title format—"The One ..."^[55]—was created when the producers realized that the episode titles would not be featured in the opening credits, and therefore would be unknown to most of the audience. Episode titles officially begin with "The One ..." except the title of the pilot episode and the series finale "The Last One."

Filming

The Greenwich Village building, 90 Bedford Street, used as the friends' apartment block in establishing shots

The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.^[56] NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but, eventually consented to the coffee house concept.^[40] The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the Warner Bros. Ranch at 4:00 am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning.^[57] At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage 24, which was renamed "The Friends Stage" after the series finale.^[58] Filming for the series began during the summer (June, July, and August in the US) of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters;^[40] a hired comedian entertained the studio audience between takes.^[33] Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script.^[33]

Although the producers always wanted to find the right stories to take advantage of being on location, Friends was never shot in New York. Bright felt that filming outside the studio made episodes less funny, even when shooting on the lot outside, and that the live audience was an integral part of the series.^[47] When the series was criticized for incorrectly depicting New York, with the financially struggling group of friends being able to afford huge apartments, Bright noted that the set had to be big enough for the cameras, lighting, and "for the audience to be able to see what's going on";^[47] the apartments also needed to provide a place for the actors to execute the funny scripts.^[47] The fourth-season finale was shot on location in London because the producers were aware of the series's popularity in the UK.^[47] The scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences each made up of 500 people. These were the show's largest audiences throughout its run. The fifth-season finale, set in Las Vegas, was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, although Bright met people who thought it was filmed on location.^[59]

Critical reception

It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the Friends finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped. Ultimately, the two-hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do. It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it.

— Robert Bianco of USA Today on the series finale., ^[67]

Early reviews of the series were mixed; and it holds a Metacritic score of 59 out of 100, based on 20 sampled reviews, indicating "mixed to average reviews."^[68] Tom Feran of The Plain Dealer wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld",^[69] while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it "the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld."^[70] In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season",^[71] and the Los Angeles Times called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season."^[72]

Chicago Sun-Times' Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped,^[73] while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable, youth ensemble" with "good chemistry."^[71] Robert Bianco of USA Today was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him "terrific." He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined" and that LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it."^[74] The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends thought that the cast was "trying just a little too hard", in particular, Perry and Schwimmer.^[75]

As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and Friends became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. It is now often ranked among the all-time best TV shows.^[8][9][10] Critics commended the series as having consistently sharp writing and the chemistry between the main actors.^[76] Noel Holston of Newsday, who had dismissed the pilot as a "so-so Seinfeld wannabe" in 1994, repudiated his earlier review after rewatching the episode and felt like writing an apology to the writers.^[51] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com thought that the series "hit its stride" in the second season. Havrilesky found the character-specific jokes and situations "could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode", and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be "original and innovative."^[77] Bill Carter of The New York Times called the eighth season a "truly stunning comeback." Carter found that by "generating new hot storylines and high-decibel laughs", the series made its way "back into the hearts of its fans."^[78] However, Liane Bonin of Entertainment Weekly felt that the direction of the ninth season was a "disappointing buzzkill", criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into jump the shark territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that "the writing [was] still sharp."^[79] Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was "alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be."^[77] Friends was featured on Time's list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time", saying, "the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family."^[80]

Reviews of the series finale were mixed. USA Today's Robert Bianco described the finale as entertaining and satisfying and praised it for deftly mixing emotion and humor while highlighting each of the stars.^[67] Sarah Rodman of the Boston Herald praised Aniston and Schwimmer for their acting, but felt that their characters' reunion was "a bit too neat, even if it was what most of the show's legions of fans wanted."^[81] Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant felt that newcomers to the series would be "surprised at how laughless the affair could be, and how nearly every strained gag depends on the sheer stupidity of its characters."^[82] Ken Parish Perkins, writing for Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pointed out that the finale was "more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny."^[83]

Awards

To maintain the series's ensemble format, the main cast members decided to enter themselves in the same acting categories for awards.^[32] Beginning with the series's eighth season, the actors decided to submit themselves in the lead actor balloting, rather than in the supporting actor fields.^[84] The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards,^[85] winning six. Aniston and Kudrow are the only main cast members to win an Emmy, while Cox is the only actor not to be nominated. The series won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002, receiving nominations in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, and 2003.^[86] The series also won an American Comedy Award,^[87] one GLAAD Media Award,^[88] one Golden Globe Award,^[89] three Logie Awards,^[90][91] six People's Choice Awards,^[92][93] one Satellite Award,^[94] and one Screen Actors Guild Award.^[95]

Ratings

The table below shows the ratings of Friends in the United States, where it consistently ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings.^[96] "Rank" refers to how well Friends rated compared to other television series that aired during primetime hours of the corresponding television season. It is shown in relation to the total number of series airing on the then-six major English-language networks in a given season. "Viewers" refers to the average number of viewers for all original episodes, broadcast during the television season in the series's regular timeslot. The "season premiere" is the date that the first episode of the season aired, and the "season finale" is the date that the final episode of the season aired. So far, Friends has been the last sitcom to reach the no. 1 spot on television, as its successors were CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, American Idol, NBC Sunday Night Football and NCIS.

Syndication

Because of syndication revenue, Friends continues to generate approximately $1 billion each year for Warner Bros. That translates into about $20 million in annual residuals each for Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, who each get 2% of syndication income for Friends.^[99] The series has a syndication deal through multiple networks including Nickelodeon, TBS, and Paramount (formerly known as Spike).

Broadcast

Streaming

In October 2014, Warner Bros. chairman and chief executive officer, Kevin Tsujihara, announced that the company had licensed the North American streaming rights of all ten seasons of Friends to Netflix,^[143][144] in a deal said to be worth around $500,000 an episode,^[145] or about $120 million in total. The show became available on Netflix from January 1, 2015.^[146] The Netflix airings are in the versions as aired on NBC rather than the longer international versions, as discussed below.

Blu-ray and DVD

All ten seasons have been released on DVD individually and as a box set. Each Region 1 season release contains special features and are presented in their aforementioned original international broadcast versions, although Region 2 releases are as originally aired domestically. For the first season, each episode is updated with color correction and sound enhancement.^[47] A wide range of Friends merchandise has been produced by various companies. In September 1995, WEA Records released the first album of music from Friends, the Friends Original TV Soundtrack, containing music featured in previous and future episodes. The soundtrack debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 46,^[147] and sold 500,000 copies in November 1995.^[148] In 1999, a second soundtrack album entitled Friends Again was released.^[149] Other merchandise includes a Friends version of the DVD game "Scene It?", and a quiz video game for PlayStation 2 and PC entitled Friends: The One with All the Trivia.^[150][151] On September 28, 2009, a box set was released in the UK celebrating the series's 15th anniversary. The box set contained extended episodes, an episode guide, and original special features.^[152]

Warner Home Video released a complete series collection on Blu-ray on November 13, 2012.^[153] The collection does not feature the extra deleted scenes and jokes that were included on prior DVD releases, and are therefore presented in their NBC broadcast versions.

Joey

After the series finale in 2004, LeBlanc signed on for the spin-off series, Joey, following Joey's move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Kauffman and Crane were not interested in the spin-off, although Bright agreed to executive produce the series with Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan.^[181] NBC heavily promoted Joey and gave it Friends' Thursday 8:00 pm timeslot.^[182][183] The pilot was watched by 18.60 million American viewers,^[184] but ratings continually decreased throughout the series's two seasons, averaging 10.20 million viewers in the first season and 7.10 million in the second.^[59] The final broadcast episode on March 7, 2006, was watched by 7.09 million viewers;^[185] NBC cancelled the series on May 15, 2006, after two seasons.^[186] Bright blamed the collaboration between NBC executives, the studio and other producers for quickly ruining the series:^[59]

On Friends, Joey was a womanizer, but we enjoyed his exploits. He was a solid friend, a guy you knew you could count on. Joey was deconstructed to be a guy who couldn't get a job, couldn't ask a girl out. He became a pathetic, mopey character. I felt he was moving in the wrong direction, but I was not heard.

— Kevin S. Bright on the reason for Joey's cancellation.^[59]