The 1990s was a decade that was packed with exceptional media. Films and TV shows really hit another level during the decade, and fans are still sinking their teeth into the best the decade has to offer. The TV shows, in particular, we're exceptional. Some of these shows featured future stars, some reshaped reality TV, and others took genres to new heights.
Friends debuted in 1994, and from that point on, things would never be the same again. The folks making the show cycled through a number of ideas, eventually settling on ones that were hits with the fans. Some of the proposed ideas, however, were scrapped, and one would have wrecked the show.
Let's take a look at what could have been.
'Friends' Is An Iconic Show
Friends is one of the most loved and celebrated TV shows of all time, with few coming close to matching what it has accomplished through the years. It was a colossal success during the 1990s, and even now, millions continue to watch the show on HBO Max regularly, making it nothing short of a timeless classic.
The show featured a talented and relatively unknown lead cast who became household names once the series became a hit. Utilizing actors without a ton of name value was a wise move, as was piecing together a cast with great on-screen chemistry who were perfect for their respective characters.
For 10 seasons and over 230 episodes, Friends was able to hit all the right notes with fans. Making it to 100 episodes is tough enough, but being able to more than double that number means that Friends is in rare company. It doesn't happen often, which is why shows like this are celebrated by fans.
Now, in order to pull this off, it was important that the showrunners got everything right along the way. This included choosing the right storylines to feature on the show. This means that some proposed storylines were axed in favor of ones that better suited the show.
'Friends' Had Many Canceled Storylines
When crafting a long-running series, it can be difficult to generate fresh ideas that wind up sticking around. Because of this, popular shows will filter out a number of ideas that don't make the cut. In the case of Friends, there were plenty of proposed storylines that never made it onto the show.
According to Mews, there were a number of canceled storylines that could have had major ramifications on our favorite characters.
One such storyline involved Emily coming back to New York, which would have given the character some closure. Another idea was that Ross and Phoebe would have gotten romantically involved with one another. Think that one's strange? The writers were also looking into Joey and Monica being with one another.
Many scrapped ideas revolved around dating, but others are far different in nature. One such idea included Chandler and Phoebe just being supporting characters and not fully part of the main cast. Talk about avoiding a disaster!
Some other axed ideas could have been okay, but others would have wrecked what the show developed into. One storyline, involving Chandler and Rachel, would have had a hugely negative impact on the show's legacy.
Chandler And Rachel Were Nearly Love Interests
So, what in the world were the folks at Friends cooking up with Chandler and Rachel? Well, before Chandler and Monica became endgame, an idea was floated that Chandler and Rachel were going to end up together!
According to ScreenRant, "The One with the Flashback was supposed to be a testing ground for audiences to picture Chandler being with Rachel. As you’ll recall, the episode showed Chandler hoping to date Rachel in the past, only for it to not work out, although a fantasy sequence at the end suggested there was a chance. But audiences didn’t react positively and the idea was shelved. It was a good decision, because the two never had any romantic chemistry."
Given how things played out, the idea of Chandler and Rachel being anything more than friends is inconceivable. Yes, there was a moment during the flashback episode that showed that they were very much attracted to one another, but this would have been such a bad decision.
Thankfully, audiences spoke up, and the people behind the scenes listened. Each member of the group ended up with who they were meant to be with, which helped give the show a satisfying ending.
The next time you watch Friends, just try to imagine a version where Chandler and Rachel end up together.
