20 years later, the ‘Friends’ series finale still works

Twenty years ago, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) got off the plane. “Friends” concluded its 10-season run on Thursday, May 6, 2004, with “The Last One,” its two-part series finale that drew 52.5 million viewers and remains the fifth most-watched series finale in U.S. history.

A lot has happened in the 20 years since the Emmy-winning sitcom went off the air. “Joey” came and went. “Friends” remains in syndication — and its enduring popularity means it’ll outlive all of us — but it has found a new generation of fans on streaming, first on Netflix and now on Max, to where the series moved when the streamer launched in 2020.

In 2021, the six stars — Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — reunited for the Emmy-nominated Max special “Friends: The Reunion.” Five months after the special aired, James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, died at 59 from prostate cancer. And last October, Perry died at 54 from the acute effects of ketamine.

The 20th anniversary of the series finale is the first milestone “Friends” is marking without Perry, who had the final line of the show. In his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” the actor shared that he asked co-creator Marta Kauffman if Chandler could deliver the last line. “‘Nobody else would care about this except me,’ I said. ‘So may I please have the last line?” he wrote.

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As the gang departs Monica (Cox) and Chandler’s empty apartment, Rachel asks if they should get some coffee before the Bings move into their new house. “Sure,” Chandler says. And then with that impeccable Perry timing: “Where?”

One final sarcastic quip from Chandler is a perfect note to end on, but the finale itself stuck the landing when we all know wrapping up a long-running and beloved show is no easy task. “The Last One,” written by Kauffman and co-creator David Crane, is silly and satisfying, and provides just enough fan service — Rachel and Ross (Schwimmer) are lobsters! Mondler are now parents to twins! — without overdoing the sentimentality. As much as we’d love for our friends to be hanging out together forever in that purple apartment and Central Perk, that’s not life.

“Friends,” as Kauffman and Crane first pitched, is about that time in your life in your 20s when your friends are your family. After 10 years, they’re moving out and moving on with their lives and own families. Joey (LeBlanc) got serious about his acting career and would move to L.A. Newlyweds Phoebe (Kudrow) and Mike (Paul Rudd) were thinking about having their own babies. They all grew up. It taught a generation — and is still teaching new ones — how to adult. It’s bittersweet, even more so now, but that’s exactly why it works.

If it seems improbable that the “Friends” finale is 20 years old, get ready to feel really old in September when it’s time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the show’s premiere.

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