Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the show’s creators, recognized the sitcom’s lack of diversity in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which was released with the debut of HBO Max’s Friends: The Reunion.
Kauffman responded to a question about whether the choice for an all-white cast was conscious, saying: “There are many things that I could say if I only knew then what I know now. Back then, there was no conscious decision. We saw people of every race, religion, color. These were the six people we cast. So, it was certainly not conscious.”
Kevin Bright, the series’ executive producer and director, stated that the racial composition of the six major characters would be different if it were done today.
“If we did Friends today, no, I don’t imagine they would probably end up being an all-white cast,” Bright explained. “We would be so aware. It would be integral to the chemistry and the conversation that these guys would be having. And the racial makeup of them would change because of that.”
Speaking at a virtual panel last year, Marta Kauffman discussed the topic of diversity in the show, saying: “I wish I knew then what I knew today, I would have made very different decisions. I mean we’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough and now all I can think about is, what can I do? What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way? And that’s something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year.”
The widely-loved sitcom has long been chastised for its lack of diversity citing Aisha Tyler’s appearances in nine episodes, which served as the most for a person of color, followed by Phill Lewis, who portrayed Chandler’s employer in three episodes.
This comes after David Schwimmer, who plays Ross, acknowledged the lack of diversity in the show to the Guardian, and suggested that his character could be made to date women of color.
“I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,” Schwimmer said. “One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian-American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part.”
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With £1m what would you do: I would do my part to provide opportunities to the less fortunate. Then do my best to change the world in my own way through sports and talent building.
