NBC gave its permission, and Pat the Cop was no longer.” “If only NBC would kill Pat the Cop, they promised, they would give their six protagonists parents notable supporting roles, and find older guest stars to attract a more mature audience. “The writers made a good-faith attempt, even casting the role, but hated the resulting script so much that they pleaded with NBC to drop the idea,” pop culture historian Saul Austerlitz writes in his book, Generation Friends. However, the character developed by Kauffman and Crane never made it past the writing process. NBC bosses also wanted an older character to join the comrades in the Central Perk coffee shop to help attract an older viewing audience. It wasn’t only the cast playing switcheroo that jeopardised the success of the show though.
Luckily, Muddling Through was canned and Aniston lived on to embody the famous character, including her ‘The Rachel’ hairdo, which inspired a legion of women in the mid-nineties. Aniston had filmed some episodes for an unreleased comedy called Muddling Through, and if the series was picked up, Aniston would have bowed out of Friends halfway through the first season, report Entertainment Weekly. Unlike the ten-season juggernaut that was Friends, The Naked Truth was cancelled not long after it began.Īt one point, the casting of Jennifer Aniston as Rachel was hanging on tenterhooks too. Unfortunately for Deep Impact and Jurassic Park actor Tea Leoni, she chose to turn down the role of Rachel in favour of another sitcom called The Naked Truth, having initially been the favourite. She was reportedly originally credited to be “tough, defended, cynical, sarcastic,” but in the guise audiences know her she is firm but warm, with vulnerabilities.įriends fans, prepare to say ‘Ooooooh Mmmmmy Gooood!’, because Maggie Wheeler, who played the loveable but needy Janice, Chandler’s ex, actually auditioned for the role of Rachel too, but in the end relative newcomer Jennifer Aniston was given the role. When Cox took the reins on Monica, she softened her from the grittier, harder Monica producers had imagined.
Cox found Monica’s personality more appealing than Rachel’s though and requested a role change.Ĭox was the most famous of the actors at the time, having already starred in Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark video and on some other US TV shows, although she was hardly a household name. It’s difficult to imagine, as we’re so used to seeing Courteney playing Monica, who is worlds apart from her best friend Rachel. Hilariously, in early screen tests, Courteney Co x was lined up to play ditzy Rachel rather than highly-strung chef Monica.