Friends Season 2 Review: Friends' the second season saw the show finally find its footing — and its romance.
It's reassuring to see that the characters, narrative, and other things that made the first season so pleasant has remained consistent, if not improved.
Friends Season 2 Cast
- Jennifer Aniston. Rachel Green.
- Courteney Cox. Monica Geller.
- Lisa Kudrow. Phoebe Buffay.
- Matt LeBlanc. Joey Tribbiani.
- Matthew Perry. Chandler Bing.
- David Schwimmer. Ross Geller.
- Chris Isaak. Rob Donnan. Guest Star.
- Brooke Shields. Erika Ford. Guest Star.
Is Friends Season 2 Cancelled
Due to low ratings, the show was canceled in the middle of its second season.
Joey's refrigerator has a framed photo of Joey and Chandler, and Friends characters were mentioned in passing in the spin-off, but they never appeared in person.
Friends, an NBC sitcom, premiered in 1994 to mixed ratings and reviews, with many dismissing it as just another in a long series of half-hour comedies that would be canceled within a few years.
It was difficult to believe that we'd just witnessed the premiere of not only one of the most popular but also one of the most enduring sitcoms in history.
Friends, like another NBC comedy that was misjudged at the time—Seinfeld—became a cornerstone of 1990s pop culture and has remained a mainstay in the twenty-first century; because of huge DVD sales and massive syndication appeal, it has lasted well past its end-date.
Friends just made its digital debut on Netflix's streaming collection, where it gained a whole new audience.
The popular show has now left Netflix and is now available only on HBO Max.
But, as the fall TV season approaches, and networks prepare to debut a slew of new sitcoms that can only hope to match Friends' level of popularity and enduring impact, now seems like a good moment to take a look back at the NBC sitcom's legacy season by season.
Friends didn't achieve the kind of enduring success it did without some semblance of quality, and the show certainly hit some legendary highs—and more than a few lows—during its ten seasons on NBC.
Even the most unbalanced seasons have their bright points, which makes ranking all 10 seasons from worst to best a challenge.
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In any case, here's how I rank all of the Friends seasons:
Season Summary
Rachel's desire to tell Ross of her newly discovered affections for him is put on wait when she discovers he is dating Julie; a female he knew from grad school.
Rachel puts up with their relationship for a while in the hopes that it will end, but it appears that it will not.
Rachel is upset and chooses to go on a date, but she becomes inebriated and leaves a phone message in which she expresses her thoughts.
When Ross learns, he decides to pursue a relationship with Rachel rather than simply dismiss Julie.
He compiles a list of Rachel's and Julie's negative characteristics but swiftly decides that he prefers Rachel and breaks up with Julie.
Rachel, on the other hand, gets her hands on the list and discovers what Ross doesn't like about her; which enrages her and ends the relationship before it even begins.
For a while, the two are at odds, with Rachel rejecting Ross's attempts at apologies.
When Rachel's prom date was late, Ross meant to escort her to the prom, according to a prom video.
Rachel forgives Ross at long last, and the two begin a romance that will last throughout the next season.
Chandler and Joey's friendship grew stronger in the second season.
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Joey's attempts to break into acting pay off when he lands a role in a fictionalized version of Days of Our Lives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Friends Season 2 GOOD?
The show's second season was better than the first, embracing some of the aspects that worked (Ross and Rachel) while rejecting some of the show's more bizarre premises—though it's still not “top tier” Friends.
Why Did the Show Friends Get Cancelled?
“Everybody was growing up,” Marta Kauffman, co-creator of Friends, told Entertainment Weekly.
This is one of the reasons why the show had to come to an end.
Your pals were no longer your family at this point in your life. You're going to start your own family.”
Are Ross and Russ Both David Schwimmer?
Despite popular belief, Russ was not played by a David Schwimmer impersonator; instead, he was performed by Schwimmer himself, credited as “Snaro.”
Schwimmer portrayed both Ross and Russ with a little make-up and TV set wizardry, but audiences were left guessing for years.
