Movies News Talk
Back in the '80s and '90s (and back even farther into the 1950s with I Love Lucy) it was significantly more popular for scripted shows to be filmed in front of a live studio audience. Friends was joined as a multi-cam Sitcom shot in front of actual people by the likes of All in the Family, Full House and Cheers, and many others. Mostly, these actual folks were the ones making the laughter heard on the show.
Every episode of Cheers starts with a distinctive warning inserted following complaints from TV viewers about the NBC sitcom. These days, though, it's far less common for events to be videotaped front-of-house for actual crowds. Game shows help to preserve the practice, although for scripted programs there has been a shift away from live Audiences. As it has been for almost 50 years, Saturday Night Live is still shot in front of a studio audience; but, there has been a more general move away from laugh tracks in comedy.
Friends star Jennifer Aniston jokes that costar Lisa Kudrow "hated" when the audience laughed during show recording. Originally debuted in 1994, Marta Kauffman and David Crane's series is today regarded as among the best and most powerful sitcoms ever produced. Apart from Aniston and Kudrow, the Friends group comprised David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, and the late Matthew Perry; the show followed their several adventures in New York City. The popular sitcom was filmed in front of a live studio audience, same as many other shows of the day.
Aniston muses on shooting in front of a live studio audience, which clearly had certain negatives, during a recent interview with Quinta Brunson for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series. Playing Rachel, Aniston quips that Phoebe's Kudrow would occasionally grow annoyed with the audience's continuous laughing as she was trying to get her lines out. Look at Aniston's comment down below:
Some Friends episodes situated outside the main sets like the flat or Central Perk were not filmed in front of a studio audience, with laughs then put in afterwards. Though shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Connors, and the Frasier revival were filmed in front of studio crowds, The Office's popularity in the mid-2000s spawned a new kind of comedy and, maybe a new brand of sitcom humor. Eschewing a live audience enables programs to shoot in fresh and unique locales, and it has let shows flourish with more off-beat, unusual gags. Friends is now among the most beloved sitcoms of all time, but it's evident that even Kudrow occasionally felt the restrictions of a studio audience.
Source: diversification
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Released back in 1994 and spanning ten seasons, Friends is the hit comedy produced by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. Six twenty-something viewers are followed through their life in New York City and their time spent between their two flats and neighborhood coffee shop. The show has the group negotiating difficult relationships with one another and funny mishaps.
Renowned for its relatable characters and storylines, catchy catchphrases, and classic settings, the show is both a critical and financial triumph.