When Friends was called out for having no Black characters

When Friends first aired on NBC in 1994, it instantly became the dream of a generation of New Yorkers: six twenty-somethings navigating love, work, and friendship over endless coffee at Central Perk. The show was funny, comforting, and impossibly aspirational.

But there was one detail everyone seemed to overlook: New York City didn’t actually look like that.

In a city built on diversity, Friends gave us six white faces in improbably large Manhattan apartments. The backdrop was cosmopolitan, but the casting wasn’t. Diversity — the very essence of New York — was noticeably absent.

That omission didn’t go unnoticed forever.

Nearly three decades later, Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson used her 2023 Saturday Night Live debut to make the point, albeit with humour.

“I wanted to be on SNL back in the day, but the audition process seemed a little long. So instead, I just created my own TV show, made sure it became really popular, won a bunch of Emmys, and then got asked to host. It’s so much easier.”

Then came the gentle jab:

“It’s a network sitcom like, say, Friends. Except instead of being about a group of friends, it’s about a group of teachers. And instead of New York, it’s set in Philadelphia. And instead of not having Black people — it does.”

The line drew laughs, but also knowing nods. Brunson wasn’t mocking Friends so much as highlighting how the cultural bar has shifted. What once went unquestioned now feels incomplete.

Even co-creator Marta Kauffman has since admitted she wishes she had done more.

“I just wish I knew then what I know now. I would've made very different decisions,” she said. “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?”

Speaking at the 2020 ATX TV Festival, she added:

“What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way? 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.”

It’s not often that the creator of one of television’s most iconic shows publicly revises her own legacy. But Kauffman’s reflections show how much both television and society have changed since the 1990s.

Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Friends was built on simple charm and unforgettable characters. Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel Green — the runaway bride with great hair and better timing. David Schwimmer’s Ross Geller — the fossil-obsessed romantic who couldn’t keep a marriage alive. Courteney Cox’s Monica Geller — the perfectionist with a mop and a mission. Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe Buffay — the eccentric singer behind Smelly Cat. Matt LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani — the food-loving actor with a heart of gold. And Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing — the man who turned sarcasm into self-defence.



Together, they created one of the most beloved sitcoms in history. Yet, like many cultural artefacts of the 1990s, Friends also mirrors the blind spots of its time.

Today, shows like Abbott Elementary, Insecure, Black-ish, and Atlanta have redefined what inclusion looks like in mainstream television. They prove that diversity isn’t a burden or a quota — it’s what makes storytelling richer and more honest.




If Friends was about the fantasy of belonging, these newer shows are about the reality of it. And somewhere between Kauffman’s regret and Brunson’s humour lies the quiet evolution of pop culture: the moment when nostalgia finally made room for accountability.