Friendsis one of the greatest TV shows of all time, but it only granted one of its main characters his own spinoff show, which only confirmed a harsh reality about the character and the original show. The 1990s saw a peak in sitcoms, with many of them earning a place in TV history and being named as some ofthe best TV shows of all time, as is the case withFriends. Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman,Friendspremiered on NBC in 1994 and ran for 10 successful seasons, ending in 2004 after breaking various records.
Friendsfollowed Chandler (Matthew Perry), Monica (Courteney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), and Ross (David Schwimmer) as they did their best to navigate adulthood and balance their personal, social, and professional lives while living in New York City. The success of their stories throughout 10 seasons led to the spinoff seriesJoey, focused on LeBlanc’s character.Joeystuck around for two seasons before being canceled, and the show only confirmed a harsh reality about Joey andFriends.
Friends' Failed Joey Spinoff Confirmed A Harsh Truth About His Character
Joeypremiered on NBC just a couple of months afterFriendsended, and, of course, it was set after the events of the main show.Friendsended with Monica and Chandler moving out of their beloved apartment with their newborn twins, Ross and Rachel getting back together after she gave up her new job in Paris, and Phoebe marrying Mike (Paul Rudd). Joey was the only single character in the group, so his spinoff show took him out of New York City and to Los Angeles.
Joeydidn’t do well with critics and ratings dropped after the first episode, and kept going down when season 2 arrived.
Joey moved to Hollywood in hopes of finally breaking big as an actor, and once there, he reunited with his sister, Gina (Drea de Matteo), and his nephew Michael (Paulo Costanzo), a 20-year-old genius and rocket scientist. Joey also met Alex (Andrea Anders), his next-door neighbor and landlady, with whom he began a relationship.Joeydidn’t do well with critics and ratings dropped after the first episode, and kept going down when season 2 arrived.Joeywas canceled in 2006 due to low ratings.
Among thethings that went wrong withJoeywere the change of setting, having different writers from those inFriends, and a lack of characters that would balance Joey’s.The show also confirmed that Joey was underdeveloped inFriends, with the show leaning on him for comic relief, but the character was balanced by the presence and personalities of the rest of the group. Out of the main characters inFriends, Joey was the least prepared to carry a show on his own.
Joey Proved Friends' Appeal Was The Group Dynamic, Not The Individual Characters
Friends Thrived Thanks To The Main Group Of Characters
Despite Joey being accompanied by his sister, nephew, and Alex in his own show, none of them were strong or developed enough to give the show a good group dynamic, which was the charm ofFriends. A large part ofFriends’ success was thanks to the dynamics within the group, both as a whole and between different pairs within it. The relationships, both romantic and friendships, between the main group were what keptFriendsgoing, and there were always at least two of them involved in each of the show’s storylines.
Joeyhad a lead character not strong enough to carry the show and weak supporting characters.
A harsh truth to accept aboutFriendsis that it isn’t really a deep TV show, nor did it go deeply into each character and their dynamic with the rest. That’s not to say thatFriendswas shallow, because if it was, it wouldn’t have had the success it achieved, but it found the right balance in the dynamic and relationships of the group and the show’s light tone.Joeyhad a lead character not strong enough to carry the show and weak supporting characters, along with changes to the character that didn’t feel fitting.
Of course, none of this makesFriendsany less great and doesn’t change its place in TV history, but it’s important to admit that it thrived, in large part, thanks to its group dynamic – and this doesn’t makeJoeyany less bad, either.Joeycompletely missed what made the character funny andFriendsso good, but ultimately, it didn’t affect the legacy of the main show.
