Friends co-creator regrets show’s lack of diversity

Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman has admitted she “didn’t do enough” to promote racial diversity in her shows.

During an interview at the virtual ATX Television Festival, Kauffman said that the show’s very white version of New York City was a mistake and she wished she knew when she started out.

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

“We’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough. Now all I can think about is what can I do, what can I do differently. How can I run my show in a new way? That’s something I wish I knew when I started showrunning but all the way up through last year.”

Despite its huge success,  audiences and some cast members have addressed the lack of diversity in the show in recent years.

David Schwimmer, who played Ross in the sitcom, proposed a more diverse remake in an interview earlier this year.

“Maybe there should be an all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends,” he said. “But I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of colour.

“One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part.”

When asked about what a modern-day reboot of Friends would look like, Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe told The Sunday Times: “Well, it would not be an all-white cast, for sure.”

However she added that the show was of its time: “I’m not sure what else, but to me, it should be looked at as a time capsule, not for what they did wrong.”

The Friends cast is reuniting for an exclusive untitled unscripted special on HBO Max.

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