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  • Generation Friends

  • An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era
  • Written by: Saul Austerlitz
  • Narrated by: Barrett Leddy
  • Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
  • 3.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Generation Friends

Written by: Saul Austerlitz
Narrated by: Barrett Leddy
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Publisher's Summary

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Friends, published for the 25th anniversary of the show's premiere. Howyoudoin’?

In September 1994, six friends sat down in their favorite coffee shop and began bantering about sex, relationships, jobs, and just about everything else. A quarter of a century later, new fans are still finding their way into the lives of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler, Monica, and Phoebe, and thanks to the show’s immensely talented creators, its intimate understanding of its youthful audience, and its reign during network television’s last moment of dominance, Friends has become the most influential and beloved show of its era. Friends has never gone on a break, and this is the story of how it all happened.

Noted pop culture historian Saul Austerlitz utilizes exclusive interviews with creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, executive producer Kevin Bright, director James Burrows, and many other producers, writers, and cast members to tell the story of Friends’ creation, its remarkable decade-long run, and its astonishing Netflix-fueled afterlife. Listeners will learn how the show was developed and cast, written and filmed. There will be talk of trivia contests, prom videos, trips to London, Super Bowls, lesbian weddings, wildly popular hairstyles, superstar cameos, mad dashes to the airport, and million-dollar contracts. They’ll also discover surprising details - that Monica and Joey were the show’s original romantic couple, how Danielle Steel probably saved Jennifer Aniston’s career, and why Friends is still so popular that if it was a new show, its over-the-air broadcast reruns would be the ninth-highest-rated program on TV.

The show that defined the 1990s has a legacy that has endured beyond wildest expectations. And in this hilarious, informative, and entertaining audiobook, listeners will now understand why.

©2019 Saul Austerlitz (P)2019 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"Saul Austerlitz gets at the heart of [the show’s] appeal." (New York Magazine)

"[An] under-the-hood chronicle of the nineties sitcom." (The New Yorker)

“Austerlitz has written a love letter for fans of the show to remember key moments from the 10-season run of Friends while also revealing the good and bad of how difficult it is to create a show, put it on the air and find lightning in a bottle.” (Associated Press)

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