Now over two decades since it aired its last episode,Friendscontinues to be a perfectsitcomto watch and rewatch over and over again, due to its unique main characters, hilarious running jokes, and truly comforting settings of Central Perk and Monica’s (CourteneyCox) apartment. The show is one that gets better with each rewatch, and it has some truly fantastic and wildly funny episodes throughout its seasons.
At its best,Friendshas some incredible, creative, and absolutely hilarious seasons. Later in its run, though, it does have some weaker installments, where the characters don’t quite feel like themselves, and the show’s humor isn’t what it once was. All in all, though, from the beginning to the end,Friendsis still an excellent show to watch in its entirety. These are all 10 seasons ofFriends, ranked.
10Season 9
The later seasons ofFriendsare still enjoyable, but they are not on the same level as the show’s best seasons. The one that suffers the most is Season 9. It puts the show in a lull, where the series is still adjusting to the major change of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) now being parents. It also has one ofFriends' worst storylines, which isChandler living and working in Tulsa.
While each ofFriends' other later seasons at least feels more intentional in its storylines, Season 9 is more lost, and has a lot of episodes where the humor doesn’t land as well. The season also pushes the previous Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel situation too far, with her randomly developing feelings for him after practicing a scene together. The season is not all bad, though; for one thing, it sees the introduction of Phoebe’s (Lisa Kudrow) future husband, Mike (Paul Rudd).
9Season 10
The final season ofFriendshas some moments that are not as funny, but it is notably much stronger than the previous season. There is a more intentional direction this season, especially leading up to the finale. Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica try to become parents, while Ross and Rachel now have the hang of parenting Emma (NoelleandCali Sheldon) and still being a part of the group, in a way that works better than in Season 9.
Season 10 is not as funny as the earlier seasons, but it still has this charm and sweetness to it. It also has some hilarious episodes, like “The One Where Ross Is Fine” and “The One Where Joey Speaks French.” Additionally, no matter how you feel about thedivisive ending for Ross and Rachel, the finale gives the show an excellent ending. Everybody is happy in the new chapters of their lives, while also determined to stay friends, andChandler’s last line is absolutely perfect.
Season 7 ofFriendsfeels very transitional in a lot of ways. It moves into a new era of the show where Chandler and Monica are engaged, and Ross and Rachel’s relationship is now in the past for a while. Many of the season’s storylines aren’t as funny and don’t land as well, like Rachel dating her assistant, Tag (Eddie Cahill). This season also includes the one episode that everyFriendsfan has tried to block out: “The One with Ross & Monica’s Cousin.”
That being said, it still has some great moments, like the planning leading up to Monica and Chandler’s wedding, and “The One with the Cheesecakes,“where Rachel and Chandler steal cheesecakesfrom their neighbor. All in all, though, falls in between two much stronger seasons, and generally doesn’t have as many linear storylines. Instead, there are a number of episodes that don’t really connect to each other as much, with the exception of the season’s main relationships.
While the later episodes ofFriendsdon’t have the same magic as the earlier episodes, there is something special about Season 8.Rachel’s pregnancy works surprisingly well as a storyline,making way for some absolutely hilarious episodes like “The One with the Red Sweater” and “The One with the Videotape.” The season also marks the beginning of Chandler and Monica as a married couple, and has some wild storylines like Phoebe breaking up Ursula’s (also Lisa Kudrow) engagement and then dating her fiancé.
It also has the storyline of Joey’s unrequited love for Rachel, which is really compelling and surprisingly emotional, and which is a great storyline – that is,until they get togetherin the later seasons. A major highlight of the season is the string of episodes where Joey is in love with Rachel, because it has some funny storylines, like Phoebe believing Joey has feelings for her, Joey bumming out the dog, and Rachel telling an outlandish lie to break the awkwardness between her and Joey.
Season 6 ofFriendsshows Chandler and Monica moving in together, and Ross and Rachel dealing with the fallout from their drunken Las Vegas wedding. Additionally, Phoebe and Rachel become roommates, and Joey has to learn to live alone. The storyline of Ross secretly staying married to Rachel is wild, but the show mostly doesn’t excuse it, and instead uses it as fuel for some hilarious storylines.
The latter half of the season has another questionable storyline, ofRoss dating his student, Elizabeth(Alexandra Holden). This does get really funny when Rachel dates Elizabeth’s father, Paul (Bruce Willis), and it becomes a bizarrely funny double dating situation. The season also has some excellent episodes, like “The One Where Ross Got High” and “The One with the Routine,” and it ends with Monica and Chandler’s beautiful engagement scene.
The first season ofFriendsis a true classic. It is the perfect introduction to the show, starting with Rachel running into Central Perk in a wedding dress after literally running out on her wedding. It establishes the friend group and each of the main characters very well, while also giving them meaningful storylines. Ross adjusts to life after his divorce from Carol (Jane Sibbett) while preparing for Ben (DylanandColeSprouse) to be born. Meanwhile, Rachel lives in the real world for her first time, and quickly becomes a part of the main friend group.
Friendsreally hits its stride after Season 1, as the characters develop into more defined and goofier versions of themselves, and the friend group becomes more established and much funnier. There is justa certain magic and nostalgia to the first season,though, with cozy episodes and silly storylines like Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe having a joint existential crisis at a sleepover,and Ross adopting Marcel.
Season 2 ofFriendsis the first ofa streak of four back-to-back phenomenal seasons.Friendsreally hits its stride in this season, and one example of this is through the character of Rachel. While she’s defined by being new to the real world, and by being Ross' dream woman in Season 1, she becomes a much funnier and more flawed while pining after Ross in Season 2. Ross and Rachel’s relationship plays a major role this season, in a way that is both funny and heartfelt.
Additionally, this seasonsees Monica dating Richard(Tom Selleck), and a really sad yet important storyline where Joey temporarily moves out of his and Chandler’s apartment in favor of living alone. It amps up the humor more than the first season, while also giving more attention to the show’s emotional storylines, as the characters start thinking more seriously about what they want out of their personal and professional lives.
Seasons 3-5 areFriendsat its best: wildly funny and over-the-top, bold in exploring new dynamics between the characters, and emotional at all the right times.Season 3 plays around with some major changes, as Monica adjusts to her breakup with Richard, and Rachel quits her job at Central Perk and finally gets her first job in fashion. The first half of the season is strong, but it really hits its stride afterRoss and Rachel’s emotional breakup.
The pettiness and fighting between Ross and Rachel in the back half of the season is just so funny, as the rest of their friends have to adjust to this new dynamic. Each of the characters really starts to come into their own with their personalities in this season, without yet being flanderized. Additionally,Friendsstops trying to play Ross as the romantic lead, andlets him become hilariously weird and annoying.Rachel, too, breaks away from the romantic storyline to become edgier and more sarcastic in her humor. The season also explores an interesting storyline where Joey falls in unrequited love for the first time, with Kate (Dina Meyer).
It’s a huge risk for a sitcom to put two main characters together as a couple late into its run, especially when it wasn’t intentionally set up from the beginning.Friendswas aware of this, though, and got around itby keeping Monica and Chandler’s relationship a secret for the first half of Season5 as they started to figure things out. This leads to so many funny storylines as they hide their relationship and everyone slowly finds out, all leading up to the aptly titled “The One Where Everybody Finds Out.”
This season has so manyofFriends' best quotes,like “PIVOT!” and “They don’t know that we know they know we know!“Friendspushes Ross to the brink this season, through his divorce from Emily (Helen Baxendale), and then being fired from his job. It is just so hilarious to watch. The season also has some more emotional storylines, like Phoebe giving birth to the triplets and saying goodbye to them, Rachel getting rejected by Ross and finally letting go of him for a while, and Monica and Chandler getting serious in their relationship.
Season 4 ofFriendsremains severely underrated to this day, but it is the very best of the show. It pushes the emotional aspects of the series forward with interesting storylines like Chandler and Joey’s love triangle with Kathy (Paget Brewster), Ross getting engaged to Emily just as Rachel realizes that she still has feelings for him, and Phoebe’s pregnancy with the triplets. Beyond that, though, the season is just incredibly funny.
This marks the first season ofFriendsthat is not building up to Ross and Rachel’s relationship, making each of them much funnier, as they are constantly fighting and being petty with each other.Season 4 is that true sweet spot ofFriendsthat takes place right between the couples of Ross and Rachel and Chandler and Monica, where nobody in the group is dating each other. As a result, it is messy, sharply funny, and often wildly over the top. Season 4has truly hilarious episodeswith inventive bits, like the trivia competition that wagers the apartment, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe wearing wedding dresses to just sit around, and Chandler spending Thanksgiving in a box to earn Joey’s forgiveness.
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