The Pilot (Friends)

The Pilot (Friends)

The pilot episode (also known as The One Where it All Began or The One Where Monica Gets a New Roommate) of the American situation comedy series Friends premiered on NBC (National Broadcasting Company) on September 22nd 1994. It was written by series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and directed by James Burrows. The pilot introduces six friends who live and work in New York City; Monica (Courteney Cox) sleeps with a wine seller after their first date but is horrified to discover he tricked her into bed; her brother Ross (David Schwimmer) is depressed after his lesbian ex-wife moves her things out of their apartment; Monica's old schoolfriend Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) moves in with Monica after running out of her wedding; and their friends, Joey, Chandler and Phoebe (Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow) offer them each support and advice.

Crane and Kauffman pitched their original idea to network NBC in December 1993. NBC liked it and commissioned a complete script, which was submitted in March 1994. Before the script was finished, casting for the six main roles began; 75 actors were seen for each part. The pilot was taped on May 4, 1994 at Warner Bros.' studios in Burbank, California. After making final edits to the episode, executive producer Kevin Bright submitted it on May 11, two days before NBC was due to announce the schedule. Satisfied with the completed pilot, NBC ordered 12 more episodes for the first season. The episode was watched by approximately 22 million viewers, making it the fifteenth-most-watched television show of the week. Critics compared the show unfavorably to Seinfeld and Ellen, noting the similarities all three series had in depicting friends conversing about their lives. The cast, particularly Schwimmer, were complimented, though there was some concern that the character roles were undeveloped.