Friends had an incredibly impressive run on NBC for 10 seasons, and the show has only spiked in popularity ever since it hit syndication and streaming platforms. The staggering popularity of
Friends in the years that have passed since its finale can be best attributed to the show’s consistency of quality. Shows like Seinfeld or The Simpsons had several egregiously dull or offensive
storylines that make them harder to rewatch, and while Friends hasn’t aged perfectly, it reached a natural conclusion that felt satisfying given where the characters had gone and how they ha
d changed. However, the penultimate season of the show started to indicate a decline in quality that could’ve threatened Friends’ delightful ending. It took Paul Rudd’s character Mike Hannigan to
help put the series back on the right foot.
Ross Geller, Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing, and Phoebe Buffay are six twenty-somethings living in New York City. Over 10 years and seasons, these friends go through life lessons, family, love, drama, friendship, and comedy.
It’s no surprise that when Friends fans are asked about their least favorite season, Season 9 is often brought up. This was the season that, out of a pure lack of ideas on how to spice up the interactions between the central group, decided to develop a storyline involving Joey Tribbiani’s (Matt LeBlanc) love for Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston). It was obviously a move of desperation, but it indicated a larger issue: that Friends’ characters no longer had anything new to offer each other. Now that Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) were married, the only thing that Friends could do with them was put them in arguments, which generally left at least one of them looking ridiculous or coming off as completely unlikable. Ross’ (David Schwimmer) string of potential romantic partners grew less interesting, and after a while, his heartbroken yearning to find someone to spend the rest of his life with just became obnoxious.
It was clear that Friends needed to change the status quo in a major way, and it seemed like the only way to do so was by developing a romantic storyline for Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow). Phoebe’s dates and acquaintances were generally amusing — both the physicist David (Hank Azaria) and the goofy police officer Gary (Michael Rappaport) were fun guest stars. But it was evident that their storylines were only intended to be a series of gags. Phoebe developed a lot in the later seasons, between becoming a birth mother to her brother Frank’s (Giovanni Ribisi) children and learning the truth about her father (Bob Balaban), and was forced to think about her future in several instances. It was time for her to find a way to naturally exit the core group. The only challenge was finding a character who was as quirky, charming, and existential as she was.Enter Paul Rudd. Outside of being one of the most likable (and ageless) comedic actors of his generation, Rudd had a goofy lack of self-seriousness that served as a perfect counterpart to Phoebe. Rudd and Kudrow could match each other’s snarky comments, but it was clear that Mike wasn’t just a male version of Phoebe. While Phoebe seems to never apologize for anything, Mike has a very self-deprecating sense of humor and was more than willing to be the butt of a joke. Phoebe was never ashamed to talk about her past and how tragic it really was, but Mike was less willing to speak up about his wealthy upbringing, as he felt a sense of shame about his parents’ intolerance. There were legitimate issues that the two had as a couple that helped make the penultimate season more important. It was clear that the romantic dynamic between Joey and Rachel was never intended to last, but Mike and Phoebe had a real future together.