There Was Almost a Different Ending For One 'Friends' Character
"Friends" co-creator David Crane says that the romantic life of one character could have gone a different way.
Toward the end of the series, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) had to choose between two men she loved: David (Hank Azaria) and Mike (Paul Rudd).
David was a research scientist who appeared briefly earlier in the series, but then left to go to Minsk. The episode where David has to leave is kind of heartbreaking.
Happily Ever After
Then Phoebe comes across Mike after a blind date put on by fellow friend Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc.)
Phoebe and Mike had a bit of a rocky relationship for a while, because Mike didn't want to get married since he had such a terrible marriage before.
Phoebe said she would have accepted that years ago, but now she wanted some of the "normal" things that people have.
Of course they eventually got married, in a snowstorm, with little dog Chappy by their side.
Tough Decision
Crane says that he and the writers went "back and forth" over whether Phoebe would end up with David or Mike.
“There was definitely a possibility of [Phoebe ending up with David], I mean, we didn’t definitively know [who Phoebe would end up with],” he says.
They both liked the performances of Azaria and Rudd.
“I mean, both Paul and Hank are fantastic, and fantastic with her. We sort of went back and forth,” he says.
Rudd and Azaria Would Have Been 'Great'
It sounds like whichever decision the writers made would have been a good one.
“I don’t even remember all the pieces that led to where we landed, but yeah, it could have gone the other way. Phoebe would have been great with either one.”
Joey Could Have Ended Up With Anyone
But there was a third guy that fans wanted Phoebe to hook up with: Joey.
But Crane told Metro that placing Phoebe with Joey would have been just too perfect, and that's what gave them pause.
“It all would have been too tidy and too complete... When your goal is to keep the six characters in stories together, it would be really easy to go down that road. But I think we all felt it would be a mistake."
The Old Crap Bag and Chain
In June, 2018, Crane halted rumors that the whole gang would reunite.
“Never happening....Never, never. No. We did it, it’s done.”
But now we know that was all a sham, because in November, HBO Max announced a "Friends" reunion, just as the show celebrated its 25th anniversary.
We're in the early days of those plans, but it appears that everyone from the main cast is set to return.
Will Phoebe and Mike still be married?
