‘Friends’ Changed One of Its Episodes After 9/11

The Big Picture

• Friends had to rework an episode in Season 8 due to a joke from Chandler that was deemed insensitive due to the 9/11 tragedy.
• The writers decided not to address 9/11 directly in the show, but included subtle nods and tributes throughout the season, such as American flags and notes on the etch-a-sketch on Joey’s door.
• The first episode of Season 8 of Friends had a special dedication to “The People of New York City.”

Back in the ’90s and early 2000s Friends dominated television. Running for ten seasons, fans just couldn’t seem to get enough of the group, tuning in for every laugh, tear, and love confession in the sitcom’s run. Going into Season 8, the show was going strong. Fan-favorite couple Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (played by Matthew Perry, who devastatingly passed away in October 2023) had just gotten married in the Season 7 finale, and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) revealed that she was pregnant – Season 8 couldn’t come fast enough. But prior to the season premiere, 9/11 happened, changing the world as we know it. People turned to film and television programs (such as Friends) as an escape from the horrors of the outside world. But given that no one could have anticipated such a tragedy, many shows and movies required rewrites. No mention of terrorism was to be had, and anything similar to the news coverage at the time was to be cut. Friends was no stranger to these rewrites, and the writers had to seriously revamp an episode of Season 8 due to a storyline that held an eerie coincidence to the tragedy.

‘Friends’ Had to Rework an Episode in Season 8 After 9/11

The episode in question was Season 8 Episode 3 titled “The One Where Rachel Tells…” As the name suggests it is the episode in which Rachel tells Ross (David Schwimmer) that she is pregnant with his baby, with unexpectedly hilarious results due to Ross’s shocked (and non-verbal) reaction. But that wasn’t the storyline that posed an issue. One of the other story arcs of the episode focuses on Monica and Chandler who engage in a one-sided rivalry with another newlywed couple after said couple keeps getting special treatment and cool perks that Monica and Chandler want. To make it better, the couple ends up staying at the same hotel as Monica and Chandler, carrying on the hilarity all the way through. It’s a fun storyline and hits some great beats, but it wasn’t the original plan for the episode.

According to a story from Insider, the original idea never even saw Monica and Chandler make it out of the airport, let alone to their honeymoon destination, due to a joke made by Chandler. Now, part of the charm of Chandler’s character is his comebacks and inappropriately timed sense of sarcastic humor. He often says what comes to mind without much thought, and while it works most of the time, it didn’t serve him well here. While waiting to catch their flight, Chandler sees a sign that reads “Federal law prohibits any joking regarding aircraft hijacking or bombing.” To which Chandler quips, “You don’t have to worry about me ma’am, I take my bombs very seriously.” Naturally, this gets the pair detained. But just as they’re cleared and about to board their flight, Monica receives a call from Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), which for the most part is the same as the episode that ended up airing.

Joey and Phoebe need to get into Monica and Chandler’s apartment but don’t have a key, so they take extreme measures to get in, resulting in a broken door. They call Monica and claim they smell gas coming from the apartment and if they should break down the door since they don’t have a key to check it out. In the rewritten version, Monica tells them to do that and to make sure everything is fine. But in the original plan, she sarcastically says “No, I want you to stand there and wait for the entire place to blow up.” This immediately lands her and Chandler back in the interrogation room.

Despite being written before 9/11 happened and thus not purposely being satirical or crude, it was far too insensitive to air so soon after such a horrific event. Even now, two decades later, the wound still feels fresh, and it’s a good thing the writers canned the idea entirely. Also, according to the article from Insider, supposedly the scrapped scenes were added as a special feature on the UK version of the DVDs. The alternate scenes are also available on YouTube, with a note from the creators. Regardless, the rewritten version of the plot with Chandler and Monica is more in line with the series anyway.

Did ‘Friends’ Ever Acknowledge 9/11 During Its Run?

Given that Friends is set in New York, many wondered if the show would dedicate an episode to the tragedy or mention it in passing at some point. Speaking with Digital Spy, executive producer and director Kevin S. Bright talked about how 9/11 left the writing team unsure of how to respond. “It threw the writing team a curveball. Because we realized that we were not a topical show, and we didn’t want to do ‘a very special episode’ of Friends where they’re all distressed about what happened, and trying to deal with it,” He explained. “That just wasn’t what we thought the show meant to the audience. We felt we were comfort food, and during this time, if anything, we should be funnier than we’ve ever been.”

Bright also went on to say that even though they ruled out a dedicated episode, they still paid tribute to those we lost through background things. “Like for example, in the coffee shop, there was an American flag hanging in there – that had been added, that wasn’t there before. And the notes that were on Joey’s door kind of reflected what was going on in the city. So we tried to do it in very subtle ways – just making a nod that we know what happened, but we’re not going to talk about it.” You can notice many of the nods throughout the season, and while the show may not have outright addressed it, the respect and acknowledgment of it is there and prominent. In fact, the first episode of Season 8 has a special dedication to “The People of New York City,” which was subtle while still being poignant and timely.

Friends is available to stream on MAX in the U.S.

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