What Jerry Seinfeld Really Thinks About ‘Friends’

The two shows will forever be discussed alongside one another. ‘Friends‘ had so much heart and it lured millions of fans in, while ‘Seinfeld‘ had a passionate fanbase, thanks to its groundbreaking way of telling a story on a sitcom.

Fans have constantly chimed in on both shows, though one person, in particular, made a statement, and that’s none other than Jerry Seinfeld. ‘Friends’ fans might not be too pleased with his words, according to Jerry, the shows were similar and ‘Friends’ might’ve taken some notes from his show, especially given that it started a few years after.

Let’s take a lot at the shows next to each other and what Jerry has to say.

‘Seinfeld’ Had The Better Ratings But ‘Friends’ Has A More Profitable Legacy

It is a toss-up when it comes to which show is better than the other – in truth. when it comes to the ratings, the shows are only split by a couple of million. ‘Seinfeld’ has the slight edge, as the show averaged 26.6 million during its run while ‘Friends’ was no slouch either, with an average of 23.6 million according to Screen Rant.

However, when it comes to lasting legacies and revenues made, ‘Friends‘ is the clear victor. Whether it be streaming service platform deals or merchandise deals, ‘Friends‘ is the clear victor between the two.

According to the star of ‘Friends’ Jennifer Aniston, a big reason is the fact that the show has a lasting legacy which will keep it eternal, “This is eternal. It’s not just out there in the ether or on a television set you’ve passed by, but in our actual bodies — our DNA, our bloodstream, our cells,” she said.

“It was a unicorn of an experience. For whatever reason, we were all at the right place at the right time, and we created something that landed its little flag on a lot of people’s hearts around the world,” she continued.A

The shows will always be compared, however, according to the man himself Jerry Seinfeld, ‘Friends‘ might’ve got its motivation for the show, from the competition itself.

Jerry Seinfeld Claims ‘Friends’ Copied His Show

The two shows have parallels that for certain, heck they’ve even had similar guest stars. Courteney Cox appeared on ‘Seinfeld‘ during the earlier days while Jason Alexander also played a minor cameo, being asked about his toner needs by Pheobe.

According to Jerry Seinfeld, a lot of what fans saw on ‘Friends’ was a copy of his show, especially given that it started four years prior.

He went on a bit of a rant discussing the show, though some fans think he might’ve been joking around. If you ask us, he sounds pretty serious.

“No it’s with better looking people,” Seinfeld responded.

“We thought, ‘They want to do our show with better looking people, that’s what they’re doing here.’ And we thought, ‘That should work!’”

Jerry would also imply that since ‘Seinfeld‘ started before, ‘Friends’ was able to take notes and find success. Larry David would also chime in on the matter and he agreed with the star of the show.

“He’s right,” David said. “We all knew it. Just look at it … a group of friends in New York.”

Although ‘Friends‘ fans might not be too pleased with the comments, the cast can thank the sitcom star for his pay on the show, which would grow into $1 million per episode.

At the time, such a salary was truly unheard of. During its final seasons, the cast of ‘Friends‘ was able to structure a similar deal and without an influence like Jerry, who knows if they would’ve got such terms.

Fans Are Still Split Between The Shows

When it comes to the shows, both sets of fans have passionate fan bases, who might’ve refused to watch the other show.

Fans would chime in on Reddit, giving their opinion on the superior show. According to one fan, there might be a bias for those that watched television during the ’80s and their love for ‘Seinfeld’.

“Growing up in the 80s I was a huge Jerry Seinfeld fan. When I heard he was getting his own tv series I was amazed. My favorite comedian was going to be on tv every week? Well, as it turned out, no. From that amazingly low episode count first season it was a tough slog for the series. But I hung on and many more people joined me along the way.”

According to another fan, ‘Friends‘ had more of a series feel to it, “I think there’s an argument to be made that Friends pulls ahead when considered as a series. Seinfeld was 100% content to not really tell stories or to have anything much happen to its characters over time. In fact, it was often openly defiant about that expectation – it’s a show about nothing, after all. That is 110% a perfectly acceptable way to write a comedy, and I definitely don’t think that dramatic arcs and character development would have improved Seinfeld in the least.”

To sum up, most fans thought ‘Seinfeld’ was a groundbreaking sitcom while ‘Friends’ had a lot of heart when it came to its show.