FRIENDS

The group mostly hangs out at a coffee shop called Central Perk (where Rachel works as a waitress). Ross and Rachel have had been romantically involved countless times throughout the past eight seasons, and Monica and Chandler recently got married. The six are never alone, and even if they are fighting, they still stay together. They are like the friends we never had.
             Friends has remained at or near the top of the Nielsen ratings since it came out. The show has had incredible success because it appeals to the culture we have today. Most of the characters are the children of parents who are far more prosperous than they are. This is why they room together and share rent, to be able to afford to live in those apartments located in a trendy neighborhood. They put most of their effort in the relationships they have with their friends and lovers. The six friends live the life that is stereotypical of Generation X. The stereotype is of a generation prepared to accept a less prosperous life than their parents had, making up for it by having loving relationships instead of focusing on material success. The image of this supposed generation was marketed by advertisers in the mid 1990s which explains why Friends and numerous other shows like it appeared at this time. The character of Rachel is a perfect example of how the target market for the show is Generation X. She came from an upper class family, and instead of marrying Barry, an orthodontist who would have provided her with economic security, she preferred to work as a waitress and have the emotional contentment of living with her friends. The millions of viewers who are in their twenties who are struggling to have economic success because the America they live in has changed, can see themselves dramatized in the characters of Friends. When we watch the show, we automatically wish that we lived the lives that those six friends live. They are like the friends we never had.