The One With ‘Pat the Cop’.
Whenever you think of a tight-knit group, Central Perk’s most famous customers are probably at the top of your list.
In fact, Chandler, Ross, Joey, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe are so close that anyone else coming into the group feels like something of an outsider.
Granted, that logic doesn’t apply to Mike (Paul Rudd) but hey, it’s Paul Rudd!
Over the years, characters like Eddie, Kathy, and Janice have all – in their own way – disrupted the harmony in the group but in a recent interview with EW, author Saul Austerlitz disclosed details about his new book, Generation Friends, in which it is disclosed that the show’s producers were close to introducing a seventh main character to the show.
After viewing the pilot for the first time, NBC were mostly hands-off in terms of providing notes and feedback.
However, after viewing the first episode of Marta Kauffman and David Crane’s sitcom they did ask for the addition of an older, secondary character.
Why?
Well, Austerlitz says: “NBC was concerned that if all the main characters were in their twenties, it would distinctly limit the series’ breakout appeal. An older character — even one that made only occasional appearances — could convince hesitant older viewers to check in with Friends Like Us (the original working title of the show).”
The creators agreed and wrote the character of ‘Pat the Cop’ into their scripts and even casted an actor in the role. Ultimately, they hated the final script so much that they pleaded with NBC to drop the idea.
To smooth things over with the network, Kauffman and Crane promised that if NBC dropped the idea of ‘Pat the Cop,’ they would give each of the main characters parents in notable supporting roles and find older guest stars to attract a more mature audience.
Thank God for that because if ‘Pat the Cop’ made his way into the final show, we probably wouldn’t have got as many scenes with Jack Geller.
We don’t want to imagine a world like that.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
