Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the creators of Friends, revealed in an interview that a network executive at NBC expressed reservations over Monica Geller’s conduct in the pilot. According to what this executive believed, the character would have lost her likability among viewers by sleeping with her coworker Paul “the wine guy” on their very first date.
Friends creators told The Times, “In trying to prove that the audience wouldn’t like Monica if she sleeps with a guy on the first date, [the network] distributed a little questionnaire to the audience at our dress rehearsal. And it was so skewed.”
The NBC executive also made the point that people watching such content might easily judge Monica’s actions harshly by distributing survey forms during a dress rehearsal. For instance, per Crane, one question asked, “When Monica sleeps with a guy on her first date, is she a) a slut or b) a harlot?”
However, many of the audience members wrote notes like “none of the above,” which were not listed as an option.
Crane elaborated how they justified Monica sleeping with Paul as something that made her relatable and sympathetic though the disagreement from TV executives was acrimonious. Eventually, Monica earned audience approval which validated their creator’s instincts.
In addition, this duo said, fan reactions influenced another major storyline: Monica and Chandler Bing’s relationship played by Courteney Cox and the late Matthew Perry. Originally meant to be only a brief fling, enthusiasm from fans in London turned it into one of the show’s most important plotlines. The dynamic duo began dating after sleeping together at Ross and Emily’s wedding in London. Their relationship came as a pleasant surprise accelerating one of the show’s biggest evolutionary storylines.
Kauffman reflected on how surprising it was that British fans received them warmly and how that helped determine what happened next between these two loved characters. The 67-year-old said, “We thought it would be a one-night stand. But they received such a strong reaction from the audience in London that it actually altered where we were going with the storyline.”
David Crane added that despite popular notions of the British being deemed reserved, audiences there really rallied behind Monica and Chandler.
