Former Friends writer talks bad experience with cast: ‘They rarely had anything positive to say’

It’s been nearly two decades now (how?!) since the beloved sitcom Friends came to an end, but the show has still maintained popularity over the years as new generations have begun their watches and the cast has continued to talk about their experience. And while we’ve heard so many great things about the show behind the scenes, we’ve also heard some not-so-great reveals.

The Friends cast got together for the reunion special in 2021, which proved to be an awesome treat for fans. But even that was clouded with some controversy when actor Larry Hankin, who played Mr. Heckles, came out to say producers did not want him to appear in the special. He also recalled unfair treatment from the show.

It’s true that not every single person in a production will have a great experience, but it’s been interesting to see how varied some of the comments have been when it comes to working on Friends.

Most recently, a former TV writer who worked on Friends named Patty Lin released a memoir about her experience writing for Hollywood. End Credits: How I Broke Up with Hollywood details her time in the writers’ room for major shows like Freaks & Geeks, Breaking Bad, Desperate Housewives, and of course, Friends. Unfortunately, she didn’t have great things to say about her experience on Friends; specifically, she didn’t enjoy working with the cast.

As reported by Deadline, Lin felt like the cast of Friends didn’t appreciate the scripts she worked on, noting that the actors “seemed unhappy to be chained to a tired old show when they could be branching out.” The cast apparently expressed their opinions “vociferously” when they did not like something in the script, with Lin explaining:

"“They rarely had anything positive to say, and when they brought up problems, they didn’t suggest feasible solutions. Seeing themselves as guardians of their characters, they often argued that they would never do or say such-and-such. That was occasionally helpful, but overall, these sessions had a dire, aggressive quality that lacked all the levity you’d expect from the making of a sitcom.”"

Lin also went on to explain that in the years since her time on Friends, she realized she had imposter syndrome and felt “alone” as the only Asian writer in many of the projects she worked on:

"“But imposter syndrome, I later learned, is a common experience for racial minorities who work in fields where they lack representation,” she explained. “As the only Asian writer in many rooms, I felt so alone, buckling under the pressure to represent my entire race and prove that I deserved a seat at the table—or a spot on that stage.”"

The former Friends writer said the only thing she learned from her experience is that she “never wanted to work on a sitcom again.” Though Lin is no longer working as a writer in Hollywood, I’d still call her career a success. She worked on some of the biggest shows on TV, and she was even nominated for an Emmy Award in 2005 when Desperate Housewives was up for Outstanding Comedy Series.

At this time, none of the Friends cast members have responded to Lin’s comments.