Joey, Chandler Almost Didn’t Live Across From Monica, Rachel

Are you able to think about a world the place Joey and Chandler didn’t stay throughout from Monica and Rachel? I’d moderately not — however it virtually occurred.

The beloved present’s manufacturing designer John Shaffner just lately revealed to Architectural Digest that his preliminary mannequin for the set of Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) New York Metropolis condominium featured an entrance space simply outdoors the hallway. However govt producer Kevin Shiny truly turned down the additional area for the pilot at first.

Shaffner recalled pushing again on the thought, telling Shiny on the time, “I believe we must always have one other working area for the efficiency. And don’t you assume that in the end the boys [Matt LeBlanc’s Joey and the late Matthew Perry‘s Chandler] ought to stay throughout the corridor?”

Shiny was in the end satisfied to go away the additional area, resulting in loads of memorable Mates moments in that hallway all through the present’s 10-season run, from 1994 to 2004.

Shaffner additionally revealed to AD that he initially had the 2 residences on the constructing’s prime ground for season one, as he thought it will be humorous to see the forged huffing and puffing each time they lastly reached the touchdown.

“It was a second we went, ‘Oh, can’t try this. That joke might be too outdated,’” Shaffner defined. “So we dropped them down a couple of flooring and by no means talked about it once more.” (Monica’s condominium quantity truly adjustments between seasons one and two.)

The design for the present’s New York Metropolis condominium constructing was additionally notably private for Shaffner because it was almost similar to his outdated sixth-floor walk-up in Manhattan that he shared along with his associate Joe Stewart. All through his time creating the units, he continued to tug from real-life recollections and particulars to assist deliver the Mates world to life.

“Our world of New York that we created for 10 years [in the show] was, in a bizarre sort of manner, a smooth touchdown place of New York,” he stated. “We romanticized it. I imply, the place else would you allow your condominium door unlocked?”