10 Great TV Shows With One Major Flaw

1. A Lack Of Diversity - Friends

The Expanse Holden
NBC

Friends is one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, which remained phenomenally popular throughout its 10 seasons and endures as a huge revenue-driver on streaming services to this very day.

Yet watching Friends today in our more enlightened present, there is one gripe which stands out among all others - the flabbergasting lack of diversity.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with the six focal characters all being white, the fact that they encounter so few people of colour in New York - one of the most ethnically diverse cities on the planet - is baffling.

Across the show's 236 episodes, barely two-dozen Black characters are featured, almost all of them being minor one-offs rather than substantial or memorable supporting players.

Now, Friends is undeniably a product of its time like any other show produced decades ago, and its lack of diversity doesn't make it any less fun or entertaining, though its staggeringly white depiction of New York will be undeniably jarring to anyone who's ever lived in or even just visited the place.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.