21 Problems Only Friends Fans Will Understand

9. Discovering Central Perk Isn't Real

NBC

So much of Friends takes place in the coffee shop, Central Perk, that it could almost be considered as an extra cast member. It's where Rachel (and Joey) worked, Phoebe sang, and the whole gang would hang out at, squeezed onto the orange sofa, with one on the green chair to the side, and another on the little table and chair at the other end.

It's one of TV's iconic locations, and every Friends fan dreams of visiting it and sitting on that sofa, ordering a cup of coffee from a man with hair brighter than the sun. It's a terrible moment, then, when you realise that this wonderful place isn't actually real, and is just part of the set in the show's LA-based Warner Bros. studios.

You can go visit it, and have your picture taken sitting on the couch (if you're a Friends fan and in or going to LA, it's definitely worth doing), while to celebrate the 20th anniversary there was a pop-up coffee house created, complete with props from the show. It's scant consolation, however, for realising that the whole Central Perk ideal was a lie.

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.