3. The Characters Are Too Old Now
One of the reason that the show became so successful was because of the characters ages. The show documented their lives from about 25 35 (roughly) and thus attracted mass appeal. Unlike other shows, which usually centre on either teenagers or serious adults,
Friends had adults who, essentially, behaved like teenagers. Therefore, the writers were unrestrained and it left practically nothing off the table, nothing that they could talk about. Adults appreciated the black sarcasm (Chandler Bing we love you!), teenagers got a giggle from the constant sexual innuendos and younger kids enjoyed the slapstick, physical comedy elements. However, almost ten years on, I doubt the characters would be as appealing in any of those senses. With marriages, kids and new houses it would be disconcerting to have people in the 40s behaving how they did ten years ago. Also, age is often a characteristic of the Other in fiction and unfortunately,
Friends had fairly conventional main cast: six young, attractive, white Americans with decent careers. As I said before, its not like
Sex, or even Courtney Coxs
CougarTown, which are essentially dramas with comedic elements, where older adults have a kind of Other lifestyles (e.g. single, divorced). Most of
Friends settled into fairly traditional lifestyles. So, I honestly think it could be too difficult to drum up a storyline funny enough for people their age. The only recent sitcom which portrays Otherness well is
The Big Bang Theory but, of course, the characters are the age the
Friends were ten years ago. As harsh as it sounds, the sitcom is a fairly traditional format with characters that are rather three-dimensional. The Other individuals are often quirky background characters used for extra comedic foil, such as Gunter in
Friends, Sophie in
TwoBrokeGirls, Karen and Rosario in
Will & Grace and Berta in
Two and a Half Men.