The age-old debate goes back decades: Which is better, Friends or Seinfeld? Well, we are here today to tell you that though we can’t definitely state which is better, we can say that it seems like Friends is more pervasive in our society today than Seinfeld is. Here’s why:
The show ran from 1994 to 2004 and corresponded with the transformational decade of migrating from email to Facebook. Everyone in the show is young and simple and carefree (for the most part), but they do not have Tinder, Facebook, or smartphones. It is perfectly nostalgic for people who miss when everyone wasn’t glued to their phones. Meanwhile, Seinfeld ran from 1989 to 1998, so it is a little too old for some generations today.
Friends ran from 1994 to 2004 and corresponded with the transformational decade of migrating from email to Facebook. Seinfeld ran from 1989 to 1998, so just out of touch with today’s generations.Friends is as popular as it ever was to watch, and shockingly, it is popular among a cohort of young people who are only just now discovering it. The couch, the couch, is available for people to sit on at the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California. In a complex that also has sets and props from Harry Potter and The Dark Knight, most people want to see Friends. A guide at the studio told Vulture that “Friends is definitely the biggest attraction.” People have gotten engaged on the replica couch at the studio, and people cry “all the time.”
Tom’s Restaurant, from Seinfeld, is iconic, but just doesn’t reach couch status. However, owner Mike Zoulis told Vulture that 5 to 10 percent of his customers are come to the diner at 112th and Broadway because of the show.
Friends still draws a weekly audience of 16 million in the U.S., according to Vulture, bit enough viewership to make it a viable hit on current network TV (that number is not even including screening). Plus, in the U.K., ratings for Friends repeats are growing. It was clearly still so popular that in Jan. 2015, Netflix bought every episode, all 236 over 10 season, so 88 hours worth, for an undisclosed sum. Seinfeld re-runs are available on TV, and Hulu did pick it up — 706,000 U.S. viewers within the first five days they were available on Hulu — but it does not appear to be binge-watched in the same way.
Teens these days still see Friends as a show that, while funny, also teaches real-life lessons. You can find endless Buzzfeed quizzes about the show, like “72 Truths Friends Taught You About Life In Your Twenties” and “23 of Monica Geller’s Most Iconic Lines on Friends”. The show is relatable to teens now, many of whom are facing uncertain job prospects. And those who watched it when it first aired can reminisce about where they were in life when it first came out — maybe they really related to Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel or Ross and can now see how far they’ve come.
Many of the iconic lines, like Monica’s: “Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it,” where meant for a different generation. But 20-somethings don’t care. The notion has an enduring appeal, writes Vulture, and sometimes the world feels suckier than ever. And you couldn’t remake the show now, because just hanging out with friends in a room, without the TV on, just talking, doesn’t really happen in the same way anymore. For those who watched the show when it aired, it provides a way to look back at simpler times and remember what it was like.
Seinfeld was always just humor, so it doesn’t strike as many audiences today. Rachel and Ross in FriendsThere is no real reason why Seinfeld doesn’t provide this same nostalgia. Maybe it’s because the plotlines were much less serious, “always funny, no real world stuff.”
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