The Handmaid’s Tale is not friendly by nature, even when actual Friends show up. One of Season 2’s most bizarre moments almost didn’t happen, as producers reveal a labyrinthine process to get brief footage of a classic Friends episode into Gilead.
At long last, Carol Burnett is coming to Netflix with A Little Help. The revered comedienne’s new kids-themed talk show has officially set a May premiere for all twelve episodes. Check out the first teaser and get the full list of guests, from Billy Eichner to Taraji P. Henson.
Now that CBS has reached back through time to bring Murphy Brown to 2018, the age of revivals is truly upon us. Many have long-viewed Friends as the Holy Grail of potential reunion series, but star Lisa Kudrow now dismisses the prospect as “sad.” Is she right?
Beck Bennett has a recurring character on Saturday Night Live named Mr. Patterson; he’s sometimes referred to as the “Baby Boss.” He has the body of a 30-year-old and the mannerisms of a 12-month-old. As the subject of an occasional sketch, it’s hilarious; Bennett nails an infant’s unsteady movements perfectly. I’m not sure I would ever want to see an entire movie about the Baby Boss, though, particularly after watching the entire movie of The Boss Baby, the new DreamWorks Animation feature that inverts Bennett’s schtick (instead of a businessman acting like a baby, here’s a baby acting like a businessman) but never really lands on a joke beyond “It sure is funny when a baby wears a suit! It thinks it’s people!”
In the decade-plus that’s passed since the series ended, it’s become increasingly clear that Lisa Kudrow was the best actor on Friends. Maybe we were too preoccupied with Rachel’s hair and perfecting our Joey impressions to notice it then, but thanks to the generous gift of hindsight, it seems glaringly obvious now. Despite David Schwimmer’s excellent Juice-fueled turn on The People v. O.J. Simpson, and Jennifer Aniston’s typically solid and, sure, occasionally good roles, it’s Kudrow who has proven herself as the most consistently great actor of the bunch. Why, then, has Hollywood been neglecting her so much in recent years? Why are films like Neighbors and The Girl on the Train wasting her on nothing, throwaway roles with a maximum screen time of three minutes?
Few moments in life are as revealing as the one where you find your dinner table at a wedding reception. So many things are suddenly brought into focus: whether your self-image is accurate or not, where you stand in the hierarchy of your friendships, and, most importantly, whether the bride and groom are really and truly worth the planet ticket and hotel room costs you just forked over. Everyone has been to a wedding where they are the odd person out and found themselves speaking to the childhood babysitter or the Semester at Sea acquaintance while starring longingly at the front of the dining room. It happens to everyone. It will happen to you.
NBC’s Friends may have given us one of the last great three-camera sitcoms, but might it have been so successful under the original title, Insomnia Café? Or with Jon Cryer as Chandler? Find an extra capable of working the espresso machine, as the 33rd episode of ‘You Think You Know TV?’ commandeers the couch at Central Perk for some friendly facts from Friends.