• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, December 19, 2024

A new Max game show tests the knowledge of “Friends” superfans about their favorite show on a truly granular level.

How granular? Among other things, these superfans -- six of them in the premiere episode that the TV Blog previewed on Wednesday -- are tasked with literally finishing the sentences of the “Friends” characters.

This requires an incredibly intimate knowledge of the entirety of “Friends,” a series of 236 episodes that ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC.

The show is said to be thriving in reruns both on legacy television and streaming. Indeed, the show has really never been off the air since its first-run finale in May 2004.

The development of this first-of-its-kind game show seems to be based on three things. One of them is the aforementioned enduring popularity of the show, not only on the part of the show’s original audience, but also the millions who discovered the show later.

The second thing is that 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the show’s premiere in 1994. On the show, host Whitney Cummings positions “Fast Friends” as a celebration of the anniversary.

The third thing is that “Friends” was produced by Warner Bros. Television, and is still under ownership by WB, now Warner Bros. Discovery.

The company also owns Max, which is where “Fast Friends” will be streaming starting Thursday (December 19).

The Warner ownership was likely important to the production of the game show because it liberally uses all the recognizable “Friends” graphics -- most notably the famous “Friends” type face.

The show’s opening is even styled like the famed opening titles of “Friends,” complete with the show’s familiar theme song, “I’ll Be There For You.” 

While the song plays, the six contestants cavort in front of a public fountain, just like their six idols from the original show.

The show uses sets that are straight out of the show too. These happen to be set up for the enjoyment of “Friends” fans at The Friends Experience, an immersive “Friends” attraction in Manhattan at East 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue.

“Fast Friends” is filmed at The Friends Experience, which is also identified as The One In New York City in the manner of the original show’s episode titles.

The name also differentiates the place from another one in Boston. Two are also reportedly in the works in Las Vegas and London (yes, in England).

The sets are all used for various challenges in “Fast Friends.” The locations include the apartment shared by Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) and Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), the apartment shared by Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and, of course, the Central Perk coffee shop.

On Episode One of “Fast Friends,” the six contestants are divided into three teams of two. The series itself has four, one-hour episodes.

The team names in Episode One are inspired by the sitcom -- The Rachels; Way, No Way (something said frequently by Joey and Chandler); and It’s a Bing Thing.

“Fast Friends” will appeal mainly to “Friends” fans, who are more than numerous enough to flock to this show and play along.

Personally, I have almost no knowledge of “Friends,” having rarely watched it. But I can understand having a depth of knowledge about a show right down to the dialogue.

I also have the kind of knowledge displayed on “Fast Friends” about other shows, among them “Seinfeld,” “The Honeymooners,” “Gilligan’s Island” and the Three Stooges.

Perhaps the “Fast Friends” spinoff idea can someday be expanded to include these shows and others -- a real Festivus for the rest of us.