Lisa Kudrow Reveals Shocking Conversation with Jerry Seinfeld at a Party
"Friends" star Lisa Kudrow recalls her conversation with 'Seinfeld' star Jerry Seinfeld regarding their sitcom's success.
Lisa Kudrow is widely known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in "Friends", an American television sitcom that aired from 1994 to 2004, which was awarded 62 Primetime Emmy awards. The series had a total of 236 episodes.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Kudrow talks about an encounter she had during the early days of her sitcom with Jerry Seinfeld, the star of the sitcom "Seinfeld". Both actors played roles in comedy sitcoms from NBC in the 1990s.
The actress recalled, "I remember going to some party and Jerry Seinfeld was there, and I said, 'Hi,' and he said, 'You're welcome.'"
Kudrow, confused, responded "Why, thank you... what?". Apparently, Seinfeld had added context, saying "You're on after us in the summer, and you're welcome." implying that the success of 'Friends' was due to the show being aired next to "Seinfeld".
The comedy actress was surprised at how the "Seinfeld" star was taking partial credit for the success of Friends at that time, but Kudrow had gracefully responded with "That's exactly right. Thank you."
The 59-year-old actress, however, clarified that the first season of their ratings were doing alright even before their air-time with "Seinfeld" during the summer.
"Not to take anything away from the writing on 'Friends,' or the cast, or how good 'Friends' really was, but the first season our ratings were just fine," Kudrow explained.
Who Actually Won The Rivalry?
Before Friends in 1994, Jerry Seinfeld's show "Seinfeld" in 1989 had ran for nine seasons before wrapping up in 1998. Fans have been in a never-ending debate on who really won the sit-com rivalry as both shows have become some of the "most popular of all time" in the comedy genre.
Jerry Seinfeld had made some snide remarks at their rival show, implying that "Friends" had copied "Seinfeld". Coincidentally, both sitcoms are about a group of friends living in New York.
According to a review by The Things, "Seinfeld had the better ratings, but Friends has a more profitable legacy."
Seinfeld wins with 26.6 million during its run while "Friends" had an average of 23.6 million. However, Lisa Kidrow and her co-stars' show had "something special" on its own, as the sitcom continued for 10 years with great ratings. In 2021, the cast came back together for an Emmy-nominated reunion special on HBO Max.
