When Friends premiered in 1994, no one could have predicted that it would become a massive hit, propelling all six stars—Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer—and their characters into the cultural zeitgeist to the point that lines like “We were on a break!” instantly conjure up memories of an entire decade-long courtship between two people none of us have met.
What’s more interesting, though, is how long the show’s popularity has lasted since it went off the air in 2004. It’s still headline news when Cox says she’s binge-watching the show. Look in the background of the Vanderpump Rules cast members’ homes and you’ll see that iconic peephole frame. Even Taylor Swift performed “Smelly Cat” during her 1989 World Tour, with the help of Kudrow herself.
But what makes Friends so memorable, relatable, and re-watchable isn’t the one-off jokes or meme-able moments (though, they certainly help): It’s the characters. Friends is about everyday people hanging out and growing up. That’s the whole premise of the show, and yet it feels so magical.
The only reason any of the plot lines had stakes—the only reason it even mattered who lived where and slept with who—was that we were invested in the characters. Audiences connected with and cared about Chandler, Phoebe, Ross, Rachel, Monica, and Joey. They were the heart and soul of the show. The essential premise and set-up didn’t change from season to season, so character growth became the ultimate goal of the series. As we watched the six Friends age in real time, we felt like we got to know them and determine what was good for them—or, more important, what wasn’t.
I’d argue that the quality of the writing on Friends had its ebbs and flows, as it does on any long-running series, but stayed, overall, very high. Most moments felt earned, and the show never resorted to gimmicks to keep audiences interested. Friends stayed true to its tone for a full decade. There are no “bad” episodes—all of them have at least one great storyline happening. But even so, there are certain areas that yielded funny, fruitful, memorable plots (love triangles!) and certain areas that did…not. (Remember when Ross had a pet monkey?)
With character, jokes, individual episodes and overarching themes all taken into consideration, I’ve ranked the 10 seasons of Friends from worst to best. Or, more accurately, these are ranked from most uneven to most completely stellar.
It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.
Like the rest of the country, you’re probably looking forward to the holidays. But in the world of Hallmark, it’s already Christmas…and has been since October 27, when the network started debuting its original holiday movie premieres. Hallmark’s annual “Countdown to Christmas” programming has made the Hallmark Channel the highest-rated and most-watched cable network this season. And I attribute that, in no small part, to me.
I’ve watched hundreds of hours of Hallmark Channel Christmas programming this year. In January, I re-watched my favorites on DVR, mourning the passing of Christmas. In July, I celebrated the return of Hallmark’s “Christmas Keepsake Week,” which is, you guessed it, a full week of Hallmark holiday movies right when I need it most. To me, summer is a season to endure on the way to Christmas, and Hallmark was there to get me through.
And now, I’ve once again immersed myself in the world of Hallmark, a dream world where the small-town guy and the big city girl always find each other, where you can step away in the middle of the movie but come back later and still know exactly what’s happening, and where the plots always follow a predictable path toward a guaranteed happy ending. Basically, it’s the world we all need right now as we try to make it out of 2018 in one piece.
So, in the Hallmark spirit of sharing, I’ve ranked all 22 of Hallmark’s 2018 “Countdown to Christmas” premieres based on what I’ve seen so far. But, to be fair, each and every holiday Hallmark movie is objectively excellent. And don’t worry about there being spoilers in this list—because as we all know, Hallmark movies inherently spoil themselves, anyway.
Plus, if you find yourself burning through these 22 original Hallmark Christmas movies too fast—no judgment here, fam—fear not: There are plenty more on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel for your viewing pleasure. (See a full list here.) Happy viewing and happy holidays to all!
Halloween is only a few weeks away, which means you have to squeeze in as many scary movie marathons as you can. I don’t make the rules! That’s just what you do in October! Thankfully, there are plenty of new spooky, semi-spooky, and not-spooky-but-still-spooky things premiering this month to enjoy if you’ve already worn out Hocus Pocus. Well, actually, you can never wear out Hocus Pocus, but these 22 new movies and TV shows are great to watch in between screenings. Here they are, below, ranked by scariness.
In dead last for scariness (but first place for deliciousness) is the new Netflix series about a baker who fills her home with all sorts of spooky confections, crafts, and creatures. But creepy in, like, the fun way.
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Want to see how Disney World suits up for Halloween? Tune in to this annual special, which shows how much work it takes to make the happiest place on earth haunted.
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Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and several of the OG cast members from Hocus Pocus (no Bette Midler, though) reunite for this twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the beloved film. There will be music, drag queens, and a heavy dose of nostalgia. What more could you want, really?
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It’s hard to believe Wicked debuted on Broadway 15 years ago, but Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, and special guests like Ariana Grande are getting together to celebrate it. It’s time to try defying gravity.
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Aside from that creepy dummy with the chattering mouth, not much about the second Goosebumps movie is capital-S scary—despite what the title might suggest.
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Comedy-horror series tend to lean more on the comedy than horror, and Stan Against Evil is no exception. Season three of the hit IFC series debuts tonight.
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The title of this thriller is pretty self-explanatory: A seemingly normal 17-year-old girl’s world is flipped upside down when she stars exhibiting zombielike symptoms. Because this is a Lifetime movie, though, expect more over-the-top laughs than actual scares—which, let’s be real, is more fun, anyway.
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Madeleine Mantock, Melonie Diaz, and Sarah Jeffery are the stars of this 2018 take on Charmed. There’s a feminist tone that drives this reboot, making it both fitting and fun for the times.
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From Hulu comes a classic teen thrill ride that will surely satiate your appetite for movies like Prom Night and When a Stranger Calls. This story centers on a group of teenage girls who must deal with the supernatural aftermath of playing a game of Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board. The horror part comes in when they start dying off in the exact same way the game predicted.
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Based on a true story, this movie centers on two 12-year-old girls who think a monster in the woods will hurt them and their families unless they give it a human sacrifice. So they plot to kill their other friend, who miraculously survives the attack, leading to the arrest of her two friends.
Make no mistake: This isn’t a remake of the classic nineties series starring Melissa Joan Hart. Instead, we’re introduced to a new Sabrina, played by Kiernan Shipka, who must decide on her sixteenth birthday if she wants to stay mortal or become fully a witch—and give her soul to the devil in the process.
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Because what’s scarier to watch on Halloween than a group of people investigating actual paranormal activity in real time?
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Actually, I know the answer to that: monsters. It’s scarier watching people try to find monsters.
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Kim Cattrall stars in this new series from CBS All Access, in which your favorite childhood stories are retold through a psychological thriller lens.
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The second season of this gripping and creepy series will document the appeals of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, who were found guilty in 2007 for the murder of Teresa Halbach.
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The second season of this horror anthology series, based on the popular podcast, will be available on Amazon streaming on October 19. Each episode has its own self-contained—and horrifying— story, so it’s hard to say what you should expect. Besides, ya know, scariness.
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Syfy’s genuinely terrifying anthology show is back with a whole new Creepypasta story. This one centers on a newlywed couple who discovers a hidden door in their house.
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Dan Stevens stars in this atmospheric period film about a brother who travels to an isolated island to rescue her sister from a cult that kidnapped her.
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Based on the 1959 book of the same name, this new series from Netflix follows a family who returns to their old house and rediscovers all the eerie reasons they left it in the first place.
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The truth is always stranger (and scarier) than fiction, which is why this new Netflix series—in which real people retell their experiences with the paranormal—will send a shiver down your spine.
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Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton star in this truly disturbing remake of the classic seventies horror film, in which a young American dancer joins a prestigious Berlin ballet academy unaware of the fact that it’s run by witches.
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It would feel wrong if this highly anticipated sequel didn’t top our list. Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that made her a household name, only this time she’s older, wiser, and hellbent on killing Michael Myers when he returns to her neighborhood on Halloween night.
