Where Was Friends Filmed and Set
Friends was set in Manhattan, New York City, with the primary filming location at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. The show ran for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004 and was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The apartment interiors and the Central Perk coffee shop were built on soundstages at the Burbank lot, which remains one of the most recognizable production facilities in the industry Forbes.
The exterior establishing shots of the apartment building were filmed at 90 Bedford Street in the West Village, while the iconic fountain scene was shot at the Warner Bros. Ranch lot. The show's creators, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, based the series on their experiences living in New York City after college, and the writing room in Burbank shaped the long-running storylines and character arcs.
Key New York Locations Featured in Friends
Although the show was filmed in California, many real New York City locations were used for exterior shots and establishing scenes. The apartment building exterior at 90 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village is one of the most visited TV filming locations, attracting fans from around the world who want to see the brownstone where Monica and Rachel lived NYC Go.
Other notable New York spots include the exterior of the building used for the Friends apartment entrance, which was shot on a backlot set dressed to look like a West Village street. Central Perk was recreated on the Warner Bros. lot, but the show frequently cut to real Manhattan streets, cafés, and parks to ground the series in the city's geography and energy.
Production Companies, Studios, and Broadcast Details
Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with the series airing on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. The show was distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution, and the production offices were based at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, where the majority of interior scenes were shot.
The series was filmed on 35mm film using single-camera setups, and the pilot was shot at a different location before the show moved to the permanent Burbank stages. The final episode aired as a one-hour special and remains one of the most-watched series finales in television history, with the show's legacy continuing through streaming deals and syndication on platforms such as Max Max.