Friends is an iconic American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004, spanning ten seasons. The show stars an ensemble cast including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer as six friends navigating life and careers in Manhattan, New York City. Originally developed under the working title Insomnia Cafe, the series was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, and became a cultural phenomenon. All ten seasons ranked in the top ten of the final ratings, with the show reaching #1 in its eighth season, and its finale drew approximately 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth-most-watched series finale in U.S. history. The show's success spawned a spin-off, Joey, and a reunion special, Friends: The Reunion, cementing its legacy as one of the most popular and highest-grossing television shows ever. The characters, such as the perfectionist chef Monica and the fashion-loving Rachel, became pop-culture icons, with storylines like Ross and Rachel's on-again, off-again romance defining the series.