There are so many examples of popular TV shows that formed great spinoffs — for example, Breaking Bad spawned Better Call Saul; All in the Family gave us The Jeffersons and many others; and Young Sheldon came from The Big Bang Theory. It’s surprising, then, that Friends — one of the best sitcoms of all time — inspired just one series (a failed spinoff at that) in Joey. Turns out, things could have been different if not for one big “no” from Jennifer Aniston.
Joey, starring Matt LeBlanc, premiered four months after Friends’ “The Last One” in 2004. However, it turns out the New York Knicks-obsessed, food-loving soap opera actor was not the first character NBC wanted to center a spinoff around. According to executive producer Kevin Bright, it was Jennifer Aniston who was first approached. He told Collider:
