The Iconic Friends Set May Be In Danger, Lisa Kudrow Says
And she’s trying to save it.
Friends fans have spent countless hours hanging out in Central Perk or Monica’s apartment, and those beloved sets still exist on the Warner Bros. studio lot. But that may change soon. Thankfully, Lisa Kudrow is doing her best to keep these iconic spaces undisturbed.
Kudrow gave a tour of her Warner Bros. home for 10 years in a recent Architectural Digest video, sharing memories of how Friends moved from the smaller Stage 5 to the much larger Stage 24 as the series became a hit. Once she reached the show’s recognizable soundstage, Kudrow made an impassioned plea to the next owners of this lot.
“I don’t know if Warner Bros. is just special to me, or if it’s special to the whole city or industry. I think it is. Ownership changes all the time and you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Kudrow said. “I think most people really hope whatever happens next is that this studio lot is preserved as is. It works. I mean, we just shot here. Whoever buys it you don’t need to change anything! Congrats … please don’t remove Jack Warner’s roses.”
Kudrow’s statement comes amid several acquisition offers from other entertainment companies hoping to take control of Warner Bros. Currently, Netflix seems to be the prospective new owner, although Paramount Skydance is also battling for control.
Friends filmed on Stage 24 from 1994 to 2004, and it’s home to all of the show’s most notable set pieces, including the fountain from the theme song and the big orange couch from Central Perk. The cast revisited the stage a few years ago to film Friends: The Reunion in 2021.
Kudrow has returned to Stage 24 much more recently — she filmed the third season of her show The Comeback on that same set in late 2025. It’s unclear exactly how or why a new Warner Bros. owner may alter the long-standing studio lot, but there have clearly been enough rumblings in Hollywood to cause Kudrow to fear for the preservation of these landmark spaces.
