Friends Manipulated The Audience's Boos After The Episode Revealed A Guest Star Was Leaving For Good

Throughout its ten seasons, Friends had some fantastic guest-stars. The likes of Brad Pitt were pure entertainment battling it out with Rachel in his Thanksgiving cameo. The show had other popular guest stars, and one of them included Paget Brewster. Playing the role of Kathy, Brewster had a tricky storyline playing the love interest of both Chandler and Joey. In the end, Kathy leaves the circle after she cheats on Chandler. Fans hated the way it ended, but appreciated Kathy’s chemistry with Chandler.

Brewster did get some validation on her final day of shooting. For a split second, she actually thought the audience’s reaction might extend her run on the show. Let’s recap what unfolded, and more.

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Paget Brewster Was Secretly Happy After The Audience Booed Her Departure, But The Producers Decided To Reshoot The Scene

Playing the role of Kathy on Friends, a love interest of both Joey and Chandler, the character’s journey on the show was initially meant for one episode. However, Paget Brewster revealed that number was constantly changing. It eventually climbed to six. Sadly, she realized during the sixth episode it would be her last, but she decided to soak up every moment. Brewster literally climbed to the very top of the stage, and witnessed her character’s official exit from above. It was a sneaky move but one she doesn’t regret. “When I was guesting on Friends, when I wasn’t in a scene on shoot nights, I climbed up into the lighting catwalks above the stage and audience to watch everyone,” she tweeted. “A huge insurance no no. I regret none of it.”

Speaking alongside uInterview, Brewster made another interesting reveal. The actress had a proud moment as she noticed the audience booing when it was revealed that her character was leaving. However, after the shoot take place, the producers and cast got together and reshot the scene, this time wanting a different reaction from the audience.

Brewster revealed, “The audience was bummed out that Kathy was going to be gone. I was like, ‘Maybe they won’t write me out.’ Then all the writers huddled with the cast and they rewrote the thing. And then it was like, ‘Oh no, Kathy blew it.'”

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Despite the tough exit, Brewster had a blast during her time on the show, and revealed she still gets noticed by fans for her guest-starring role.

“What they recognize is the voice. Because what happens is I’ll be talking to someone or in a restaurant and I see a person next to me, they freeze, and then they slowly turn around and they go, ‘Kathy, you’re Kathy,’ and it’s because they recognize my voice. It’s amazing,” Brewster tells
TV Insider.

Paget Brewster’s Friends Character Was Popular Among Many Fans, But Fans Hated The Way She Left

Brewster’s time on the show as Kathy was certainly bitter-sweet among fans. On one hand, some fans thought Kathy was a better match for Chandler than Monica. On the flip side, fans hated the way the story ended abruptly. In a Reddit thread discussing the worst Friends storylines, Kathy’s romance with Chandler was deemed as one of the biggest disappointments.

A fan wrote, “Good storylines ruined by the endings: Kathy and Chandler esp, and Pete and Monica.” Another fan added, I hated how Kathy and Chandler’s relationship ended after all that buildup, but it’s almost worth it just to have that one scene where Chandler goes: “You don’t have to stop having fun just cause I’m here – Kathy didn’t cheat on all of you” and then he walks by Joey and goes, “Well… except you” and they both hug hahaha”

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In terms of Kathy’s overall chemistry with Chandler, multiple fans actually preferred it compared to Monica and Chandler.

Reddit fans shared their thoughts on Kathy:

• “I absolutely love Kathy for Chandler, if he and Monica would never have happened. I don’t like how they first got together, but I also know you can’t help who you’re attracted to (though they could’ve handled it better). They just had a natural attraction and, initially, a very easy rapport. I hate they broke up and I hate she cheated on Chandler.”
• “I loved her as a character, wish she would have had a longer story arc. She and Chandler split too soon.”

From a general standpoint, most fans wanted to see her storyline prolonged.

Lisa Kudrow Was Annoyed By The Constant Reshoots Over The Audience’s Reaction

Speaking of audience reactions, Lisa Kudrow absolutely hated the emphasis producers put on the way the studio reacted to a certain scene. In Kudrow’s opinion, the shoot was meant for the viewers at home and not the reaction from the audience. Speaking alongside Conan, Kudrow revealed it was the part of Friends she hated shooting the most.

“They were laughing for too long. It wasn’t that funny. It irritated me. Now you’re just running the timing of the show. Really angry. A TV show is not for the studio audience, it’s made for the viewers at home. If it were a stageplay, laugh as long as you want. It’s being filmed, and I’m standing there. We did so many takes, that did stop laughing. And they’d make the writers think it wasn’t funny. It took six to eight hours to shoot a half hour episode.”

Although it was annoying, Friends always put the fans first, and listened to their audience.

Friends

Release Date

September 22, 1994

Seasons

10

Story By

Marta Kauffman

Writers

David Crane , Marta Kauffman

Network

NBC

Directors

David Crane , Marta Kauffman

Showrunner

Marta Kauffman

Where To Watch

Max

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