Friends is perhaps the most diplomatically named TV show series of all time. Rather than giving the limelight to one character in particular, the title emphasised the show’s focus was the group as a whole. And that’s part of why we love it so goddamn much.
Each member of the six-strong squad squad had their own moments to shine and, true to ensemble cast form, we all had our own favourite.
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But it turns out that, despite the show’s inclusive title, it might’ve had a lead character after all.
After watching ‘The One With Ross’ Tan’ (a classic ep, IMO), data scientist/high-key Friends fan, Yashu Seth, decided to use their skills to determine if there’s one character the show preferences over the rest. And there is.
Shiiiiiiiit.
As Metro reports, Yashu explained the multiple parameters used to determine the leading Friends character on their blog.
After discounting screen time as an indicator, Yashu went through all 10 seasons to see which character had the most lines, appearances, individual scenes and episode titles featuring their name.
All four metrics revealed two clear leaders: Rachel and Ross.
But, when it got down to the nitty gritty, it seems Ross took out the top spot with over 9,000 lines, and significantly more solo scenes.
“It is really close between Ross and Rachel. But, Ross beats Rachel by a significant margin in the individual scene appearances. Besides, there was very little difference between them in the other parameters. Hence, I will have to give it to Ross.”
I personally find this very surprising given I don’t know anybody who’s favourite character is Ross, but hey.
The report also found that the least prominent character was Phoebe, with just 7,000 lines and the least screen appearances.
Poor Phoebz.
Meanwhile, the most iconic duo award goes to none other than Chandler and Joey.
The more you know, huh?
