FRIENDS maker Marta Kauffman accepts cast lacked diversity, says 'It's a product of time'

FRIENDS remains to be the best sitcom to date and fans of the show keep wanting more of it, even as its last episode was aired a decade ago. The sitcom has garnered accolades worldwide, however, it too has some dark corners. 

While many people love the show for its versatility and comedy, critics of the show have been pointing out the lack of diversity in the cast of the show. The show has only featured white people, with only a few people of color in all its series. Recently, the makers of the show have accepted critic’s arguments and acknowledged the fact that the show had not been able to project a cast of diverse people from various races or colors. 

In an interview with the CNN, Marta Kauffman, co-maker of the show explained the reason behind the same and said that she is apologetic for the same. She was a part of the CNN special History of the Sitcom when the fans had brought up the common sentiment felt by a lot of people over the period.

Expressing her sentiments, Sheryl Lee Ralph, former Designing Women actress said, “I never watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S because they could not possibly find a way to add anybody of color.” 

It was a product of Time says Marta Kauffman

To which, Marta Kauffman, who has already apologized for the show’s lack of diversity, explained that it was an unintentional error as she never thought of it. She also said that it was made at a time when inter-racial shows were not being made. Either there were black shows or white shows.

In the CNN show, Kauffman said, “It was, to a certain extent, a product of the period. And of my ignorance. “There were black shows and there were white shows. There weren’t a lot of shows that were interracial.” 

Who were two non-white actors in 'FRIENDS’?

The show has been aired for more than a decade and in its entirety, prominently only two of the supporting cast members were non-white. Both these non-white actors had played the role of Ross’s (David Schimmer) girlfriends -- Charlie Wheeler (season 9) and Kristen Lang (season 7). In another interview, Schwimmer accepted that he had to force the makers to bring some versatility in the show’s cast, he told The Guardian.

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