20 best sitcom squads we want to be friends with

1. Friends

Members: As if you need a reminder who’s in the ultimate sextet, the six main cast members of TV’s most enduring sitcom, Friends, helped define sitcom friend groups. Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courteney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Ross (David Schwimmer) were there for each other and us for 10 seasons and 236 episodes. After a decade of laughs, they more than earned their keep as the best sitcom friend group ever.

Memorable Moments: From the minute they became an official six with Rachel’s arrive at — where else? — Central Perk in the pilot, this gang shared nothing but unforgettable adventures together. They endured a blackout, searched for Ross’ missing monkey, weathered the worst breakup (break?), and took chaotic trips to the beach, England, Las Vegas, and Barbados. Their best moments as a unit are too plentiful to count, but swapping apartments, playing a game of chicken to out Monica and Chandler’s relationship, and all of those Thanksgivings are all-time highs.

Running Gags: Friends was much less reliant on running gags for long periods of time than other sitcoms and those that would follow in its footsteps. Each character had their common quirks and quotes, such as Joey’s “How you doin’?”, Ross’s early downtrodden “Hi,” Monica’s “I know!”, and Chandler’s inflection of the word “be” in a question. Of course, there was Ross and Monica’s coded gesture for giving the finger, Phoebe’s music and Regina Phalange alias, the chick and the duck, and who could forget their morbid fascination with the Ugly Naked Guy?

Key Episodes: “The One with the Prom Video,” “The One Where No One’s Ready,” “The One with the Embryos,” “The One Where Everybody Finds Out,” “The One Where They’re Up All Night.”

Which sitcom friend groups are your favorite? Share your picks in the comments!