Top 7 "Friends"-like shows available on Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Top 7 "Friends"-like shows available on Netflix, Hulu, etc.

"Friends" is one of the most influential and instantly recognizable sitcoms in television history. You know when to clap when you hear the theme song. Even the casual viewer will recognize the main set of the Central Park café. And thousands of women in those early days learned firsthand that not everyone can have the haircut that came to be known as "Rachel."

"Friends" created some of the biggest stars from its main cast: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudlocks, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer. The sitcom ran for 10 seasons until 2004.

Nearly 20 years after it ended its run, Friends still holds a special place in the hearts of television fans. But it is not the only show that tackled themes of friendship, life in the big city, and trying to navigate the world as a young adult. Here are a few more shows like "Friends."

In many ways, "How I Met Your Mother" is "Friends" for the next generation of 20-somethings. A group of longtime friends live in New York City and spend their late twenties and early thirties trying to understand the terrifying process of trying to build work, friendship, love, and adult life. The show probably hasn't aged surprisingly well (but neither did "Friends"), and the broad premise of a father telling his children about his romance with their mother is occasionally hamstrung (albeit often as an afterthought). Nonetheless, there is still an inherent charm to the group that makes it all work--even if it features arguably one of the most disappointing final episodes in modern television history.

Watch on Hulu

As the song goes, "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name." A large part of the success of "Cheers" is the sense of coziness and community, with familiar characters that viewers know and love. The predecessor to "Friends," "Cheers" may be set in Boston rather than New York City and their home may be a bar rather than a coffee shop, but it is the same in terms of its deeply likable cast. released in the 1980s, "Cheers" is a modern network situation comedy foundation, steering away from the family-friendly TV comedies that had long dominated the scene and toward a group of friends that felt almost like a family.

View on Paramount Plus

A ride-or-die group of friends to whom audiences develop an almost unhealthy attachment. Check: A pair of friends-turned-lovers with incredible chemistry that had everyone rooting for them from the very first episode. Check. An unrealistically nice apartment, given that four people live there and three of them spend most of the show in various states of unemployment. Check; "New Girl" has everything you could ask for in a sitcom. Even when Schmidt says something diabolical and is forced to put money in the "jerk" pot.

Watch on Hulu or Peacock

A bit of a quirky sitcom, "Community" has had more life than any other recent TV comedy. It revolves around a study group of community college students, all of whom, for one reason or another, decide to attend Greendale. Some romantically, some platonically, and some - like Abed (Danny Pudi) and Troy (Donald Glover) - as soul mates connected on a spiritual level. The show's sense of humor is all over the place, sometimes sticking to traditional sitcom gags and other times using entire episodes to tell surreal, self-contained stories. The show has moved stations several times and has been on the verge of being cancelled, but when it's at its best, it deserves an A+.

Watch on Netflix

When it comes to talking about friends, there is no group more appropriate than The Golden Girls. Groundbreaking for its time and, frankly, groundbreaking for today, "The Golden Girls" features a demographic rarely seen on television: older women. Moreover, they are not mere wives and grandmothers who take a back seat to the rest of the characters; they are lively, interesting women who, despite no longer being spring chickens, have full lives (even sex lives; they have a lot to live up to). With a strong cast of Hollywood veterans, "The Golden Girls" is a rare 1980s sitcom with a sense of humor that is 100% applicable even when viewed today.

Watch on Hulu

We've seen New York through the eyes of Baby Boomers and Generation X, but "Broad City" is one of the first comedies to give us a glimpse into the youth of New York City in the 2010s. Starring real-life friends Ilana Glazer and Abby Jacobson, "Broad City" follows their comical adventures as they try to carve out a quasi-adult life amidst constant trials (usually of their own making). It began as a web series, but was picked up by Comedy Central and became so successful that it eventually ran for five seasons.

Watch on Hulu or Paramount Plus

Coupling, also known as the English version of Friends, follows the sexual and interpersonal lives of a group of friends in London in the early 2000s. While their character archetypes largely match those of their American counterparts, "Coupling" is far more overtly sexual than "Friends" because it is broadcast on a more permissive network in the UK. It follows the adventures of Stephen and Susan (played by Jack Davenport and Sarah Alexander, respectively) and their rowdy friends, including Ben Miles, Richard Coyle, Gina Bellman, and Kate Isitt. Created by Steven Moffat (who some may remember as the showrunner of such films as "Doctor Who"), "Coupling" was an immediate success and even spawned an American spin-off.

Watch on Roku Channel (free with ads)

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