For years, it hung out there for everyone to gossip about -- the "Friends" curse. As is often the case when the stars of an iconic TV show move on to their next projects, and inevitably, don't have a big hit right out of the gate. So when the actors who played Monica, Rachael, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler moved out of their apartments near Central Perk, they were under a lot of scrutiny.
The 'Friends' cast members have all broken the curse
Now eight years after the final episode aired, it feels like all of America's favorite "Friends" have found their groove. Matt LeBlanc is an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, playing a darker version of himself on the comedy "Episodes."
Lisa Kudrow took on the Internet and transformed "Web Therapy" into a critically acclaimed series on Showtime. Plus she's conquered respectable reality TV with her genealogy series "Who Do You Think You Are?"
Even though Courteney Cox's cul-de-sac crew got the ax at ABC, they're settling into a new home at TBS, and "Cougar Town" will return to living rooms in 2013.
David Schwimmer voices Melman the giraffe in the "Madagascar" movies and has directed indie films like "Run, Fatboy, Run" and the TV show "Little Britain USA."
And of course, everyone knows what Jennifer Aniston's been up to -- being a mega-watt movie star, getting engaged, and lugging around the biggest diamond engagement ring.
Matthew Perry never believed in the 'Friends' curse
And now Matthew Perry seems to be on the road to big success on the small screen yet again with "Go On." In a recent conference call interview, he addressed the notion of any kind of pall over the "Friends" gang. "That was just reporters searching for a story… The six of us are six of the luckiest people on the face of the planet. So to suggest that there's some curse, I just never really listened to it. But I guess it's good now that they're not saying that anymore. 'Friends' was a magical thing. No one's going to ever have anything like that again, and you try to just search for good projects."After "Friends," a hit was elusive
Perry thought he was on to something with his two big follow-ups. After all, jumping into Aaron Sorkin's drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in 2006 seemed like a no brainer. But the show was canceled after 22 episodes.And creating a role for himself in the 2011 sitcom "Mr. Sunshine" sounded like a great idea, but despite a supporting cast that included Allison Janney and Andrea Anders, the sitcom came to an end after just one season.
But with his new show, Perry appears to be on a much better track. He remarked, "I did 'Studio 60,' which everybody thought was going to be amazing, and it was pretty good, but it didn't work. And then I took my hand at trying to write something and try to create a show myself. 'Mr. Sunshine' worked to a certain degree creatively, but audiences didn't really follow it. And then I learned that there was somebody else that could create a show for me better than me. And that's what happened with 'Go On.'"
It looks like the third time just might be the charm. See for yourself when " Go On " airs on Tuesday nights at 9 PM on NBC.
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