Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (LOS ANGELES) — It provided a comfy place for the cast of Friends to crash for 10 seasons, and in honor of the sitcom’s 25th anniversary, 30 replicas of the famous couch will begin a worldwide tour later this month.
USA Today reports the fringed orange couch, seen in the NBC series as well as in the opening credits, will be on exhibit in North and South America, as well as Europe and South Africa.
The couch, which Friends director Greg Grande found buried in the basement of a storage area at the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California, wasn’t a hit with network suits, who thought it looked too ratty, Grande recalls. But with director James Burrows’ support, and a couple of renovations, it became a centerpiece for the show’s 236 episode run, from 1994-2004.
However, not everybody is there for the idea; specifically some New residents in York City’s Greenwich Village area, according to the New York Post.
The plan is to place the couch outside 90 Bedford Street — the exterior of which was used as the home of Monica, Rachel, Joey and Chandler — which would involve closing down the entire block. Locals say it already attracts too many tourists and isn’t capable of containing large crowds.
A Warner Brothers spokesperson tells Entertainment Weekly the studio is “hopeful we can still move forward with the permit and create a unique experience for fans.”
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