Not only was Friends the biggest show of its time, it has become a staple of the binge-watching and re-watching ecosystem in the age of streaming, so many people have seen each episode dozens or even hundreds of times. However, details still fall by the wayside – including one on-screen error that just went viral on social media. Fans admitted they had never noticed a stand-in for Jennifer Aniston in Season 9, Episode 15, “The One with the Mugging.”
This is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that probably went unnoticed in the original TV broadcast, and still easy to miss on repeated high-definition viewings. However, at last, fans have caught on to a scene set in Monica’s apartment, where Rachel (Aniston), Monica (Courteney Cox) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) are talking in the kitchen. Aniston reads her own lines and is clearly present in the scene, but during one closeup on LeBlanc, you can clearly see a stand-in actress filling Aniston’s space, and it’s not even subtle.
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The scene features Rachel with blonde highlights wearing a light-colored blouse with a paisley-style pattern. One of the most shocking things about this error is that her stand-in looks completely different – she has dark brown hair and is wearing a flannel shirt with a red pattern. While it may be easy to accept that a show like this uses stand-ins many fans are having a hard time believing that such an out-of-place shot made the final cut – and that it went widely unnoticed for so many years.
Friends has plenty of other errors over the course of its ten seasons, and many have been documented on fan forums before. However, for those that are binge-watching and rewatching the show more casually in the age of streaming, these are much bigger revelations.
Another infamous case with a stand-in came in Season 4, Episode 12, “The One With the Sharks,” and it again featured a stand-in for Rachel talking with Joey and Monica. This time, all three were seated at a table and Rachel was clearly shown wearing a yellow shirt with curly hair. However, during one closeup on Monica the woman sitting next to her has straight hair and is wearing a blue shirt.
Quirks like this add to the charm of production and invite fans to think about the era of multi-camera sitcoms, which are now far less prominent than they were before streaming. Friends is streaming now on Max and FuboTV.
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NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images)
