Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss (season 1; later work includes co-creating Partners), Alexa Junge (seasons 1-5; later work includes Grace and Frankie [with Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman]; United States of Tara; Once and Again), and Adam Chase (seasons 1-6; post-Friends work includes The Crazy Ones; Mom; creating Clone) discuss the earliest days of the ground-breaking sitcom, from participating in the punch-up of the pilot script with creators Marta Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin Bright, to getting hired for the writing staff, mining their lives for stories, the long hours, the democracy of the room, arguments, jokes, and lots more.

PLUS: Enormous thanks to Rhett Miller (Old 97’s), Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), and Kate Micucci (Garfunkel and Oates) on their musical contributions to this week’s show. They are SO GOOD.

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