‘Friends’ Star Lisa Kudrow Says New Sitcoms are ‘Too Afraid’ to Make Jokes That Make People ‘Uncomfortable’: ‘I’m Not Buying It’

Home TV News Apr 5, 2026 10:27am PT ‘Friends’ Star Lisa Kudrow Says New Sitcoms are ‘Too Afraid’ to Make Jokes That Make People ‘Uncomfortable’: ‘I’m Not Buying It’ By Jack Dunn Plus Icon Jack Dunn Latest Legendary ‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent Steve Kroft Says He ‘Hated’ Working on The Show: ‘It’s Just 24 Hours a Day’ 18 hours ago Mike Colter and Finn Jones Spotted on ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Set With ‘Defenders’ Co-Star Krysten Ritter 22 hours ago Box Office: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Powers Up With $48 Million 1 day ago See All Kevin Winter/Getty Images Lisa Kudrow said during a recent Interview Magazine profile that she’s “not drawn” to new multi-camera sitcoms. The “Friends” star thinks it’s because new shows are “too afraid” to make jokes that make audiences “uncomfortable.” When asked if the sitcom genre is evolving or dying, Kurdrow said, “I wish they were evolving. ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Friends’ were really funny and really well written. But I’m not drawn to new sitcoms that are multi-camera in front of an audience because I’m not buying it. I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve seen too many single-camera sitcoms—I think we need to get back to being able to tell jokes. I feel like we’ve been too afraid to make jokes that might make people uncomfortable.” She added, “But the really good ones, they’re not tame jokes. They’re jokes that are kind of, ‘I can’t believe you just said that.’ Comedy is about surprise. You need things you didn’t see coming.” Popular on Variety Kudrow starred as the free-spirited Phoebe Buffay in all 10 seasons of “Friends,” arguably the most iconic multi-camera sitcom of all time. Her leading castmates were Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc. Kudrow’s “Friends” role earned her an Emmy in 1998 for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series. “The Comeback” star said during the height of “Friends,” fans always told her they thought Phoebe was “such a ditz.” However, Kudrow never interpreted her that way. “At the time, it was like, ‘She’s such a ditz. How is it that you only play ditzes?’ And I thought, ‘Is she a ditz?’ To me, she wasn’t,” she said. “In 1994, it was like, “I love her. She’s such a ditz.” And it’s like, yeah, okay, that was what a ditz was to us. Someone who wasn’t toeing the line…. But she wasn’t stupid.” Read More About: Friends, Lisa Kudrow Jump to Comments More from Variety Psychological Horror-Thriller, Cross-Cultural Drama Among Five Filipino Titles Go Asia Brings to FilMart 2026 (EXCLUSIVE) Jericho Rosales, Jasmine Curtis-Smith Head Gushcloud Philippines’ Creator-Driven Slate at FilMart (EXCLUSIVE) Loading comments...