Jerry Seinfeld Claims ‘Friends' Is Copy of His Show ‘Seinfeld': Does He Have a Point?

In the 90s, it seemed as if NBC was dominating the comedy space with some of the most iconic sitcoms in TV history. There was a time when Frazier, Mad About You, Seinfeld, and Friends were all on in the same era of the decade, bringing in huge numbers for the network. While much can be said of all four shows, SeinfeldandFriends have arguably had the most lasting impacts, as both shows are still highly regarded, highly syndicated, and highly discussed to this day.

That being said, Seinfeld's co-creator, Jerry Seinfeld, recently performed for the Netflix Is a Joke festival at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, and he took a comedic jab at Friends. Per The Hollywood Reporter, he essentially dubbed it a "good-looking" imitation.

Seinfeld Suggests NBC Wanted to Duplicate Success of His Sitcom

During Seinfeld's routine for his Netflix, he asked the crowd to guess his favorite show of all time. Naturally, some in the audience yelled out Seinfeld, to which he jokingly shot back, "Seinfeld? I am Seinfeld. Why would I watch Seinfeld?. Would you go up to your bathroom mirror and go, ‘This is fantastic. I love this show. I'm in every episode.'"

The crowd proceeded to list a few other sitcoms, but it was when Friends was mentioned that the Emmy-winner decided to make a cheeky remark. He said in jest:

"Here's my theory on Friends. My show came on - '89, '90. Friends came on a few years later…I think NBC was watching my show and went, ‘Hey, this is working pretty well. Why don't we try the same thing with good-looking people?' And that was a pretty good idea. I think that kind of worked."

Is Jerry Seinfeld Right? Is ‘Friends' a Copy of ‘Seinfeld'?

Having watched both sitcoms multiple times, I would have to disagree with Seinfeld on this one. Seinfeld was a hilarious series, essentially about nothing. Over the course of nine seasons, the show followed Jerry [Seinfeld] as the primary character and his group of friends as they went through the motions of life. The characters arguably weren't working toward any lofty goals and didn't evolve. Plus, the storylines weren't overly complex. However, the episodes were truly examples of comedic genius.

On the other hand, Friends is also about a friend group and not complex, but the characters evolve. There are marriages, babies, and career elevation. Also, the comedy in Friends (aside from Matthew Perry's Chandler) isn't quite as neurotic and hyper-focused on the minute parts of human interactions as Seinfeld.

All in all, while there are similarities between Seinfeld and Friends, I can't say Friends is a copy. Not for nothing, if I were to draw a comparison to a 90s sitcom, I'd say Friends was more like Queen Latifah's Living Single.

Living Single followed Queen Latifah's Khadijah and her group of friends in New York City as they navigated adulthood, including their professions, love lives, and friendships. Over the course of five seasons, viewers see a marriage, a baby, and career elevation. Living Single debuted in 1993 and Friends in 1994, and over the years, many have noted the similarities between the two comedies.

You can see for yourself how similar Living Single and Friends really are by checking them out for yourself. Living Single is streaming on Hulu and Disney+, while Friends is on HBO Max.

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This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 3:00 AM.