‘Friends’ star Lisa Kudrow explains why she’s not a fan of new-age sitcoms: ‘You need things you didn’t see coming’

Lisa Kudrow isn’t shy about how she feels about today’s sitcoms. In her own words, she’s just not buying it. The ‘Friends’ star, who made Phoebe Buffay legendary, says modern comedies don’t have the guts they used to. With TV changing fast, streaming, AI scripts, weird new formats everywhere, Kudrow stands firm. She wants the bold jokes back, the stuff that made people squirm and laugh at the same time.

Lisa Kudrow calls out ‘safe’ sitcoms: What did she say?

When Lisa Kudrow sat down for an interview to talk about ‘The Comeback’ returning, Kudrow got real about what’s missing in modern sitcoms. During the chat with Interview Magazine, she threw some “shade” at the “safe” multi-camera shows, saying most of them are scared to take risks. For her, comedy should be about surprise. Those moments where you think, “Did they seriously just say that?” But lately, according to her, the shows just dodge anything that might get awkward.Talking to Interview Magazine, Kudrow laid it out. She misses the days when comedies were sharp and fearless. “30 Rock and Seinfeld and Friends were really funny and really well written,” she said. But when it comes to new shows, she said, “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.” When asked more about her opinion, Kudrow explained, “The really good ones, they’re not tame jokes.” She added, “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.”

About ‘Friends’

One can kind of see where Kudrow’s coming from, if they have watched and still remember ‘Friends’. That show broke the mold of comedy shows on TV. It ran from 1994 to 2004, following six messy, lovable New Yorkers. With the show’s success, the cast (Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and Kudrow herself) became household names. ‘Friends’ was all about awkward humor and characters who weren’t afraid to be weird or flawed. Timing was everything, and the live audience gave it energy you don’t really see anymore. The show’s ensemble style still shapes sitcoms today.Back then, sitcoms thrived on chaos and characters that could surprise you. From Phoebe’s weirdness to Chandler’s sarcasm, they made things unpredictable. Now, shows are slicker, tailored for streaming, and built to keep global viewers hooked. That means faster plots, safer jokes, and less live audience feedback.Kudrow isn’t saying everything new is bad. It’s just… different. And she feels like comedy lost something raw and risky along the way.

Lisa Kudrow: Life and career beyond ‘Friends’

As for Kudrow herself, her career took a pretty unconventional turn after ‘Friends’. Born in LA, per People, Kudrow actually studied biology before acting. Phoebe Buffay was her breakout role, and it won her an Emmy. After ‘Friends’, she didn’t just chase big mainstream gigs. She created ‘The Comeback’, a satire about fame that’s as weird as it is honest. She did ‘Web Therapy’, an improv-heavy web series. She showed up in films like ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’ and ‘The Opposite of Sex’.As for ‘The Comeback’, in the third and final season of the show, Kudrow’s Valerie accepts the lead role on a new sitcom, ‘How’s That?’, which is secretly being written by an AI program. As reality show cameras follow her around once again for this latest phase of her career, the actress and producer has to navigate the many cultural landmines of Hollywood in 2026.‘The Comeback’ premiered in 2005, and the mockumentary reality show returned for a long-overdue second season in 2014. Season 3 of the show premiered on HBO in March.