David Crane builds comedies around people whose company we come to enjoy. Friends makes a persuasive case for his patient attention to character, though affection sometimes has to compensate for jokes that need more work.
Fi1m perspective
In Friends (1994), Jennifer Aniston makes embarrassment funny even when the writing is working too hard. We laughed because she lets the awkwardness register without losing the warmth that makes the central group worth spending time with. David Crane, who created the series with Marta Kauffman, writes for that attachment. We recommend the programme for its six sharply matched performances, with reservations about how little exists beyond their circle.
The partnership with Kauffman had already produced Dream On (1990), a character comedy using archive footage. Friends made the closeness of its central group the attraction, and Veronica’s Closet (1997) continued their work together. Crane has repeatedly written in close partnership, first with Kauffman and later with Jeffrey Klarik. We should be cautious about attributing every successful joke, or every strained one, to a single name.
Crane’s emphasis on sustained character stories makes sense in a long-running comedy: familiarity can make a small embarrassment matter. In Friends, the cast give that familiarity friction, so closeness does not have to mean everyone agreeing. But the writing can rely too heavily on our willingness to forgive these people, and we sometimes found ourselves enjoying their company while waiting for a better joke. The programme also shows so little interest in people outside the group that its cosiness can become airless.
The work with Klarik includes The Class (2006), followed by Episodes (2011). The latter puts British writers and television-industry interference at the centre of the comedy, with Matt LeBlanc among the cast. It gives Crane’s interest in colleagues and careers a specific source of trouble: the people who want a say in what gets made. For a writer so dependent on collaboration, that is a promising subject. Begin with Friends for the actors, rather than the promise of a complete account of adult life.
Biography
David Crane is an American television writer and producer. He co-created the sitcom Friends (1994–2004) with Marta Kauffman and served as executive producer and writer on the series.
Crane was born on 13 August 1957. He graduated from Brandeis University in 1979. His other notable credits include creating Dream On (1990) and, with Jeffrey Klarik, Episodes (2011). He has received Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations for his work.
