Friends is widely credited as one of the most successful modern sitcoms of all time. The impact the show has left on people is so great that even eighteen years after Friends’s last episode aired, audiences are still coming back to Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, and Joey through reruns and streaming services. One of the most powerful aspects of the series is how talented its writers and actors were. When you watch Friends, you really do feel like all six main characters are your best friends, and you are living through the experiences with them. It’s hard to think of a show that has a greater legacy than this one.
The group of friends played by Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer are hilarious, and their on-screen chemistry has resulted in some of the most iconic moments in 90s television. What’s more, Friends was known for having big stars make guest appearances, and the supporting characters that have been on the show throughout all ten seasons are incredible. In fact, here are all the best supporting characters in Friends,ranked.
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8 Mr. Heckles (Larry Hankin)
In seasons one and two, we see guest appearances from Monica and Rachel’s very odd and difficult downstairs neighbor, Mr. Heckles, played by Larry Hankin. The old man is constantly knocking on the women’s door, complaining that they are being too loud and disturbing whatever weird activity he’s up to. In the third episode of season two, Mr. Heckles annoys the group for the last time as he dies while banging a broom on his ceiling, telling them to keep it down. During this episode, Chandler comes to the realization that Heckles wasn’t too bad after all, just misunderstood, and that the two of them have more in common than people think.
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7 Mr. Treeger (Mike Hagerty)
Mr. Treeger is the superintendent in Monica, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey’s apartment building. We see him help the group throughout the show with their air conditioning, front doors, and more, but his most memorable episode is season four, episode four “The One with the Ballroom Dancing.” Treeger gets mad that Rachel clogged the trash shoot and makes her cry; when Joey hears this, he storms into Treeger’s office to confront him, but accidently reveals that Monica and Rachel are living in the building illegally under Monica’s grandmother’s name. Treeger and Joey come to an agreement that if Joey helps Treeger practice ballroom dancing, so he can impress a woman. he won’t report Monica and Rachel.
6 Jack Geller (Elliot Gould) & Judy Geller (Christina Pickles)
Jack and Judy Geller are the mother and father to Monica and Ross. They make several appearances throughout all ten seasons, and their relationship with one another and all the friends is hilarious. Jack is quite oblivious and doesn’t have much of a filter, while Judy is notorious for being outspoken and extremely critical, especially when it comes to her daughter Monica. It’s a running joke in the show that Jack and Judy love Ross more than Monica, and no matter what Monica does, she’ll never receive the same level or praise and approval as her brother.
5 Estelle Leonard (June Gable)
June Gable plays Joey’s not-so-professional agent Estelle Leonard. Estelle is always dropping the ball and booking Joey very unsuccessful auditions. It’s revealed later on in the show that the only two clients Estelle ever had were Joey and a guy who eats paper. Even though she might not be number one in the business, she and Joey had a hilarious on-screen relationship that lasted for numerous seasons. One of the best jobs she was able to get Joey was the part of Drake Ramoray on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
4 Richard Burke (Tom Selleck)
Tom Selleck appeared on Friends in 1996 and was in a total of ten episodes playing Dr. Richard Burke, Monica’s love interest. Despite how much Monica and Richard loved each other, in the end, they wanted different futures. Richard was almost 25 years older than Monica and one of her dad’s best friends. He had already been married with kids and wasn’t looking to raise a family, both of which were Monica’s biggest dreams. Of course, now we know that Chandler is Monica’s perfect match, but at the time this breakup was extremely hard on Monica as she previously thought he was the man she would be spending the rest of her life with.
3 Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd)
Phoebe has many boyfriends and flings throughout Friends, but her relationship with Mike Hannigan is the first long-term serious commitment we see her make to a guy. It is obvious from the start that the two have an insane chemistry and click really well. Just after a few dates, the two are in love and Phoebe starts to picture a future with him. After some time apart, the two end up moving in together and getting married. What is so perfect about Paul Rudd’s character Mike is that he is almost as weird as Phoebe is. They are the perfect match for one another and, out of all Phoebe’s love interests, we can’t think of anyone better for her than Mike.
2 Gunther (James Michael Tyler)
James Michael Tyler plays Gunther the manager at Central Perk, the coffee house Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey hang out in every episode. Gunther is definitely strange, but is hilarious every time he interacts with the group. Since the very beginning of the show, he has had a huge crush on Rachel, and, in the show’s final episodes, reveals to her that he is in love with her. His infatuation with Rachel makes him hate Ross because of the two’s will-they-won’t-they dating history and has resulted in some of the show’s funniest scenes. Sadly, James Michael Tyler passed away in October 2021, but his legacy will live on forever.
1 Janice (Maggie Wheeler)
By far the most memorable and outrageous supporting character in the entire series, Janice Hosenstein is Chandler’s insanely annoying and over-the-top ex-girlfriend. Her high-pitched laugh and her iconic catchphrase “OH. MY. GOD!” make her the most one-of-a-kind character we can think of. Even after she and Chandler break up, Janice consistently pops up again in the most unfortunate situations. She runs into Ross at his lowest point and ends up having a one-night stand with him; she shares a hospital room with Rachel while the two happen to be in labor at the same time; and she is looking to buy the open house right next door to Monica and Chandler’s brand-new home outside the city. Maggie Wheeler’s portrayal of Janice is amazing and one Friends fans will be laughing at forever.
