Where was Friends filmed?
Friends was filmed on Stage 24 at the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, California, in front of a live studio audience. Only a few exterior shots were filmed in New York.
Although the show is set in Manhattan, almost all of it was shot on sets in Burbank, near Los Angeles. The famous Central Perk coffee shop and the friends' apartments were built on soundstages. Episodes were filmed in front of a live studio audience, whose real laughter can be heard in the show.
The building used for the outside shots of the apartments is real. It stands at the corner of Bedford Street and Grove Street in Greenwich Village, New York. Fans often visit to take photos. The opening fountain scene was filmed at the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, not in New York.
Visit today
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood includes a recreation of Central Perk where visitors can sit on the famous orange couch. Stage 24 has been renamed The Friends Stage. The cast reunited on the original sets for a special that aired in 2021.
Did You Know?
The Central Perk orange couch was found by set designers in the basement of the Warner Bros. studio.