Here’s the Argument for Why ‘Friends’ Is Cringe, But ‘Seinfeld’ Isn’t
Cue the laugh track: a communications strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union dared to ask a bold question on social media, pitting two sitcom giants against each other. Gillian Branstetter asked on X (formerly known as X) why Friends had become “cringe,” but Seinfeld had not.
Given how many legions of devoted fans Friends has in the Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z generational cohorts, you would have thought that a pack of rabid stans would have run in droves to the Elon Musk-run site to ride hard for their favorite ‘90s comfort show. But instead, well, Seinfeld emerged victorious in the debate.
Comedian Jakey Emmert posited that Seinfeld hadn’t become “cringe” in retrospect because “part of Seinfeld was knowing they were all awful people (or at least eccentric, in Kramer’s case). Friends wanted you to root for people who would annoy the hell out of you in real life.” Composer Armando Bayolo offered a more blunt critique: “Friends was ALWAYS cringe. The monkey was the best character, and he left after a single season.” (Shout out to Ross's white-headed capuchin, Marcel. Gone, but clearly never forgotten.)
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User @Kalanyr added that they “think it’s harder for things that are antagonistic in bearing to become ‘cringe’ than things that are upbeat. They pass out of favour in different ways,” but Branstetter responded by noting that while their take “seemed right,” Friends’ “sincerity” is her favorite thing about it.
Others in the thread argued that Seinfeld creators’ Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld’s humor still had “staying power” — which, judging by the success of David's Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld’s numerous stand-up specials, may have a grain of truth — and that Seinfeld’s seemingly self-contained episodes have “aged” better than Friends’, which were meant to be hip and relatable to thirty-somethings in the ‘90s.
Obviously, comedic preferences aren’t an exact science, but it’s interesting to look back on how the gags in sitcoms of decades-past still hold up (and what their ephemerity may say about the quality of writing or the boundaries of the genre that they pushed then and still may push now).
