More than 20 years after its final episode, Friends is still considered by generations to be one of the best television shows ever made.

The stories of six friends trying to lead successful lives despite personal and professional difficulties still attract fans.

On Kaggle I found an interesting dataset with some information that confirms this interest. So let's analyse it!

Consistent ratings: No decline in quality according to viewers

Over its 10 seasons, Friends has achieved a constant average rating. Impressive: not only is it constant, but the ratings are at a very high level with an average of 8.46 out of 10 on ImDB! The graph below illustrates this perfectly!

David Schwimmer: From Ross’s Divorces to Directing Behind the Scenes

With 236 episodes aired, there are plenty of directors, but did you know that one of the actors actually took control of the camera for several episodes?

In fact, actor David Schwimmer directed approximately 4.3% of the episodes, or 10 episodes to be exact.

In conclusion, decades after its finale, Friends continues to captivate audiences with its timeless humour and relatable characters. The consistently high ratings across all 10 seasons - averaging 8.46 on IMDb - demonstrate the show's enduring popularity. 

It's also fascinating to see how involved the cast has been in the show's production, with David Schwimmer stepping behind the camera to direct 10 episodes. All of this data underlines just how deeply Friends has left its mark on pop culture.