LOS ANGELES (AP) – “Friends” is getting old. Its fans have never been younger.
As the sitcom about six twentysomethings marks its 25th anniversary on Sunday, it has spawned a devoted youthful viewership, especially among tween and teen girls who weren’t yet born when it went off the air in 2004.
In an era when everyone assumed they would move on to YouTube and Instagram video, young girls have embraced the series and its old-fashioned, studio-audience, sitcom format, bingeing its 10 seasons on Netflix through their tablets and phones, wearing T-shirts with the show’s logo and constantly quoting catch-phrases.
“It is old but you can’t tell that much when you’re watching,” said 15-year-old Sammy Joyce of Long Beach, California. “It’s too funny to care about how old it is.”
Some first hear about the show from Generation X parents who watched the initial NBC run, but the show has caught on mostly via word-of-mouth between friends.