25 Shows Like Friends You Should Be Watching

Since 1994, David Crane and Marta Kauffman's "Friends" has been a juggernaut in television and culture at large as audiences worldwide have returned over and over again to the six friends that will "be there for you." The premise is deceptively simple: 20-something friends in New York City hang out, mostly in a coffee shop, over the course of 10 years. Rachel, Ross, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey all became household names, as everyone could identify with at least one, if not more, of the characters.

The inimitable chemistry of the cast elevated the series to a beloved sitcom that influenced many others thanks to its focus on friends (who are like family) rather than careers or love interests. This is the power of "Friends," since for many, these fictional friends really did feel like family.

"Friends" isn't the first show to focus on friendship, but it helped open the door for other series to explore these types of relationships in different settings. While at the heart of the series is the theme of chosen family, the show is also about figuring out who you are, which often requires the help of people you love. While some argue that "Friends" ruined comedy as executives sought to replicate its success, a number of shows have carved their own unique space in the wake of the series. Here are 25 shows that can also "be [your] lobster" and fill that "Friends"-shaped space in your heart.

Before hitting it big with "Fleabag," British writer and actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge took her own stab at a "Friends"-type show with 2016's "Crashing." In the series, she plays free spirit Lulu, who moves into an abandoned hospital that's been turned into affordable housing, where her childhood friend and crush, Anthony (Damien Molony), also lives. Lulu befriends others in the hospital: Kate (Louise Ford), Anthony's control-loving fiancee; Sam (Jonathan Bailey), a sleazebag with a secret soft spot; Fred (Amit Shah), a sweet gay guy who gets close with Sam; Melody (Julie Dray), an existential French artist; and Colin (Adrian Scarborough), a lonely divorced man who becomes Melody's muse.

In typical Phoebe Waller-Bridge fashion, "Crashing" is off-kilter and demented as these characters engage from darker places of self-consciousness, insecurity, and grief more than their "Friends" counterparts would ever dare. The series is hilarious, with a mix of dry humor, physical gags, and melancholy that is ultimately about a group of people struggling to figure themselves out. "Crashing" explores the tension between the face we put on for others and the one that we show only to the people we're most intimate with. Waller-Bridge told The Guardian that she loves writing "vulnerable rascals," so with Lulu as a guide, "Crashing" shows us a world of people straddling that line between maturity and immaturity, adulthood and youth. Sadly, the series is only six episodes, but it's one worth revisiting over and over again.

In the 1990s, the place to be every Thursday night was parked in front of NBC's "Must See TV" programming block, which included "Friends," "Seinfeld," and "ER." NBC struck gold again with Max Mutchnick and David Kohan's "Will and Grace" in 1998, which brought something new to TV: a gay protagonist. "Will and Grace" centers around Will (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace (Debra Messing), a hetero interior designer, who are roommates in New York City. Will's other best friend is the self-centered Jack (Sean Hayes), who, according to Megan Mullally's Karen Walker, "fell out of the gay tree, hitting every gay branch on the way down," while Karen herself is Grace's super-rich, vodka-and-pill-loving assistant who keeps things "real" for the gang.

While aspects of "Will and Grace" haven't aged well (i.e., its treatment of lesbians as a joke), and many called the show out for its stereotypical portrayal of gay men, "Will and Grace" was ultimately a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ representation. It was the first prime-time show to feature openly gay characters whose identities go beyond their sexuality. For many in the LGBTQ+ community, chosen family is highly significant, so it's not surprising that this is at the heart of "Will and Grace." Like "Friends," "Will and Grace" has some of the most memorable and hilarious sitcom characters around, and despite its issues, the show has a cast with undeniable chemistry and talent.

Craig Thomas and Carter Bays' "How I Met Your Mother" was one of the first shows to take the "Friends" torch, premiering a year after the "Friends" series finale and following a group of 20-somethings living in New York. Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) is telling his kids the very long, very convoluted story of how he met their mother. Ted is a hopeless romantic on a quest for true love and he's bolstered on this search by his friends: kindhearted lawyer Marshall (Jason Segel), death-stare-enthusiast Lily (Alyson Hannigan), misogynistic womanizer with a secret romantic side Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), and independent, commitment-averse ex-girlfriend Robin (Cobie Smulders).

Ultimately, "How I Met Your Mother" is a show about a group of friends who grow together rather than about the search for love. The series finds a balance of archetypes -– like the romantic, the player, and the working woman -– but it fills out these limitations with long-running gags, the chemistry of its cast, and witty writing. Aspects of "How I Met Your Mother" don't hold up now (or even when it was on the air) -– Barney's horrendous misogyny is especially tough — and the show represents a world that seems to only be made up of straight white people, which absolutely shouldn't be overlooked. The series corrected some of these missteps with its spin-off, "How I Met Your Father," but the original still works in many ways to fill the "Friends" void.

"New Girl" is the Los Angeles version of "Friends," about a group of 20-somethings sharing an apartment that they in no way could afford in the real world. Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel) is a quirky, optimistic schoolteacher whose relationship suddenly ends, so she moves in with three guys she doesn't know. She meets curmudgeonly slacker Nick (Jake Johnson), sex-obsessed, self-proclaimed "baller" Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and talented but lost former basketball player Winston (Lamorne Morris). Jess discovers a whole new world of strange "man" rules, complicated drinking games, and sexual tension — but more than that, she discovers a whole new family with these Craigslist weirdos.

"New Girl" hits that sweet spot of a cast with good chemistry, memorable jokes, and relatable storylines. All of the characters struggle with their sense of self. Schmidt was once overweight and is constantly dealing with his insecurities of being an outsider, while Nick was once bound for law school and then dropped out, only to realize he doesn't know what to do or how to finish things. The beauty of the show is how these characters help each other figure these things out. It's hard to imagine anyone in "New Girl" thriving on their own, but together, they discover their best (and most surprising) selves. Winston is a "natural" cat dad, Nick and Schmidt are friends that share a bathroom towel (and sometimes underpants), and Jess is happiest in a loft with three sort-of grown men.

Darren Star's "Younger" explores intergenerational friendships in New York as Liza (Sutton Foster), a 40-year-old woman, lies about her age to get a job. Liza is recently divorced and starting over but discovers that no one is willing to hire a 40-year-old woman in a lower-level position, which is all she's qualified for since she left the book world to raise her daughter. So, Liza says she's in her mid-20s and gets an assistant job, where she joins the world of 20-somethings as she befriends fellow assistant Kelsey (Hilary Duff) and dates Josh (Nico Tortorella), a 26-year-old tattoo artist.

"Younger" puts a new spin on "Friends" as it integrates older people into its friend group. Although Liza's coworkers don't know how old she is, she still has ties to her actual younger self in Maggie (Debi Mazar), her best friend, offering a nice juxtaposition to Liza's interactions with her younger social network. "Younger" is a sweet comedy as Liza is thrown into a world of online dating and social media and the lingo the kids are using nowadays. However, it's grounded in the harsh reality of an ageist world — after all, is the idea of a woman having to lie about her age to get a job really so far-fetched? It's a realistic premise shown in a "Friends" type of way, with humor, beautiful people, and a New York City that doesn't seem to have any rats or unsavory creatures.

"Friends" was a leader of the "beautiful and glamorous young people living in a shiny New York" genre, but Darren Star's "Sex and the City" brought this to a more provocative place. "Sex and the City" centers around sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) as she lives in New York along with her best friends: cynical lawyer Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), conservative romantic Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and the very sex-positive publicist Samantha (Kim Cattrall).

When "Sex and the City" premiered in 1998, there was no other show like it, as it focused on a group of 30-something single women not only having a lot of sex but talking about it and enjoying it in hilarious and sometimes brutally honest ways. Thanks to "Sex and the City," people everywhere learned about the questionable ethics of breaking up via Post-It, the power of fake nipples, and the thrill of eating cake out of the garbage.

Elements of "Sex and the City" are super problematic as it's about people who are white, skinny, and (mostly) straight with endless disposable wealth. However, what makes the show powerful is its centering on female friendship and the possibility of women being platonic life partners. Carrie and her friends decide to be each other's soulmates and the fact that they make this choice at all -– in addition to showing the ups and downs of intimate female friendships –- makes "Sex and the City" a must-watch for any fan of "Friends" (or friendship).

Created by James Burrows and brothers Glen and Les Charles, "Cheers" is perhaps the ultimate "hangout sitcom" as it looks at the lives of a group of employees and regulars of the Cheers bar, "where everybody knows your name." Ted Danson is Sam, the owner of Cheers, a recovering alcoholic and lothario who tries to connect with others. Diane (Shelley Long) is his on-and-off-again love interest, who grew up with upper-class privilege and works at the bar after leaving her fiance. Other characters include waitress Carla (Rhea Perlman), who hates her customers, and Coach (Nicholas Colasanto), a sweet bartender who tends to forget orders but occasionally surprises with non sequitur words of wisdom.

Before Ross and Rachel, there was Sam and Diane, whose up-and-down relationship was the first serial sitcom storyline. "Cheers" was a cultural phenomenon, with 93 million people tuning into the 1993 series finale, making it the second most-watched finale to date. Like "Friends," the series hit the sweet spot with a brilliant cast that plays off each other and adds crackling energy to the "Cheers" bar. 

Audiences couldn't get enough of the "Cheers" gang, so they flocked to see its spin-off, "Frasier," centered around one of the regulars at the bar. "Cheers" works because, at the end of the day, it's about a group of strangers who become friends and then family and consistently choose each other, even if they'd occasionally rather be doing something else.

Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's "show about nothing" premiered in 1989 and introduced millions to the "yada-yada" world of Jerry (Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards). "Seinfeld" is about these four sometimes obnoxious, often morally questionable, and always hilarious friends living, loving, and trying to get soup in New York City. Superficially, they could be seen as archetypes –- Jerry is the straight man, Kramer is the eccentric goofball, George is the neurotic one (okay, they all are), and Elaine is the progressive (ish) one –- but they're so much more than that.

The plotlines of "Seinfeld" can be ridiculous –- George pretending to be a marine biologist to impress a woman and then having to actually save a whale, for example –- but they're also rooted in very human spaces like longing, insecurity, and jealousy. Many of the stories of "Seinfeld" are mundane but taken to an extreme and absurd level (like an entire episode centered around waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant). 

"Seinfeld' takes the sitcom format and transforms it so that even this unoriginal premise of a group of friends living in New York City becomes completely original in the hands of David, Seinfeld, and the whole cast. Its postmodern and self-referential nature has become legendary and has never been replicated with the same success (even if you consider Seinfeld's claim that "Friends" ripped off his show), which makes "Seinfeld" a must-watch for any sitcom lover.

"Coupling" is the British "Friends" that follows six 30-something friends -– three men and three women –- who navigate love, life, and friendship. Neurotic Steven (Jack Davenport) starts dating the Type A Sue (Sarah Alexander). They navigate their new relationship with the help of their best friends, insecure Jeff (Richard Coyle) and beauty-obsessed Sally (Kate Isitt), and their exes, sex-obsessed Patrick (Ben Miles) and self-absorbed Jane (Gina Bellman).

"Coupling" displays the humor and wit that British comedies do so well, and it stands out for its juxtaposing of the male and female perspectives. Much of its humor lies in the very different ways all the characters see the same situation, and the different ways that the men and women talk about it. It's a wonder that these people connect at all, as they frequently seem to live in different realities. 

"Coupling" takes the same idea of "Friends" and brings it to a raunchier and sometimes more complex space as the characters are more multifaceted and less shiny than their American counterparts. This may be due more to cultural differences between American and British humor. As Ricky Gervais wrote in Time, the British "are more comfortable with life's losers," leading to characters who are self-deprecating and rarely saying what they mean or feel. This all is evident in "Coupling," which takes the archetypes seen in "Friends" -– Monica's perfectionism, Rachel's vanity, or Chandler's insecurity -– and dials them up to an 11 to hilarious effect.​

Inspired by a New York magazine article, the classic "Taxi" follows a group of working-class taxi drivers who try to follow their dreams while driving cabs in New York City and avoiding the wrath of their immoral, bullying dispatcher, Louie (Danny Devito). Alex (Judd Hirsch) is the cynical "everyman" at the center of the chaos, whose even-keeled nature makes him a natural support for the others: the often-losing but always-kind boxer Tony (Tony Danza), single mother and aspiring artist Elaine (Marilu Henner), and Latka (Andy Kaufman), the eccentric mechanic from an unknown country.

"Taxi" deals with serious subjects like sexual harassment, addiction, and sexual identity while continuously returning to the question of "what happens if you can't make your dream come true?" The series was a star-making turn for its incredible cast as it marked some of the earliest works of people like Danny Devito, Tony Danza, and Christopher Lloyd. Beyond that, the series is a showcase for Andy Kaufman, whose subversive, sometimes chaotic energy added something unexpected to the sitcom form. Similar to "Friends," "Taxi" is about a group of different people who learn to be there for each other when things aren't going their way.

Kenya Barris' "Black-ish" centers around the Johnsons, an upper-middle-class African-American family in Los Angeles. The heads of the Johnson family are Dre (Anthony Anderson), an advertising executive who will do anything to protect his reputation and shoes, and Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross), an anesthesiologist who tries to stay calm in the face of Dre's chaos. Dre is anxious that their four kids aren't "Black" enough as they live in a predominately white suburb and a time when Barack Obama has almost always been president. Dre is determined to teach his kids how to be Black while Bow is more concerned with making sure everyone is getting taken care of.

"Black-ish" stood out for a number of reasons, not least of which was its expression of joy. While the series wasn't afraid to delve poignantly into racism, the 2016 presidential election, and police brutality, "Black-ish" was rooted in the idea of love and life and the experience of these things by the Johnson family. This comes across in part because of the talent of the cast as it's very easy to believe they're all a family that is having fun together, which is what most closely aligns this series to "Friends." "Black-ish" was frequently laugh-out-loud funny: there's much humor to be mined in the parents' quest to give their kids the best lives possible, while at the same time wondering if they've messed them up for good.

The biggest show that any of the "Friends" alums got to be part of — certainly in terms of longevity — is "Cougar Town." Though its gimmicky-sounded name didn't do it any favors, the Courteney Cox-led comedy was much smarter and funnier than the name gave it credit for. It's also one of the most noteworthy examples in recent memory of a show being canceled by one network only to be picked up by and continue on for an extended period on another, with ABC axing it after three seasons and TBS picking it up for another three.

Cox isn't the only '90s sitcom veteran in the cast of this inventive comedy, with Christa Miller of "The Drew Carey Show" fame and Busy Philipps also playing residents of the show's fictional Florida town. "Cougar Town" is about women who are technically middle-aged on paper but are working hard to prove that being a fortysomething woman — especially one who has been forced to start over as the result of divorce — isn't the depressing dead-end that society so often makes it out to be. "Friends" fans will want to come to not only see Cox and multiple cameos from her old crew, but just a general overall look at what the twentysomethings of '90s television might have been up to two decades later, after they had moved to the suburbs — and how things might not have gone quite how they were hoping.