Friendswould not be the same without its secondary characters, those who accompanied the six main stars along on their successful way. However, not all of those characters have been accepted with open arms by the fans and even by the team behind the show.
It may seem impossible to think about the hit sitcom without Gunther serving coffee at Central Perk or showing his love for Rachel; or without Janice suddenly appearing to say her iconic “oh, my god”; but not all the cast-members of the series have left such a positive mark in the audience. That’s the case of, for example, with Emily Waltham, Ross' second wife.
Emily, who debuted in the show in the fourth season, is probably one of the most hated characters among fans since she gets in the middle of Ross and Rachel’s relationship, not only as an obstacle for their romance but also interfering with their friendship. But it seems like Emily was also not so well-considered by the team behind the show.
James Burrows, who directed 15 episodes ofFriends, revealed on his memoirDirected By James Burrowsthat he never really liked Emily and that the actress, Helen Baxendale didn’t have that much chemistry with David Schwimmer when it came to make jokes (via Deadline):
“She was nice, but not particularly funny. Schwimmer had no one to bounce off. It was like clapping with one hand. In sitcoms and any type of romantic comedy, the funny is just as important as the chemistry. We discovered that any new girlfriend for Ross needed to be as funny as Rachel. Often, you can’t recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations. You need someone who gets laughs. Sometimes you start an arc and it ain’t working out, so you have to get rid of that person. If it’s a day player, it’s a quick goodbye. If there’s chemistry, the writers go to work to figure out some way of keeping the actor.”
Related:Friends Writer Recalls “Dire” Experience Working With The Cast; “They Rarely Had Anything Positive To Say.”
The Story of Ross and Emily
When Emily first appears in the life of the six friends, Ross and Rachelhave already broken up, with both trying to move on from that past relationship. Jennifer Aniston’s character is going through a difficult moment at work after being removed from her position as personal assistant after the death of her boss to become a personal shopper at Bloomingdale’s. There she meets Joshua, a man she really likes but can’t get him to ask her out. When he finally does, she remembers that she had promised her boss that she would take his niece to the opera, so she asks Ross to do it for her. This means that Ross and Emily meet thanks to Rachel.
Since Emily lived in London, in an attempt to get her to stay with him in New York, Ross proposes to her and within a few weeks of meeting they get married, with Rachel witnessing the wedding and Ross mistaking Emily’s name for his ex’s. After this, Emily demands that Ross stop seeing Rachel, to which he agrees but later refuses, thus ending his relationship with Emily for good.
