going to be still playing Rachel." Director James Burrows admitted that Aniston had been cast in second position. The producers had already begun auditioning other actresses for the part, while Aniston also received phone calls from her own friends warning her, "I'm auditioning for your part in Friends." Ultimately, Muddling Through was canceled after only three months and 10 episodes, two weeks before the pilot of Friends aired, thus allowing Aniston to keep her role on the show, becoming its second youngest cast member at the age of 25. Crane appreciated Aniston's interpretation of Rachel because "in the wrong hands Rachel is kind of annoying and spoiled and unlikable," commending the actress for "breathing life into a difficult character". Crane and Kauffman strongly envisioned Friends as an ensemble comedy, and Warner Bros. initially marketed the show as such by having the cast appear in their entirety for all press, interviews and photo shoots. One of few sitcoms at the time to be neither a workplace comedy, family sitcom or star a famous comedian, Elizabeth Kolbert of The New York Times explained that each of the show's main characters are "of equal importance". As a writer, Crane preferred it this way because "utilizing six equal players, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for myriad story lines". Kauffman echoed that "Friends worked best when the entire ensemble was onstage." The only reason Aniston is credited first during the show's title sequence is because the cast is listed alphabetically. The show's ensemble format is also believed to have prevented jealous conflicts among the cast. Famously, the Friends cast became the first in television history to negotiate as a group for equal salaries, refusing to work until their demands of $100,000 per episode were met during season three, which eventually increased to $1 million per episode by seasons nine and ten – approximately $25 million per year. Alongside Cox and actress Lisa Kudrow, who portrays Phoebe, Aniston became the highest-paid television actress of all time. By then, Aniston had surpassed Cox as the show's most famous cast member due to having launched an international hair trend with the "Rachel" and successfully transitioning into a film career, combined with her high-profile relationship with her then-husband, actor Brad Pitt, who had once guest starred in an episode of the show. At times the producers would use the actress' popularity to boost the show's ratings,