 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 <unk> 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 <unk> . The show 's ensemble format is also believed to have prevented jealous conflicts among the cast . <unk> , 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 <unk> , 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 , notably her character 's seventh season kiss with actress <unk> Ryder and pregnancy arc . Aniston had been telling the press that the show 's ninth season would be her last , and was initially hesitant to return to Friends to film its tenth and final season . She explained to NBC 's Matt <unk> , " I wanted it to end when people still loved us and we were on a high . And then I was also feeling like , ‘ How much more of Rachel do I have in me ? ’ ” However , the actress ultimately agreed to complete the tenth season of Friends , which was reduced from 24 to 18 episodes to accommodate Aniston 's busy film schedule . 
