Lisa Kudrow slams politically correct sitcoms for being 'afraid' to make audiences 'uncomfortable': 'Comedy is about surprise!'

Alex Davies
Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:45:42 +0000

Lisa Kudrow has hit out at contemporary sitcoms, suggesting they have become excessively cautious and avoid humour that might unsettle viewers.

The 62-year-old actress shot to fame in the cast of Friends, one of the world's most popular sitcoms, which continues to garner a global fanbase to this day.

Speaking to Interview Magazine ahead of the return of her latest role in The Comeback, Ms Kudrow didn't hold back.

"I feel like we've been too afraid to make jokes that might make people uncomfortable," the actress stated.

The Friends star argued that genuinely successful comedy depends on catching audiences off guard.

"The really good ones, they're not tame jokes," she explained. "They're jokes that are kind of, 'I can't believe you just said that.'

"Comedy is about surprise. You need things you didn't see coming," she said.

Ms Kudrow drew comparisons between older programmes and today's offerings, citing 30 Rock, Seinfeld, and Friends as examples of sharp, well-crafted comedy.

"But I'm not drawn to new sitcoms that are multi-camera in front of an audience because I'm not buying it," she said.

Ms Kudrow suggested her experience within single-camera formats may have influenced her stance, but she emphasised that her main gripe lies with the writing itself.

The actress has insisted that the industry needs to rediscover its willingness to come up with material that genuinely challenges viewers rather than playing it safe.

Ms Kudrow portrayed the free-spirited Phoebe Buffay throughout all 10 seasons of Friends, which ran from 1994 to 2004 alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry.

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Her performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award in 1998 for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.

Friends itself has faced scrutiny in recent years over jokes now considered outdated, particularly regarding LGBTQ+ themes.

Zoë Kravitz criticised the programme last year, telling People there were "super homophobic jokes on mainstream television" and noting that "things that aren't punchlines are punchlines" when watching the show today.

David Schwimmer previously defended Friends in 2020, calling it "groundbreaking" for its era.

During the interview, she also addressed how audiences perceived her character at the height of the show's popularity.

"At the time, it was like, 'She's such a ditz. How is it that you only play ditzes?' And I thought, 'Is she a ditz?' To me, she wasn't," Ms Kudrow recalled.

She explained that Phoebe's unconventional behaviour was frequently misinterpreted, insisting the character was never intended to be unintelligent.

Ms Kudrow made these remarks whilst promoting The Comeback's concluding season, which premiered on HBO last month.

In the series, her character Valerie Cherish takes the lead in a sitcom secretly written by artificial intelligence.

The actress first played Valerie in 2005, returning for a second season in 2014 before this final instalment.