Friends is one of the most beloved sitcoms in TV history. The show ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 and has now gained traction with a whole new generation through streaming services and cable reruns. There just seems to be something about the six friends who sit together in a coffee shop and share the ups and downs of their lives.

When it was on the air, Friends hit record numbers for viewership. Neilson ratings, which is a system of rating shows based on the number of viewers a show has when it airs, have shown that Friends maintained exceptional viewer numbers from its start to finish. While the show is loved as a whole by its dedicated fans, the Nielson ratings of each season can help fans understand which seasons were the most successful during their original runs on TV.

10 Season 7 – 14.2

Season 7 has a few fan-favorite episodes, such as “The One With The Nap Partners,” where Joey and Ross fight the temptation to snuggle with each other to take a nap. The most popular episode of that season, however, was the finale, “The One with Monica and Chandler’s Wedding,” which was one of the most important episodes for Chandler and Monica.

While this season was still enjoyable, there may not have been quite enough going on to keep viewers tuning in for every episode.

9 Season 6 – 15.2

Season 6 had a lot of quotable moments, such as in “The One with Unagi” and Bruce Willis’s hilarious moment in front of the mirror in “The One Where Paul is The Man.” However, the ratings for this season didn’t really get high until the final episode, “The One with the Proposal.” where Monica and Chandler finally get engaged.

While it ended strong, there wasn’t much going on in this season. Ross and Rachel’s respective relationships got boring fast, and many viewers were getting tired of waiting for Monica and Chandler to move their relationship forward.

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8 Season 9 – 15.2

This season started strong, picking right up in the hospital after Rachel gave birth to her baby. In that episode “The One Where no one Proposes,” Joey accidentally proposes to Rachel, and she surprised everyone by saying yes.

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As the season went on, however, viewership started to slightly fall. The lives of the friends were going well, and it seems audiences are a little more interested in some conflict.

7 Season 5 – 16.5

This is another season that started off stronger than it ended. In the first episode, “The One After Ross Says Rachel,” viewers were anxious about what the result of the disastrous wedding would be. Between Ross and Emily’s relationship ending, Monica and Chandlers just starting, and Rachel being unsure where she stood, there was a lot for audiences to tune in for.

The rest of the season had a lot of great moments as Monica and Chandler tried to hide their relationship and Ross licks his wounds, but ultimately the viewer ratings were average in comparison to other seasons.

6 Season 8 – 16.5

Season 8 starts with the second half of Monica and Chandler’s wedding and the long-awaited answer to whether or not Rachel is pregnant. Naturally, this meant that the show’s first episode started with high ratings.

The rest of the season did well too, with quite a lot going on for everyone. Monica and Chandler were figuring out newly wed life, and Rachel and Ross were working out how to support each other as co-parents. Audiences also had their hearts broken with Joey as they watched him fall in love with Rachel, knowing she didn’t feel the same way in return.

5 Season 10 – 16.8

There was a lot to wrap up in the 10th and final season of the show. Audiences got to see Rachel and Joey try out a relationship, Phoebe marry her soulmate Mike, and the birth of Monica and Chandler’s twins.

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Season 10 also had some memorable episodes that were a little less focal to the plot, such as “The One with Ross’s Tan,” and “The One Where the Stripper Cries,” guest-starred by Danny DeVito.  Of course, the most viewed episode of the entire season is “The Last One,” with a rating of 29.8 and 52.46 million viewers.

4 Season 1 – 16.9

This season is the first that audiences fell in love with. It was full of development for the characters that fans were just starting to get to know, and a lot of very memorable moments, such as in “The One with the Blackout,” which established Chandler as one of the funniest characters,  and “The One Where Nana Dies Twice.”

The final episode of the season, “The One Where Rachel Finds Out,” is the episode with the highest ratings. Audiences were excited that Ross was finally going to have a chance with Rachel and eager to start the 2nd season to see what would happen.

3 Season 4 – 16.9

Season 4 had a lot going on for audiences to enjoy. It started strong with the popular “The One with the Jellyfish,” and continued on to cover Phoebe’s pregnancy with her brother’s triplets, Ross’s engagement to Emily, and Rachel battling with her feeling over Ross.

The finale for this season was huge, with the entire cast heading to Europe to actually film in England. “The One with Ross’s Wedding” had a rating of 21.2, and left audiences with the cliffhanger of Ross accidentally saying Rachel’s name during his ceremony.

2 Season 3 – 17.5

There were a lot of emotions stirring around in season 3, with Ross and Rachel going through their famous break-up in “The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break,” which has a rating of 18.3.

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Ross and Rachel weren’t the only characters of interest, however. Monica meets up with Richard again, Phoebe meets her brother Frank Jr., and Joey and Chandler adopt their beloved pets chick and duck. This season was the best for the relationship between Joey and Chandler, solidifying them in the minds of fans as the perfect bro roommates.

1 Season 2 – 20.5

Season 2 had the challenge of keeping the success of the show’s first season rolling, and it seems to have done just that.  It had the show’s single most viewed episode, “The One After the Super Bowl,” which is so named because it held the timeslot immediately after that year’s Super Bowl game. A record 52.9 million viewers tuned in, watching the extra long episode full of guest starts like Jean-Claud Van Damme, Julia Roberts, and Brooke Shields.

This season was also popular due to Ross and Rachel finally getting together. This starts in “The One Where Ross Finds Out,” where the two finally share in a steamy kiss at Central Perk, and then in “The One With the Prom Video,” where Rachel makes one of her best decision in the show and chooses to finally be with Ross.

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Angel Shaw
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Angel is a Senior List Writer at Screen Rant. She is deeply in love with any form of storytelling, whether it be books, movies, TV Shows, or video games. In her free time, Angel can typically be found binge-watching comfort shows, playing any Zelda game, or goofing around with her family.

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