What TV show did Friends rip off, Friends has been accused by some of ripping off other shows, but creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane have said Friends was original, though it shares similarities with earlier ensemble shows about friends in city. Most commonly, Friends is said to have similarities to Living Single, Fox sitcom that premiered in 1993, a year before Friends in 1994, about six friends living in Brooklyn, three men and three women, navigating careers and relationships, with similar apartment setting and diverse cast including Queen Latifah, and some cast of Living Single claimed Friends borrowed premise. Another show often mentioned is Seinfeld, which premiered in 1989 and established format of friends hanging out in apartment and coffee shop discussing relationships, which influenced Friends. British show Coupling was sometimes called rip off of Friends but actually came after Friends. Friends creators have acknowledged influences from Cheers and other ensemble comedies, but denied directly ripping off specific show, though they admitted they watched Living Single. Most critics view Friends as building on ensemble sitcom tradition rather than direct rip off, but Living Single is most cited as show that Friends may have borrowed from, leading to controversy at time about lack of diversity in Friends compared to Living Single.
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