The Real Reason Matt Leblanc Couldn't Stand the Joey/Rachel Storyline
With ten seasons spanning an entire decade, nothing quite beats Friends for what it brought to the sitcom genre. With flings, romances, and long-term relationships a plenty, the show was – and still is – incredibly popular.
Despite the final season being almost 20 years old, people are still watching and still talking about the series and what it brought to our lives – and this is mainly down to its characters and storylines.
Generally speaking, fans loved the Monica and Chandler pairing – and the episode where everyone finds out about their relationship is one of the most popular – but it was the Ross and Rachel storyline that people just couldn't get enough of. Would they end up together? Were they on a break?!
This love for Ross and Rachel did mean, however, that fans (and actors) didn't particularly warm to the Joey and Rachel plotline that ran over a couple of seasons.
Rachel and Joey
In Season 8 Episode 12 "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel," Joey and Rachel go on a date as friends. However, he then finds himself falling for her. This story arc develops over a couple of seasons and it takes them until Season 9 to kiss and Season 10 to date properly. Yet, the relationship doesn't go anywhere and ends abruptly when they talk with Monica and Chandler and realize it wouldn't work. This occurs in Season 10 Episode 3 "The One With Ross' Tan."
How did Matt Le Blanc feel about the plot line?
There's no doubt that Matt Le Blanc loved playing Joey (as well as receiving the paycheck) but since the show ended, he revealed that he didn't like the Rachel and Joey storyline. Despite loving his co-star, he didn't believe Joey would or should have had a relationship with Rachel. He actually felt the whole thing was inappropriate given how close the pair were as friends. Not only that but he felt that Joey as a person wouldn't have gone near Rachel because of Ross. Apparently, Jennifer Aniston also protested to writers too.
"In Season Eight or Nine we had Joey fall for Rachel, and that scared everybody," series co-creator David Crane told Vanity Fair. "She was pregnant. The actors freaked out. Matt [LeBlanc] kept saying, 'It’s wrong. It’s like I want to be with my sister.' We said, 'Yes, it’s absolutely wrong. That’s why we have to do it.' You can’t just keep spinning the same plates. You have to go places where you’re not expected to go."
But what about the viewers? Just like Matt Le Blanc, lots of Friends fans also thought that Joey wouldn't have been attracted to Rachel because of his friendship with Ross and how he felt about her as a friend. Despite a few thinking they were well suited as a pair, most thought it was a storyline that was just shoehorned for no apparent reason. Most of all, everyone knew that it would only be a passing relationship before Rachel and Ross reunited. Still, it likely did what it was intended to do, which was to get fans talking!