LOS ANGELES — February 2026 — Friends fans around the world are reeling after one of the show’s most unexpected and passionate pleas yet: Lisa Kudrow — the actress who played Phoebe Buffay — has publicly appealed to the incoming owners of Warner Bros. Discovery to preserve the original Friends studio lot in Burbank, California. Her plea has ignited fierce debates across social media and entertainment circles over the future of one of television’s most iconic sets.
In a recent interview for Architectural Digest, Kudrow described the Friends studio as “special not just to me, but to the entire industry” and urged that it remain unchanged despite ongoing acquisition battles involving Warner Bros. Discovery. She emphasized that maintaining the beloved set — where millions of fans imagined Central Perk and the characters’ apartments — is vital to preserving television history.
Fans on social platforms have exploded with reactions. Some are hailing Kudrow’s emotional appeal as a last line of defense against losing a cultural treasure, with fervent calls to hashtag campaigns demanding preservation. Others argue that creative progress sometimes requires change, and that studios cannot be frozen in time simply for nostalgia. The debate has become one of the biggest Friends-related conversations of 2026.
But the drama doesn’t stop there. As the world buzzes about possible changes at Warner Bros. — including a major acquisition bid led by a streaming giant — rumors swirl that this beloved set could be reconfigured or repurposed for future productions. This possibility has further intensified the discourse among fans, journalists, and celebrities alike.
Meanwhile, Friends continues to make headlines with its shifting streaming availability internationally — a fact that has annoyed and energized fans in equal measure. In some regions, the show’s removal from major platforms has driven renewed conversation about its lasting relevance and the commercial incentives behind controlling its distribution.
Across X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and fan forums, the Friends legacy debate has transformed from simple nostalgia into a full-blown cultural preservation movement — one that might influence how studios treat historic television properties for years to come.