While the first season of Friends introduced us to the world and the main characters of the show very well, that doesn’t mean that all of the best characters were involved right from the start. Sure, this season had some amazing appearances from fan favorites, but it also lacked many others.
Some of the most iconic characters from the hit sitcom weren’t introduced until much later on in the show. Joining later certainly wasn’t a bad thing either as the feel of the show had been established, and it was easier for the writers to create characters the fans enjoyed. That’s why so many great people pop up after the original season of the show. Within this list, we will reveal the 10 greatest characters that didn’t make any appearances in season one of Friends.
Tag Jones
We will kickstart this list with Tag Jones, who was involved in seven episodes of Friends, first appearing in “The One With Rachel’s Assistant” in series seven. He was hired as Rachel’s assistant at Ralph Lauren, but for all the wrong reasons, as Rachel picked him simply because of his physical appearance.
The two ended up dating for a brief period where it became clear that he was incredibly immature. He often acted much younger than he was in reality, and this did lead to some really funny moments, which made him a memorable character.
Pete Becker
Played to perfection by Jon Favreau, Pete Becker was Monica Geller’s millionaire love interest in season three of the show. The two of them really hit it off from the moment he joined the show, and their chemistry on-screen really was fantastic, which led to some brilliant scenes.
Jon Favreau is an incredibly talented actor, especially in the comedy world, where he really has superb timing. That was never clearer than this role. Pete didn’t outstay his welcome and left the show in a hilarious manner as he pursued his career in UFC, which was a royal disaster.
Jill Greene
Throughout Friends, both of Rachel’s sisters make appearances on the show. However, out of the two, the most memorable is certainly Jill Greene, who is played brilliantly by Reese Witherspoon. She ends up being cut off by her father, just like Rachel was; however, she ends up going back and doesn’t become independent.
She’s spoiled and bratty and doesn’t really care if anyone knows it. Jill happily complains and disrespects Rachel’s friends, seemingly thinking everything is fine while she does it. She even ends up dating Ross during her two-episode appearance, which leads to plenty of fun drama as well.
Janine LaCroix
She might have been someone who annoyed viewers because she didn’t like Chandler and Monica, but that didn’t stop Janine from being a genuinely funny character. Janine is involved in season six of the show and dates Joey, being one of his few long-term partners on the show.
Janine is a nice person for the most part, and she has some very funny moments with Joey. Had she not hated Chandler and Monica it would have been easy to imagine her sticking around longer, but sadly that wasn’t the case.
Charlie Wheeler
Joining Friends in season nine, Charlie Wheeler makes an immediate impact on the group. Sticking around for nine episodes, including a two-part trip to Barbados, dating both Joey and Ross during that time, it’s fair to say she was quite an important character.
Charlie was someone who didn’t tiptoe around the others as previous partners had done. She was confident enough to crack up jokes, and also question elements of the group, which others never did. She was a very intelligent character, and that made her instantly stand out, being involved in many memorable moments that made her a great character.
Estelle Leonard
When it comes to bringing pure comedy, there are few characters better than Estelle Leonard. While her scenes are normally only short ones with Joey, who she works as an agent for, they’re always hilarious. She is possibly the worst agent in the world, a chain smoker who doesn’t seem to care about her job, but that makes her even funnier.
She just comes out with the most incredible one-liners every time she appears, and that’s why fans ended up loving her so much. She tries her best for Joey, and she is one of the few characters who actually dies during Friends as well.
Alice & Frank Buffay Jr
We are putting this adorable couple in as one entry because the majority of their appearances are together and their storyline is as a couple. They do actually debut in different seasons though, with Phoebe’s brother, Frank Jr making his first appearance in season two, while Alice didn’t join the show until near the end of the third season.
However, this couple was absolutely hilarious when they were together. Despite the big age gap between them, they were incredibly affectionate with each other. They played off one another very well and led to some of Phoebe’s best scenes as she carried their embryo for them.
Erica
Erica was the character who provided Chandler and Monica with their children, and therefore her importance to the show is clear straight away. She’s a very sweet woman and brings a lot of joy to the show throughout her scenes, and her impact on Monica and Chandler’s life can’t be understated.
She, like most characters on the show, does also bring plenty of comedy as well. She’s not the most intelligent person who appears throughout Friends’ run, and because of that, she comes out with some incredible lines that had audiences in stitches.
Richard Burke
One of the most popular characters who join the show post-season one is Richard Burke, who is another of Monica’s love interests. Outside of Chandler Bing, Richard is the one person that Monica really falls in love with, and so did the fans of the show.
He was kind, intelligent, and incredibly caring. The only issue for them was the age gap meant Richard didn’t want more children. It was a heartbreaking moment when they agreed to break up, but the fact it remains one of the shows most emotional moments proves how great Richard was.
Mike Hannigan
When it comes to the best characters in Friends that aren’t part of season one, there is only really one top option, and that’s Mike Hannigan. Paul Rudd plays this character amazingly from season nine all the way to eventually getting to marry Phoebe in one of Friends’ greatest moments.
Mike genuinely felt like a member of the core group by the time Friends ended, and that just shows how great this character was. He was involved in some of the funniest moments, from his awkward day with Ross to changing his name to Crap Bag.
