The concept of "Best Friends Forever" is incredibly simple. Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair, the creators of the show (and both alums of improv comedy troupe, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre), play Lennon Walker and Jessica Black, two, obviously, best friends forever, who live on opposite sides of the country, after Jessica moved out of Brooklyn to start a life with her husband.
But when Jessica gets served divorce papers, it's Lennon to the rescue, insisting that her BFF move back to NYC and move in with her so they can help heal her heart. There's just one small snag: Lennon now has a live in boyfriend, Joe Foley (Folly?) played by Luka Jones.
Lennon's commitment to Jessica clearly supersedes her romantic relationship, but, you know, she doesn't not care for Joe... it's just that... Best Friends Forever! So most of the comedy is coming from the friction of how these two very different relationships wore on each other.
Joe is a video game creator and is often lazing around the house doing stuff that's more appropriate for a teen to do, which doesn't help things, since he seems to always be there at the wrong moment when Lennon and Jessica are working some things out. Lennon is bending over backwards for Jessica. And that definitely cuts into Lennon and Joe's lovey-dovey time. What are they to do, (that could be shown on a prime-time network sitcom)?
New York played a part because all of their friends, relations and relationships are floating around in this orbit, all of their habits and foibles and peccadilloes are related to the bars they go to, the restaurants they frequent, the people they run into and the ghosts of their past, including Jessica's ex, who has to turn up just to complicate things that much more.
It's also worth mentioning that the director of every episode of the series was famed child actor from "The Wonder Years," Fred Savage. His pedigree in comedy was well established by this time.
According to the Press Kit, the program also was influenced by another show: a particular episode of "Laverne & Shirley," a comedy about two friends who shared an apartment (but without one of their boyfriends living with them). While that may have been the case, the BFFs have a lot more seriousness to deal with in 2010s New York than that previous pair did in 1950s Milwaukee.
Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some funny circumstances that happen as a part of all of this, and there is some truth about the meaning of friendships and how the dynamic between a long-time, close as can be relationship pairs with a relatively newer romance, that's close enough to share a living space but isn't deep enough to reach that friend's bond.
In fact, this friendship went so deep that, when this series ended, Ms. Parham and Ms. St. Clair retooled the concept, relocated the show to nearby Connecticut and retitled it "Playing House" which ran for a couple of seasons longer on USA network, and even Mr. Savage returned and directed a couple of episodes of that one, too... but that wouldn't, doesn't and can't count for this list.
But when Jessica gets served divorce papers, it's Lennon to the rescue, insisting that her BFF move back to NYC and move in with her so they can help heal her heart. There's just one small snag: Lennon now has a live in boyfriend, Joe Foley (Folly?) played by Luka Jones.
Lennon's commitment to Jessica clearly supersedes her romantic relationship, but, you know, she doesn't not care for Joe... it's just that... Best Friends Forever! So most of the comedy is coming from the friction of how these two very different relationships wore on each other.
Joe is a video game creator and is often lazing around the house doing stuff that's more appropriate for a teen to do, which doesn't help things, since he seems to always be there at the wrong moment when Lennon and Jessica are working some things out. Lennon is bending over backwards for Jessica. And that definitely cuts into Lennon and Joe's lovey-dovey time. What are they to do, (that could be shown on a prime-time network sitcom)?
New York played a part because all of their friends, relations and relationships are floating around in this orbit, all of their habits and foibles and peccadilloes are related to the bars they go to, the restaurants they frequent, the people they run into and the ghosts of their past, including Jessica's ex, who has to turn up just to complicate things that much more.
It's also worth mentioning that the director of every episode of the series was famed child actor from "The Wonder Years," Fred Savage. His pedigree in comedy was well established by this time.
According to the Press Kit, the program also was influenced by another show: a particular episode of "Laverne & Shirley," a comedy about two friends who shared an apartment (but without one of their boyfriends living with them). While that may have been the case, the BFFs have a lot more seriousness to deal with in 2010s New York than that previous pair did in 1950s Milwaukee.
Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some funny circumstances that happen as a part of all of this, and there is some truth about the meaning of friendships and how the dynamic between a long-time, close as can be relationship pairs with a relatively newer romance, that's close enough to share a living space but isn't deep enough to reach that friend's bond.
In fact, this friendship went so deep that, when this series ended, Ms. Parham and Ms. St. Clair retooled the concept, relocated the show to nearby Connecticut and retitled it "Playing House" which ran for a couple of seasons longer on USA network, and even Mr. Savage returned and directed a couple of episodes of that one, too... but that wouldn't, doesn't and can't count for this list.