David Schwimmer Couldn’t Listen To ‘Friends’ Song Until Daughter Watched

It took David Schwimmer awhile to get into the “Friends” theme song after he heard it for so many years.

During an April 1 appearance on Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ “Making A Scene” podcast, Schwimmer explained that he didn’t like hearing the show’s signature tune, “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts, after the series was over.

“I never watched the show after we finished it. For me, it’s like I did it. I’m moving on. I don’t really go back and revisit,” he said.

“I’ll be really honest, there was a time, for quite a while, that just hearing the theme song would really — you know what I mean? I just had that reaction. I just had heard it so many times,” Schwimmer added. “And anytime you’d go on a show, or a talk show, or an interview, that would be your intro song. I just didn’t have the greatest response to it for a period of time.”

The star, who played Ross Geller in the hit ’90s sitcom, explained that things didn’t change for him until his 13-year-old daughter, Cleo, got into the show.

“At about … age 9, my kid discovered it and started watching it. And I’d be making breakfast, or whatever, and I’d hear my kid’s laughter. My whole relationship to that song and to the show changed again,” he said.

Schwimmer joked that “it is different when you don’t force a child to watch your work.”

“Friends” debuted in 1994, and it ended in 2004. The series starred Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and the late Matthew Perry as best friends living in New York City. The show, which immediately became popular among viewers, won numerous awards, including a 2002 Emmy for outstanding comedy series.

In September 2024, the show celebrated its 30th anniversary. In honor of the milestone, “Friends” creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, along with executive producer Kevin Bright, spoke with NBC’s Joe Fryer about the show’s impact on younger generations.

“When you have preteens coming up to you, telling you how much they love your show and asking you, ‘Will there be more episodes?’” Bright said.

“We get that a lot. I get emails about it all the time. And everybody has a great idea. And the great idea is their kids grown up doing a ‘Friends’ show,” Kauffman said.

In response, Crane said, “Oh, no, no, no, no.”