Real Friends

Hello there, it's me: this is something new that's going to be appearing regularly throughout the year. It's called Real Friends, a TV show I created in 2015. Today we commemorate 20 years of the show's premiere, which was on May the 2nd, 1998. The show began production on July 28, 1997, and the first episode wrapped up production on August 1 of that year. The was pitched to AVB on July 29, for 36 episodes, the auditions were held the day after, the eight members were cast, however, one of them decided to work on another project, and one more audition was held on July 31. On the afternoon, the table reading took place, but without the main cast members, Joey Henderson, the creator, wanted the eight of them to meet on the day of filming, which was the following day. And so it happened, on that same day, the eight members became friends. The show premiered in May 1998 to 40.1 millions viewers in the USA, it broke the record of most viewers for an episode of an AVB show, which was matched on June 23, 2017. The show is highly regarded as one of the best shows of all time, and has been cited as: A comedy that should be taken seriously.
Basic information:
Genre: Sitcom
Created by: Joey Henderson
Starring:
Brian Ray
Mandy Morrison
John Raymond
Alison Stevens
Marvin Mendez
Rose Thompson
Brad Williams
Ann Lee
Theme music composer: The Strugglers
Opening theme: Real Friends Theme Song
Composers: The Strugglers
Country of origin: United States
Original language: English
Number of seasons: 6
Number of episodes: 218
Executive producer: Joey Henderson
Producers: Various
Editors:
Joey Henderson
Adam Weiss
Bryan Boyd
Camera setup: Single-camera
Production company: JWH Productions
Distributor: AVB Channel
Original network: AVB
Picture format:
480i
1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format:
Stereo
Dolby Digital 5.1
Original release: May 2, 1998-November 29, 2003
Characters:
The Bosses:
Luke (Brian Ray): A fun and easygoing man, who was the third to join the company, he's someone fun to be around with and will constantly be looking to help others.
Christie (Mandy Morrison): A nice woman, who was the co-founder alongside Ryan, he tends to be a little tougher than the other characters, but her nice persona makes up for it.
Ryan (John Raymond): An excellent person, who was the co-founder alongside Christie, Ryan is shown to be a smart, direct and well-meaning man, who will always be looking to do what's best.
Jessie (Alison Stevens): The fourth member to join the group and the youngest boss, Jessie is a pretty subtle person but when the time requires it, she can become someone hard, nonetheless, it is possible to almost always find her in a good mood and she'll always be willing to do good things.
The Employees:
Kevin (Marvin Mendez): The oldest member of the group and the first employee to be hired, he's a relaxed man who doesn't really think of every single aspect and can sometimes be a bit dubious, but he always has good intentions for people.
Jo (Rose Thompson): The youngest member of the group and the last to join it, Jo's arguably the most intense member of the group, but is always shown with a good, nice and amicable personality and will always look to do something good.
Charlie (Brad Williams): The youngest male member of the group and the second employee to join the group, he's perhaps the most easygoing and most dubious person in the group, he can show at times signs of not wanting to some some things but will always and very consistently show that he's a good man.
Kim (Ann Lee): The third employee to be hired, she is a lover of the art of cooking. She constantly shows her good personality but her tone can switched to a serious one, but the objective of what she's talking will remain the same. She's gladly help someone if the person needs it.
The show's message is to show what real friends are for, and throughout the situations that occur it is shown in the end. Throughout the first season the characters break the fourth wall, in the second seasons they make pop culture references, in the third season they quote famous movie lines, in the fourth season they imitate celebrities, with many appearing throughout the season, in season 5 they express their opinion on mostly serious topics and in the sixth season they do everything that had been done.
The show went through a different direction in the fourth season, with a noticeable increase of famous guest stars, something that has been received with mixed opinions, the cast members were not really fond on the constant appearances of guest stars. The show improved towards the end of the season, and the fifth season turned out to be good, but still had a lot of emphasis on guest stars. Season 6 was an improvement over the two and it concluded the series well.
The show, the actors and the people behind the show received numerous awards. Many claim that the first line of the show, spoken by John Raymond, is one of the best ever said on television.
"Hello there. I'm Ryan. Throughout this program, you will be able to see what's going to occur, a lot of crazy stuff, a lot of serious stuff, but whatever the situation is, there's always the same purpose: what real friends are for. We all need friends, we know why they're important, here, although some things will not seem consistent, just remember the message I just talked about. It's something that needs to be taken into account at all times, however crazy a situation can be. No matter how many doubts you have, the purpose will stay the same, I can assure you that, almost every doubt that you have there will be cleared as you watch the show, I hope you will enjoy almost everything that will come out on here. Thanks for making the decision of staying to watch, enjoy the show"
The show premiered at 21:30 Pacific Time Zone on the AVB Channel on May 2, 1998. It is the only AVB show ever to air every single episode in order, and to never change its running time.

The AVB Channel

Real Friends

Pilot

1

Created by: Joey Henderson

Distribution company: JWH Productions

Season: 1

Episode number: 1

Airdate: May 2, 1998

Airtime: 21:30 P.M. Pacific Time Zone

Production dates: July 28 to August 1, 1997

Filmed: August 1, 1997

Filming location: AVB Studios, Los Angeles, USA

Directed by: Joey Henderson

Written by: Joey Henderson

Produced by: Joey Henderson

Edited by: Joey Henderson, Adam Weiss and Bryan Boyd

Production code: 101

Length: 22:46

U.S. viewers: 40.1 million

Plot

We are introduced to the company Friendship, whose objective is to show what real friends are for, alongside that, many situations will occur but they all have the same purpose, to show others what real friends do, what they're made of and why they do what they do

Synopsis

The episode starts with Ryan (John Raymond) opening the window and explaining to the viewers what is going to happen throughout the show, afterwards the viewers are introduced to the other main characters: Luke (Brian Ray), Christie (Mandy Morrison), Jessie (Alison Stevens); who are the bosses alongside Ryan, Kevin (Marvin Mendez), Jo (Rose Thompson), Charlie (Brad Williams) and Kim (Ann Lee); the latter four are the employees. The scene then progresses to them talking about how long they've been working together, Jo then states that she can't believe how much time has passed and Charlie afterwards says that sometimes the lessons that they're taught do not always seem the way they are. Ryan points out that it will take time for some to understand them properly. Luke confirms that Ryan's statement is affirmative, to which the others agree, Kim proceeds with saying that they should more consistent, the others then stare at her and them she claims that she didn't say her statement correctly and leaves the room.

After the theme song is played, the bosses are shown eating at Rosso's where Ryan explains that it will be their main hangout place outside the house, the four are then seen talking about projects for university, after Luke talks about one he's in charge of. Christie states that her final project was similar but a bit more complicated with Jessie then saying that they'll have an ever bigger one the following year. Ryan affirms that they shouldn't stress out about their projects, the others then claim that Ryan's final project was too easy, Ryan states that it wasn't really that easy and points out that he was trying to give some advice, the other realize that fact after thinking about it and admit that Ryan was right, he [Ryan] afterwards states that being rights feels good.

At the house, Jo is shown talking on the phone with one of her professors, Professor Mitchell, about her latest project and the company, Kevin and Charlie come in and talk about the topics and Kim comes in and joins the talk, they all suggest she find a solution because they're unsure on what advice to give; the three leave and Jo feels desperate. The bosses then come in, and Ryan consoles Jo saying that every problem has a solution; Jo feels relieved and thanks Ryan, after Jo leaves the other bosses point out that Ryan is a good adviser and that he should make money out of giving advice, and Ryan states that he may do just that, after the bosses leave, Ryan tells the viewers some features about himself and that others frequently point out those features.

After the first break, the scene cuts to Ryan's room where he's playing a with a Gameboy and Luke talking to him while he's taking notes on his notebook. The two talk about what they've done lately and Luke expresses that he[Ryan]'s great at basically everything, Ryan states that he has flaws just like everyone and Luke responds with saying that real friends are there to state good things about others as well as others statements. He leaves and Ryan admits that he hadn't expected him to say something like that, because he's more about saying fun stuff, Luke then enters and suggests that they play video games and he stays that he's up for it and they leave the room, he then returns to the room stating that they'll see something good later on. 

The scenario cuts to Kim's room with Jo talking to Kim about what she's going to do with Kim commenting that what she plans to do is good, while she's filing her fingernails, Kevin and Charlie come into the room, then revealing that Professor Mitchell (Andrew McCormick) came, he then reveals that some things about the project are going to be changed and that he misunderstood what Jo was claiming with also pointing out that she's a good student and apologizes for not always noting her good intentions. Jo then apologizes, saying that she got out of control when she stated her claim. The other praise Jo for being strong on stating what she'd said, Ryan states that it is always good to be strong, no matter how hard a situation can be. Jo affirms that and thanks everyone for trusting and supporting her adding that they're great friends.

After the second break, Kevin, Charlie and Luke are shown in the living room, with Kevin and Charlie on how confident people can be when it comes to rough situations, Charlie states that a lot people have so many doubts, they don't really think of the good aspects, Kevin agrees on the fact and Luke joins in that everyone will have doubts on certain things, and that the bad moments are going to be there, Kevin thinks of what he said and agrees on it, and Charlie adds furthermore that you can't really get rid of bad things, no matter how hard you try, bad things will always appear at some point. The girls come in and start talking about how life can be tough, because Kim had just had an argument with a cousin on the phone, and they're unsure if Kim will be able to move forward from the problem, Ryan then appears and enters from the window, and proceed to give advice to Kim and the others. Once again, he's praised for giving out good advise, and Ryan thanks them for their statements.

After the others leave, Ryan proceed to state what Luke had told him earlier, that real friends are there support each other, through thick and thin, and that if people ever had doubts about it, they shouldn't ever be afraid of asking, every doubt that people have about other will be answered at some point. Ryan finishes his talk thanking the viewers for sticking around to what happened throughout the episodes and leaves.

The credits scene has the group on their basement hanging out saying good things about each other, after a little while they begin to express things that they want to do, and Ryan suggest that they play pool, to do something competivie, just to have fun, the other joins in and the episode ends.

Starring:

Brian Ray as Luke Wilson

Mandy Morrison as Christie Daniels

John Raymond as Ryan Johnson

Alison Stevens as Jessie Gomez

Marvin Mendez as Kevin Eriksson

Rose Thompson as Jo Carlson

Brad Williams as Charlie Carrey

Ann Lee and Kim Bush

Guest star:

Andrew McCormick as Professor James Mitchell

Trivia:

• The episode began production on July 28, 1997 and ended on August 1 of that year. Filming started at 14.00 and ended at 17:30, the episode was officially completed at 18:30.
• Rose Thompson stated that filming the episode was one of the best moments in her life, and that after finishing filming she cried for joy at her house, because she couldn't believe what had happened.
• Marvin Mendez stated that being cast as Kevin is perhaps the "bravest thing he's done in his acting career".
• Brad Williams was not originally supposed to be a cast member, African-American Zeke Dabney had been cast to play as Charlie, but on the day after the auditions he was offered a role on the show Family Life, which he accepted and kindly decline the role of Charlie. Later that day the auditions for said character were held again, with Brad Williams being the last main cast member to be chosen.
• It took approximately 3 months for Joey Henderson to write the episode.
• Filming generally lasted for about 3 hours. Editing normally took 1 hour or 2.
• Because 6 of the eight members were still attending university they were not able to attend every table reading and rehearsal, but they would always be present when the episode was going to be filmed. Marvin Mendez and John Raymond were the only members who had finished their education. 
• The show premiered worldwide in the Anglo-speaking world throughout May of 1998, the show premiered in Latin America on January 9, 1999. 
• The episode was ranked by Playboy as #1 First episode on May 2, 2008, on the show's 10th anniversary.
• A lot of support was shown worldwide to the actors and the other people involved on the show on May 2, 2018 during live streams, a lot of appreciation has been shown since the show's premiere.
• The LA times published an article on May 4, 1998 regarding on the episode's message.                                                                                                                                                                                                      I hope you enjoyed the episode, stick around next Wednesday for the next episode. Sincerely, Augusto