The Surprising Connection Between Friends and Home Alone

The Shared Universe Theory

A theory about a connection between Friends and Home Alone has been proven correct. Friends is a long-running sitcom following the personal lives of a tight-knit group of twentysomethings that ran on NBC between 1994 and 2004. Home Alone, on the other hand, is a 1990 holiday movie starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, who is left home alone during Christmas and is forced to use a variety of makeshift booby traps to defend his home from burglars.

Daren Janes Comments on an Instagram Post About the Connection Between Friends and Home Alone

On Instagram, Scott Westwood posted a video giving evidence to support the theory that the home Chandler and Monica purchase in Friends season 10 is the same home where the McCallisters live in Home Alone. Check it out below:

Ross (David Schwimmer) & Joey (Matt LeBlanc) sitting on the couch at Central Perk in Friends season 5, episode 20

In the comments, Friends art director Daren Janes, who worked on 209 episodes of the show, piped up to confirm that 'we used the backing from a company called Pacific Studios which was made for Home Alone because it looked the best through the door & windows.'

Instagram article posted by kazascoot

The Pop Culture Connections of Friends

While the use of the same backdrop has been confirmed, the shared universe theory nevertheless doesn't entirely hold water. While Friends season 10 sees Monica and Chandler moving out of New York City, they find a home in the suburbs of New York state, whereas Home Alone is set in the suburbs of Chicago. The filming locations also don't match, as Friends was primarily shot on soundstages in Los Angeles while Home Alone was filmed in various locations around Illinois, with the real-life houses depicted in the backdrop being located in Winnetka.

Friends, however, does occupy a shared universe with a variety of other NBC shows. The Friends cast made crossover cameo appearances on other programs during the show's run, including appearances by Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) on Caroline in the City and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) on The Single Guy. Caroline in the City's Caroline (Lea Thompson) also returned the favor with a cameo on a season 2 episode of Friends.

ER's George Clooney and Noah Wyle also cameoed on Friends as doctors, but they were playing different characters than those they portrayed in the iconic medical drama. Their longest-running crossover was with the show Mad About You, which featured Friends star Lisa Kudrow as the waitress Ursula. To acknowledge the overlap, the sitcom worked Ursula into the cast as the twin sister of Kudrow's character Phoebe, and she eventually made eight appearances over the course of the show. While the shared universe with Home Alone doesn't extend beyond a backstage tidbit, at the very least, the long-running sitcom has proven it doesn't exist in a pop culture vacuum.

Conclusion

The unexpected connection between Friends and Home Alone has sparked curiosity and excitement among fans of both the sitcom and the iconic holiday movie. While the shared universe theory has its limitations, it has opened up a world of pop culture connections within the Friends universe, showcasing the show's impact and influence on the television landscape.