The third season of Friends

Friends

Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

, an American situation comedy

Situation comedy

A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

 created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman

Marta Kauffman

Marta Kauffman is an American writer and TV producer, best known as the co-creator of the popular sitcom Friends, alongside David Crane. Both Crane and Kauffman were also executive producer of the show, along with Kevin Bright. Crane and Kauffman have also produced Veronica's Closet, starring...

, premiered on NBC (National Broadcasting Company)

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 on September 19, 1996. It is usually regarded as some of the series's finest work. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions

Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions

Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions is a production company created by Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. The company is most notable for their production work on the American sitcom Friends, which aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004. Other series by Bright/Kauffman/Crane are Veronica's Closet...

, in association with Warner Bros. Television

Warner Bros. Television

Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...

. The season contains 25 episodes and concluded airing on May 15, 1997.

Season synopsis

This season took on a significantly greater serialized format. Rachel begins working at Bloomingdale's and Ross becomes jealous of her co-worker, Mark Robinson. Ross and Rachel break up after Ross sleeps with the hot girl from the copy shop, Chloe. His insistence that he and Rachel were "on a break" becomes a running gag through the remaining seasons. The two show significant animosity towards each other through the second half of the season, though the cliffhanger ending suggests the two reconcile. Interestingly, the first episode after they break up does not focus on the two of them, but on Chandler, who's having a very hard time dealing with the situation, as it reminds him of his parents' divorce. Phoebe Buffay, established as having no family except for an identical twin sister, becomes acquainted with her half-brother, Frank Jr. and in the finale discovers her birth mother she never knew she had. Joey develops a crush on Kate, his acting partner in a new play. At first, she doesn't harbor feelings for him, even after sleeping together. However, after her boyfriend/director dumps her following a scathing review of the play, she turns to Joey for support. The relationship doesn't last long, as she is given an opportunity on a soap opera in Los Angeles. Monica begins a relationship with Pete Becker, a millionaire who has a crush on her. At first, she only sees him as a friend, but eventually, the two begin to date. Preparing for what she thinks is a marriage proposal, Pete confides in her that he wants to become the Ultimate Fighting Champion. After seeing him get beat up badly in two matches, she tells him he has to give it up. Since he won't, she breaks up with him.

Main cast

• Jennifer Aniston
  Jennifer Aniston
  Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
  
   as Rachel Green
  Rachel Green
  Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Jennifer Aniston. Aniston received an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for her performances.-Background:...
  
  
• Courteney Cox
  Courteney Cox
  Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
  
   as Monica Geller
  Monica Geller
  Monica E. Geller Bing is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Courteney Cox. Monica is known as the "Mother Hen" of the group and her Greenwich Village apartment was one of the group's main gathering places. She was also known for her obsessive personality...
  
  
• Lisa Kudrow
  Lisa Kudrow
  Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
  
   as Phoebe Buffay
  Phoebe Buffay
  Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom Friends , portrayed by Lisa Kudrow...
  
  
• Matt LeBlanc
  Matt LeBlanc
  Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc is an American actor, best known for his role as Joey Tribbiani on the NBC sitcoms Friends and its spin-off Joey....
  
   as Joey Tribianni
• Matthew Perry
  Matthew Perry
  Matthew Perry is Canadian-American television and film actor.Matthew Perry or Matt Perry may also refer to:*Matthew C. Perry , American naval officer who forcibly opened Japan to trade with the West...
  
   as Chandler Bing
  Chandler Bing
  Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Matthew Perry.-Background:Chandler Muriel Bing was born on April 8, 1968, the son of an erotic novelist mother and a cross-dressing Las Vegas star and is of Scottish ancestry. Chandler was Ross...
  
  
• David Schwimmer
  David Schwimmer
  David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
  
   as Ross Geller
  Ross Geller
  Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television series Friends, portrayed by David Schwimmer. The character is noted for his geeky, lovable demeanor.- Origin :...
  
  

Recurring cast

• Maggie Wheeler
  Maggie Wheeler
  Maggie Wheeler is an American actress, best known for her role as Janice on the TV show Friends.-Personal life:Wheeler was born Margaret Emily Jakobson in Manhattan...
  
   as Janice Hosenstein
• Jon Favreau
  Jon Favreau
  Jonathan Kolia "Jon" Favreau is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and comedian. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in Rudy, Swingers , Very Bad Things, and The Break-Up. His notable directorial efforts include Elf, Iron Man and its sequel, and Cowboys & Aliens...
  
   as Pete Becker
• Steven Eckholdt
  Steven Eckholdt
  Steven Eckholdt is an American actor of German descent.Eckholdt began his screen career in the mid 1980s. Primarily known for television roles, his main screen appearances include L.A. Law, Melrose Place, It's Like, You Know..., Providence, The West Wing and The L Word...
  
   as Mark Robinson
• Angela Featherstone
  Angela Featherstone
  Angela Eileen Featherstone is a Canadian actress. She is best known for playing Chloe, in Friends.Angela Featherstone was a model in the 1980's. She has been an actress since 1992 in films and television. While acting Featherstone created sitcoms she sold to Sony, DreamWorks and NBC television...
  
   as Chloe
• Giovanni Ribisi
  Giovanni Ribisi
  Giovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, The Mod Squad, The Gift, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lost in Translation and more recently, Public Enemies and Avatar...
  
   as Frank Buffay, Jr.
• Dina Meyer
  Dina Meyer
  Dina Meyer is an American film and television actress, best known for her roles as Dizzy Flores in Starship Troopers and Detective Allison Kerry in the Saw films. She portrayed Mrs. Hong as a recurring guest star on ABC's Scoundrels.-Personal life:Meyer was born in Queens, New York...
  
   as Kate Miller
• James Michael Tyler
  James Michael Tyler
  James Michael Tyler is a US actor best known for his role as Gunther on the NBC sitcom Friends.-Biography:James Michael Tyler was born the youngest of six children on 28 May 1962 in Winona, Mississippi, US to a retired Air Force captain and a homemaker...
  
   as Gunther

Episodes

№	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date