This was an AOL exclusive, I think, so I'm posting the text and not the link.
August 1 2003
If you can't have six friends, one's pretty good. And if you can only have one, this is a pretty good one to have.'' So says a tickled NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker, who ended a Friend-zy of speculation last week by announcing that Matt LeBlanc has agreed to star again as happy-go-lunky Joey Tribbiani in a ''Friends'' spin-off, which is being shepherded by series exec producers Kevin S. Bright, Scott Silveri, and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. When ''Joey'' assumes that familiar Thursday slot in fall 2004, suffice it to say the stakes will be slightly higher than with LeBlanc's last two spin-off attempts, 1991's ''Top of the Heap'' (from ''Married…With Children'') and 1992's ''Vinnie & Bobby'' (surprisingly, from ''Heap''). ''I'm excited and a little nervous and honored,'' says LeBlanc. ''Maybe more than a little nervous.'' Here's what else our Friend to the end -- and beyond -- revealed about his high-profile project.
When did the spin-off idea first come up?
Warner Bros. and NBC approached me about a year and a half ago. And at the time, it felt so premature -- it was something I didn't even really want to think about. ''Friends'' wasn't, in my opinion, near the end yet. But that began the courting process, if you will. And as time went by, my curiosity became more and more piqued…. I remember the first dinner I had with Peter Roth, the president of Warner Bros. Television. We sat down and he just laid it out there on the table, and I was like, Wow. I was really floored. I didn't know how to respond, but my first response was ''Well, what would we call it?'' And he said, ''We'd probably call it 'Joey.''' And just to ease the tension of the moment, I said, ''Why don't we call it 'Where the Hell Is Everybody?'''
Do you have a concrete premise?
There've been some rough ideas thrown around, but it's [in the] very, very, very infantile stages.… I would imagine it takes place in L.A., with Joey's acting career out there.
Did you mull it over with the other Friends?
As soon as I heard about it, I went to them and I told them. We have a very honest, open relationship, all of us. I wanted them to hear it from me. I didn't want there to be any weird vibes. And they've all been on board, very supportive the whole way.
Would you have preferred another season of ''Friends'' instead of a spin-off?
If ''Friends'' could continue on, it would be much less scary for me.… I try not to torture myself like that because this one really is the last one. But would I do another one if everyone was in? Yeah, I'd do another one. It's the best gig in town, man. I got a great parking spot down there. You know how long it takes to get that parking spot?
There are some risks here, including the inevitable ''Well, it's not 'Friends'…''
It shouldn't try to be ''Friends.'' If people say, ''It's no 'Friends,''' I'll say, ''Well, that's a good observation. No s--- it's no 'Friends'!''
Was there ever talk about doing a spin-off with Jennifer Aniston? That was talked about briefly, but then abandoned. I don't know why. The only talks I was seriously involved in were the ones that involved the Joey show.
So much, then, for Joey and Rachel winding up together?
I think that Rachel belongs with Ross. I'll kill Joey if he ends up with her.
Much has been written about NBC's search for the next ''Friends.'' Now the network is handing you the coveted Thursday-at-8 slot when ''Friends'' signs off. You're in the hot seat.
Lot of pressure not to f--- up. [The time slot] is not something I fought for. NBC put that on the table right up front. That upped the amplitude on the whole thing. [Affecting English accent] ''Okay, we're at 11 now, right? Nigel?''
Your deal is unprecedented for a new series -- close to $15 million for the first year and an ownership stake in the show. Technically, though, you'll no longer be making $1 million per episode. Will you be able to scrape by on just $15 million a year?
Well, if you want to run some soup over to the house, I sure could use it.
Will this last season of ''Friends'' lay the groundwork for Joey?
I don't think it will have any bearing on the outcome of the writing on ''Friends'' at all.… ''Friends'' has definitely reserved and earned the right to its own course and destiny. I don't think that will be altered by what comes after ''Friends.'' In the last episode, does Joey have a suitcase in his hand? I don't think so. Maybe a bus ticket in his pocket -- but you don't see that.
Will there be guest spots waiting for the other ''Friends''?
I probably won't talk to them anymore. I mean, I have my own show. F--- them. [Laughs] No, of course, I would love to have them every week. That would be great. Like on ''Frasier,'' when Sam Malone comes by. Those are the best episodes.
When the ''Seinfeld'' actors failed to launch new shows, everyone called it the ''Seinfeld'' curse. Are you worried about a ''Friends'' curse?
Those people waited for two or three years, and they came back playing different characters. People want to be done with you when they're done with you. If you leave them and come back in a different light, they're looking only for the other character that you played. If you're lucky enough to score once in television history, chances are you should stick with that guy, if you're going to come back on TV again. I think that's why ''Frasier'' works. And why ''Watching Ellie'' perhaps does not work. It's important to give people what they want. If it's a character they've grown to love, I mean, people are letting you into their homes and they're spending time with you every week for 10 years. And then if you just yank that and say, ''Now I'm a fireman, ha-ha, and my name's Tim,'' they're going to say, ''Well, go f--- yourself, Tim. Where's Joey?'' It's that simple. When I'm an old man, if people say, ''He played Joey and that's all he did,'' then I can say, ''Yeah, that's right, that's all I did. Did it for a long time, it was a very satisfying career, pulled a lot of jokes, got a lot of great stories to tell my grandchildren -- and get off my property.''