--- title: The Creepy Alternate Ending for 'Friends' That's Gone Viral description: Be warned: if you read it, 'Friends' will never quite be the same for you again. canonical: https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-27T08:32:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:47.158Z og:title: The Creepy Alternate Ending for 'Friends' That's Gone Viral og:description: Caution: If you read this, 'Friends' will never quite be the same for you again og:url: https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Creepy Alternate Ending for 'Friends' That's Gone Viral twitter:description: Caution: If you read this, 'Friends' will never quite be the same for you again twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Creepy Alternate Ending for _Friends_ That's Gone Viral > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: 5 Reasons TV's Top Shows Are So Addictive [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Reasons TV's Top Shows Are So Addictive](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2RqNgPrk.m3u8) (2:16)  _Published 2014-01-16. Here's a look at how our favorite TV shows—from "Game of Thrones" to "Scandal" and "Breaking Bad"—keep us coming back for more._ by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Aug 27, 2015 8:32 AM UTC by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Aug 27, 2015 8:32 AM UTC On May 6, 2004, millions of hearts broke as Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe said one final goodbye to _the_ apartment, left their keys on the counter and walked out to get one last coffee at Central Perk in the emotional _Friends_ [series finale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMsr-fWGvKM). But what if the iconic TV show had ended differently? A Twitter user called [@strnks](https://twitter.com/strnks) has a theory. And it’s a far cry from the sad but heartwarming final scene of the 10-season sitcom. In the alternate ending, there are only five friends. Their names wouldn’t be Monica, Chandler, Joey, Ross and Rachel — those identities, as well as the events of the show itself, are the figments of the imagination of a homeless, meth-addict Phoebe as she stares at them through the window of their favorite coffee shop. There are several references during the show to Phoebe’s character previously having lived on the streets, and this ending — which has since gone viral fits in quite well with that. Still, we’re glad @strnks (whose Twitter bio says he is a designer) wasn’t one of the show’s writers. Here’s the entire alternate ending, which will give you chills. > [](https://twitter.com/strnks/status/635787071391723521) ### 31 Famous Friends Cameos  Brad Pitt – While he was still married to Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt played Ross' old high school friend who hated Rachel NBC/Getty Images  George Clooney – Spoofing his E.R. fame, Clooney plays a dreamy doctor who takes care of Rachel's sprained ankle NBC/Getty Images  Adam Goldberg – After Joey moved out, Adam Goldberg played Eddie, Chandler's creepy roommate NBC/Getty Images  Aisha Tyler – The Archer star played Charlie, a paleontologist who first dates Joey and then Ross NBC/Getty Images  Alec Baldwin – Alec Baldwin guest-starred as Pheobe's way-too-enthusiastic date NBC/Getty Images  Anna Faris – Anna Faris had a season-long role as Erica, whose twins Chandler and Monica adopt NBC/Getty Images  Ben Stiller – Ben Stiller appeared as Rachel's date who angrily yells at everyone NBC/Getty Images  Billy Crystal – Crystal plays one of two crazy strangers (with Robin Williams) whose conversation the friends overhear at Central Perk NBC/Getty Images  Robin Williams – Williams plays that other crazy guy in Central Perk NBC/Getty Images  Brooke Shields – Joey ends up regretting going on a date with his crazy stalker played by Brooke Shields NBC/Getty Images  Bruce Willis – Things get complicated when Rachel starts dating Paul Stevens (Bruce Willis), the father of a student Ross is dating NBC/Getty Images  Christine Taylor – Rachel convinces Christine Taylor's Bonnie to shave her head so that Ross will break up with her NBC/Getty Images  Christina Applegate – Along with Reese Witherspoon, Christina Applegate played one of Rachel's spoiled sisters NBC/Getty Images  Dermont Mulroney – Gavin, played by Dermot Mulroney, fills in for Rachel while she's on maternity leave and later becomes a love interest NBC/Getty Images  Charlie Sheen – When Charlie Sheen's Navy man visits Phoebe for an erotic weekend, they both come down with chicken pox NBC/Getty Images  Charlton Heston – Charlton Heston plays himself and gives Joey some acting advice NBC/Getty Images  Dakota Fanning – Dakota Fanning offers Joey some advice on how to handle Chandler and Monica moving out of Manhattan NBC/Getty Images  Danny DeVito – Danny DeVito plays a stripper at Phoebe's bachelorette party NBC/Getty Images  Freddie Prinze Jr. - Freddie Prinze Jr. is perfect as a sensitive male nanny who takes care of Ross and Rachel's daughter NBC/Getty Images  Helen Hunt – In a confusing crossover, Hunt (a Mad About You star) mistakes Phoebe for her twin sister Ursula (a real character played by Lisa Kudrow in both Friends and Mad About You) NBC/Getty Images  Hugh Laurie – The stranger sitting next to Rachel on her flight to England (Hugh Laurie) mocks her plan to break up Ross' wedding NBC/Getty Images  Jay Leno – Leno plays himself interviewing Chandler's mom, an erotic novelist, on The Tonight Show NBC/Getty Images  Jon Favreau – Jon Favreau spent almost a whole season as Monica's super-rich boyfriend who wants to become an Ultimate Fighting Champion NBC/Getty Images  Jon Lovitz – Jon Lovitz guest-starred as a restauranteur in season one and a blind date for Rachel in season 9 NBC/Getty Images  Julia Roberts – Julia Roberts plays "Susie Underpants," a girl whose skirt Chandler pulled down on stage in elementary school NBC/Getty Images  Kristin Davis – The Sex and the City star is befriended by Rachel and Phoebe after she starts dating Joey NBC/Getty Images  Reese Witherspoon – Reese Witherspoon guest-stars as Rachel's younger sister who goes on a date with Ross NBC/Getty Images  Sean Penn – Phoebe must tell her twin sister Ursula's fiancée, played by Sean Penn, that Ursula has been lying to him about her past NBC/Getty Images  Susan Sarandon – In a plot line on Days of Our Lives, Joey gets Susan Sarandon's character's brain NBC/Getty Images  Tate Donovan – Real–life couple Jennifer Anniston and Tate Donovan played a couple on the show, too NBC/Getty Images  Tom Selleck – Tom Selleck's mustachioed Dr. Richard Burke dates Monica on-and-off for several seasons NBC/Getty Images _Read next:_ [_Joey and Chandler Didn’t Go to Rachel’s Wedding_](http://time.com/3993332/matt-leblanc-matthew-perry-jennifer-aniston-wedding/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day_](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/"},"headline":"The Creepy Alternate Ending for Friends That's Gone Viral","datePublished":"2015-08-27T08:32:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:47.158Z","description":"Caution: If you read this, Friends will never quite be the same for you again","url":"https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","Friends","Finale","show"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/","name":"The Creepy Alternate Ending for Friends That's Gone Viral"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"5 Reasons TV's Top Shows Are So Addictive","description":"Here's a look at how our favorite TV shows—from \"Game of Thrones\" to \"Scandal\" and \"Breaking Bad\"—keep us coming back for more.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2RqNgPrk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-01-16T20:47:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2RqNgPrk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/","duration":"PT2M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4012752/friends-alternate-ending-phoebe-fan/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```