An Underrated FX Series Reunited Courteney Cox And Jennifer Aniston After Friends Ended

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, NBC's "Friends" soared to heights most sitcoms can only dream of. The show, about a group of friends navigating their 20s and 30s in New York, forever changed the landscape of TV comedy. "Friends" signaled a move away from sitcoms grounded in family settings and workplaces, in favor of comedy built around tangled love lives and the day-to-day misadventures of young adults in the city. It was a cool new breed of sitcom, populated by characters whose zingy wit and trendy hairstyles made them icons, rather than simply goofy figures to be laughed at. Today, the influence of "Friends" can be found in just about every sitcom on TV.

The biggest star to emerge from "Friends" was Jennifer Aniston, who appeared on the series as Rachel Green. Rachel was the on-again-off-again love interest of David Schwimmer's Ross Geller and the best friend of his sister Monica, played by Courteney Cox. While Rachel Green and Monica Geller will undoubtedly remain Aniston and Cox's best-known roles, both actors went on to further success after "Friends" ended in 2004. The duo even briefly reunited on Cox's short-lived FX series, "Dirt."

Produced by Cox and her then-husband David Arquette, "Dirt" starred Cox as tabloid editor-in-chief Lucy Spiller, running a gossip magazine called DirtNow. The series ran for two seasons in 2007 and 2008. Though Aniston did not have a regular role, she appeared in a major guest role in the Season 1 finale.

"Dirt" followed the exploits of Cox's Lucy Spiller as she strove to uncover salacious celebrity gossip, ruthlessly manipulating whoever she needed to along the way. Lucy was joined by her best friend and freelance photographer, Don Konkey, played by Ian Hart, as well as Alexandra Breckenridge's journalist Willa McPherson. Over the course of the series, a love triangle formed as Lucy fell for actor Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart), despite his existing relationship with fellow actor Julia Mallory (Laura Allen). However, this wasn't Lucy's only romantic entanglement in the series.

The final episode of "Dirt" Season 1 saw Jennifer Aniston make a guest appearance as Tina Harrod, Lucy's arch rival and editor of a competing magazine. Prior to their rivalry, the two had been friends and, at one point, lovers. The Season 1 finale, "Ita Missa Est," saw Tina applying for a job at DirtNow, leaving Lucy worried for her own job. The episode marked a stark departure from Cox and Aniston's roles on "Friends," depicting them as intense rivals and culminating in a kiss that shocked tabloids at the time.

"It's a goodbye kiss. I don't honestly think people want to see Rachel and Monica have at it," Aniston said of the kiss to People. "I think I won a bet. I told Courteney, 'How many days will it take to come out? Lesbian kiss! Lip-lock!' It was a record: about a week."

It's not surprising that, when discussing tabloid hysteria over her kiss with Courtney Cox on "Dirt," Jennifer Aniston made reference to their two "Friends" characters. While Cox has gone on to appear in the "Scream" films and the TV series "Cougar Town," and Aniston has starred in movies such as "Bruce Almighty," "We're the Millers," and "Cake," Monica and Rachel remain the roles fans remember best.

"Dirt" was not the only series to see "Friends" stars reunite, either. After her guest role on "Dirt," Aniston also made an appearance on Cox's "Cougar Town," in the Season 2 episode "All Mixed Up." This saw Aniston playing Glenn, the therapist to Cox's Jules. Other "Friends" stars Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani, and David Schwimmer reunited for a brief scene on LeBlanc's sitcom "Episodes," both playing fictional versions of themselves.

In 2021, all six original cast members of "Friends" reunited for a TV special looking back at the series, "Friends: The Reunion." The main cast were joined by several of their former co-stars, including Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, and Maggie Wheeler. Sadly, Matthew Perry passed away just two years after the special aired, making it his final TV appearance and the final time the original cast would all appear on screen together.