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'Friends' Fan Theory Explains How Characters Always Snag Orange Couch at Central Perk—and Gunther Agrees

By Mae Harrington O'Neill

'Friends' fan theory explains how the group always got the orange chair at Central Perk.
'Friends' fan theory explains how the group always got the orange chair at Central Perk. / Getty Images/Getty Images

Even though Friends has been off the air since 2004, people still love it just as much the gang loves having coffee at Central Perk. There are plenty of fan theories about the beloved NBC sitcom that try to provide clarity to some questions left unanswered at the end of the show's nearly ten-year run. One pretty popular question is actually a pretty logical one: how did Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Rachel, and Ross always manage to sit at that orange couch and the surrounding chairs every single time they went to Central Perk? I don't know about you, but when I go to a coffee shop, the big comfy couch is always taken, and never by the same group of people. Not to mention that Central Perk is located in New York City, so the hustle and grind of your everyday New Yorker means that people would be coming in and out of the shop all day; the place would be constantly busy.

Watch Friends on FuboTV with a free 7-day trial here.

I've seen people sit at coffee shops on their laptops or reading a book without moving for hours, so how did the gang always snag such great seats? According to Insider, Friends actor James Michael Tyler told RadioTimes that one fan theory about the coffee shop "makes a lot of sense."

Friends fans will know the actor as Gunther, everybody's favorite white-haired barista from Central Perk. One fan theory cites Gunther as the reason the characters always had the couch reserved. In some scenes you can even see a "reserved" sign on the coffee table in front of the orange sofa, and people think it's because of his enormous crush on Rachel.

Gunther famously harbored a crush on Jennifer Aniston's character throughout the duration of the series, but his feelings always went (hilariously) unrequited. Tyler responded to the fan theory, stating, "I never did that! That was probably one of the set designers, I'm guessing, maybe one of the writers … I'm not sure who was responsible for that. But I do remember seeing that." He continued, "It never really occurred to me why it was there, but it makes a lot of sense [that Gunther put it there] in retrospect."

Maybe the cast will address this, as well as other theories, in their unscripted reunion special.