Lisa Kudrow pops up everywhere. She’s currently producing an American version of the BBC genealogy show called Who Do You Think You Are? She also voices Honey in the animated show Housebroken where she plays a poodle who is an untrained therapist to a bunch of misfit animals. I cannot explain why I like that show but I do. I think because it’s so weird. Lisa was on Late Night with Seth Meyers the other night and Seth brought up some of her past work. Specifically, how her son Julian felt about it. Julian is Lisa’s only child. He’s 24 now. I can’t believe that. I still remember Lisa’s pregnancy being written into the Friends storyline as Phoebe being a surrogate for her stepbrother and his teacher/wife. Phoebe couldn’t go to London for Ross’ wedding because of it. Lisa said when Julian watched Friends for the first time, he thought it was funny. Well, he though “the guys” were funny. Then he threw his mom a bone saying that, “No, I mean, you’re funny too.”
“Friends” may have countless superfans around the world – but Lisa Kudrow’s son isn’t necessarily one of them. In fact, according to Kudrow, her son’s first reaction to the show was actually pretty “demeaning.”
To be clear, it’s not that he didn’t like the NBC sitcom, it’s just that his mom wasn’t exactly his favorite part of it. During an interview with Seth Meyers in support of “Who Do You Think You Are?”, which she executive produces, Kudrow explained that her son first watched “Friends” when all his own friends began watching it in school.
According to the actress, her son was a bit surprised by the humor in it – but favored his mother’s male co-stars.
“He was impressed. He goes, ‘It’s actually really funny,’” Kudrow said with a laugh. “He said, ‘It’s actually really funny, and I mean, the guys are so funny.’ And he’s like, ‘No, I mean, you’re funny, too.’ And never in my life have I wanted to tell my own kid, like, f— you!”
Kudrow assured Meyers that she didn’t really say “f— you,” but she definitely thought it.
“I mean, listen, it’s not required that you’re a fan. You don’t have to like what I do,” she continued. “But don’t be so demeaning! Wow!”
This has to be a “mom” thing because Phoebe is consistently one of the funniest characters on the show. But Julian was young when he first saw Friends and you’re just Mom at that that age. Nothing outside of making chocolate chip cookies impresses kids. Although I do agree, the guys were really funny, too. The lead in to the Friends story was that Julian watched The Comeback when he had Covid and called his mom to tell her how much he liked it. So clearly his tastes have matured, and he can recognize his mother’s comedic genius now that he’s older and wiser. I keep reminding my kids that one day they’ll get me too.
I haven’t checked out Who Do You Think You Are? yet. The clip they showed was with Allison Janney, she’d be a hoot. Do they ever do genealogy shows with non-famous people? I need to sign up for one of those. We just found out something we’ve always been told is true is not and now we have a bunch of theories and questions. But I have no idea how to begin. Maybe Lisa can come do a show on us? I’ll make sure I’ll start my application by saying that I always thought Phoebe was way funnier than the guys.
Photo credit: Instagram, Avalon Red and Cover Images
Hecate, my dad’s first calling was as an aeronautical engineer and rocket scientist. Most of the planes in the air have his engines in them. I remind myself of that every time I get on a plane and it comforts me. My dad’s second calling upon retirement was as a genealogy researcher and detective. He has people contact him everyday to ask for his help in solving their family mysteries. He does it because he loves it (and for free), and is a world-known speaker and researcher in that world. If you want his help solving your mystery, please email me. I don’t know if I am allowed to post his information here, so I’ll just say, email me, and I’ll hook you up. He will either give you the place to look for the truth, or do it with you (he loves these mysteries). He’s been consulted on PBS’s “Who Do You Think You Are” several times.
so cool!
OMG your dad sounds so cool
@Noodle your dad sounds so cool!!
Man, I would love to know your dads tips and tricks for tracing genealogy. I’m obsessed with Finding Your Roots and love a man who can show a family tree.
I just posted about Questlove’s epi of Finding Your Roots below. I love Dr Henry Louis Gates Jr!
How do we get in touch with you? Thanks!
I will totally post his info if I get the okay. Keep in mind that genealogy is largely limited to those with European/Christian roots because the church has records. Sadly, for so many BIPOC, the search begins and ends with a point of sale. There is an episode of “Finding your Roots” with Henry Louis Gates Jr devoted to Questlove of (ironically) The Roots where he sees a picture of his first known ancestor and it is like looking in the mirror. It’s at
pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/about/meet-our-guests/questlove
Watch that episode if you can. It’s remarkable.
We don’t know much about the history of many BIPOC beyond being sold in the new world. We can detect origin based on genetic markers, but that person won’t get the stories that go with family history like “my ___ th great grandfather was the first baby born in the new world from Mayflower migrants” (this is me) or “my __th great grandfather was a Revolutionary War hero and the park, hill, and house in which he lived are named after him (and we still share that name)” (my husband’s story).
@noodle, I agree with everyone else in saying your father sounds amazing. I too want to find out more about my mom’s family of origin and have had no luck with the ancestry websites. I doubt we will have any luck though since she is adopted, still hasn’t told us kids but I found out from snooping and another family member confirmed, and she’s from Puerto Rico. Her parents died long before I was born as well so I’ve heard next to nothing about them and she’s not the most approachable person. I also have a couple of genetic things that they found when I got a full genetic test while I was pregnant and would like to be able to know and connect all of these things.
Also, if the engine fails while I am on the plane he’s going to feel REEEAAAAALLLLLY bad. So far his engines have never failed on their own. They have failed from things acting upon them (like a piece of something breaks off, flies into the engine and starts a fire, or human error) but knowing my dad, I know how seriously he took his job and how he would check and double check and check again his math to ensure the thermodynamics were correct so no engine failure was attributable to him.
Like Hecate, I found that a piece of family lore is probably untrue. This is based on my own poking around on ancestry websites, but I’d love to find out the real story someday.
Noodle, your dad sounds amazing! What a gift!
All my life my mom told me about my native great-grandmother but the dna test said nope.
She has been an EP on WDYTYA since its first season years ago. I’m not sure why they’ve seemingly started a new “set”, but she’s even featured in the first season.
FYI for teachers – Ancestry has an Ancestry for Education deal where you can get your school access for free, including Newspapers.com for primary/secondary source material. I used the Finding Your Roots educators material (including videos) because it speaks more directly to the issues of race, class, gender and this type of research, and my middle schoolers loved it.
I think Lisa Kudrow is a very talented comedian and I’ve seen her in plenty of TV shows and movies– but never in Friends. Somehow, I can’t bear the thought of sitting down and watching that show. And yes, that is the hill I’ll die on.