Friends : Was Ursula created because she was on Mad About You?

Lisa Kudrow played Ursula on Mad About You first. At that time, maybe the intent wasn't to say that Phoebe had a twin sister, but that it simply was Lisa Kudrow playing a different part with no ties to Friends.

So I wonder if the producers had the idea later on to write Ursula in as Phoebe's twin, that way they could crossover Mad About You into the same universe as Friends. Thoughts?





You're never fully dressed without a smile.

Yes that's exactly why. They were both on the same network and on the same night. Both taking place in the same city as well. So they thought there should be a explanation and that's how it happened.

I always thought it was done as a funny tie-in to the other show on the same network featuring the same actress but I had no idea Kudrow played both roles concurrentlyI never watched Mad About You so I was never aware of that. Interesting :)

Yeah, I'd never seen or heard of Mad About You when I first saw Friends, so I didn't get the joke about Ursula or the other two women being from another show - I knew that they were celebrities, because the audience reacted as though they were, but I didn't get that them knowing Ursula was part of a crossover.

It's a pretty cute show actually! Check it out if you ever get the chance.

TVLEGENDS on YouTube has a great interview with Lisa Kudrow

I bet if Phoebe was played by someone else she wouldn't have had a twin sister, but NBC sitcoms at that time seemed to do a lot of crossovers, so they probably thought it best to have some sort of explanation.

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