Friends Season 9 Release Date May 2026

The 2002–2003 season was a strategic period for NBC. Friends was placed in the Thursday 8:00 p.m. slot, leading into Scrubs , Will & Grace , and ER . Notably, the premiere was delayed by one week compared to previous seasons due to NBC’s coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City earlier in the year, which shifted some fall scheduling. Additionally, the season was interrupted by several preemptions and repeats, with new episodes airing inconsistently due to holidays and major events (e.g., the November sweeps period).

Friends Season 9 premiered on Thursday, September 26, 2002 , at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC. This date continued the network’s long-standing strategy of launching its flagship “Must See TV” lineup in late September, following the summer hiatus. The season concluded on May 15, 2003 , comprising 24 episodes. friends season 9 release date

Releasing Season 9 in late September 2002 proved commercially successful. The premiere, “The One Where No One Proposes,” garnered approximately 34 million viewers (Nielsen ratings), making it the highest-rated episode of the season. However, critics noted a decline in quality compared to Season 8. Many attributed this to the show’s extended run and the central plot device — Ross and Rachel’s ambiguous post-pregnancy relationship — which some felt was stretched thin. Nevertheless, the release timing ensured dominance over competing networks, especially CBS’s Survivor: Thailand and ABC’s Push, Nevada . The 2002–2003 season was a strategic period for NBC