And then there was one.
David Schwimmer will topline in an ABC comedy pilot being eyed for next season, which if picked up, would mean all of the former “Friends” stars save for Jennifer Aniston have returned to series TV.
Schwimmer has signed as the male lead and producer of “Irreversible,” which centers on a somewhat self-absorbed couple and the trials and tribulations they mostly bring on themselves. The comedy will be partly improvised a la “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and is based on an Israeli series.
It’s the first regular TV role for Schwimmer, whose only other small-screen credits since ending his 10-year run on “Friends” in 2004 was guest-starring in his former castmate Lisa Kudrow’s Showtime series “Web Therapy” and an episode of “30 Rock.” He instead has focused on directing, including two feature films — “Trust” (2010) and “Run, Fatboy, Run” (2007) — and television episodes including the pilot for the upcoming NBC comedy “Growing Up Fisher.”
But his “Friends” co-stars have been more of a regular TV presence since the mega-hit NBC comedy went off the air — with mixed results.
Courteney Cox stars in the longest-running series of the bunch, “Cougar Town,” now in its fifth season. The sitcom about a group of Florida friends with a penchant for wine-drinking moved from ABC to TBS after Season Three and premiered its latest season to 1.9 million viewers.
Matt LeBlanc and Kudrow have both found success at Showtime, where the former stars in the comedy series “Episodes” as a fictionalized version of himself. Currently in its third season and already renewed for a fourth, the role earned LeBlanc a Golden Globe Award in 2012.
Kudrow stars as Fiona Wallace, a therapist who works with patients over the Internet in “Web Therapy,” which started as a web series and has aired on Showtime since 2011. The network has renewed it for a 10-episode fourth season with a premiere date to be announced.
Matthew Perry has toplined three one-season shows post “Friends”: “Studio 60 of the Sunset Strip,” (NBC) “Mr. Sunshine” (ABC) and last season’s “Go On” (ABC). He will take another shot in an update of “The Odd Couple” in the works at CBS for which he is to star in, write and produce.