News | Entertainment
12 Feb 2026 2:00
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Lisa Kudrow has begged whoever buys Warner Bros to not shut down the iconic Burbank studio lot

    The 62-year-old actress - who spent a decade on the WB lot filming Friends, and recently returned there for the third and final season of HBO show The Comeback - has urged the new owner of the company to keep things "as is".


    Visiting the lot with Architectural Digest, she said: "It's hard for me to tell whether Warner Bros is just special to me, or if it's special to the whole city or industry. And I think it is.

    "Everything changes ownership all the time, and then you don't know what's gonna happen.

    "I think most people really, really hope that whatever happens next, is that this studio lot is preserved as is.

    "It works! We just shot here. Whoever buys it, you don't need to change anything. It works, it works great.

    "It really does, so congratulations to whoever's next. Please don't change a thing."

    Netflix is "highly confident" it can close an $83 billion deal to merge with Warner, while Paramount Skydance Owner David Ellison is hoping to derail the bid and secure the studio for his own empire.

    Lisa reflected on her own history on the lot, including auditions and Friends, which started on Stage 5 before moving to its iconic Stage 24 set from the second season onwards.

    She recalled: "The show worked its first season, and we moved to a bigger sound stage, so we could have a 400 person audience - I think?

    "Is that possible? Maybe only 200 - I'm not good with numbers! That was Stage 24, and that's where we were for 10 years."

    As the show became a cultural phenomenon, the cast spent even more time on the lot.

    Lisa explained: "After a point, we didn't leave the sound stage, even for lunch, 'cause there were tours and things. It was just easier to stay on the stage."

    Lisa married Michael Stern a year into Friends' run in 1995 and welcomed their son into the world in 1998.

    Her pregnancy was written into the show's fourth season, while her son loved growing up on the lot.

    She recalled: "The fire department, my son had a lot of fun playing on the fire trucks."

    Friends was filmed in its entirety on the WB studio lot from its launch in 1994 to the final episode in 2004.

    Lisa co-created and starred in The Comeback the following year, before a revival in 2014, and a third and final season - premiering this year - shot on the same stage.

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     11 Feb: KyIie Kelce is relieved that she has "no skin" in the Super Bowl this year
     11 Feb: Olivia Colman feels as though she is non-binary
     11 Feb: Lindsey Vonn is in a "stable condition" after her frightening crash at the Winter Olympics
     11 Feb: Chase Infiniti is still coming to terms with fame
     11 Feb: ‘New Zealanders are inventive by necessity’: how the master clown Philippe Gaulier shaped NZ theatre
     11 Feb: Blac Chyna is taking a break from dating
     11 Feb: Melissa Joan Hart appreciates how being a child star set her up for life at a young age
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    The selections of two young guns plucked out of wider training groups headline the first Super Rugby Wednesday team lists of 2026 More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Calls for Government intervention on power bills - with predictions of another big bump More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    The selections of two young guns plucked out of wider training groups headline the first Super Rugby Wednesday team lists of 2026 21:57

    Entertainment:
    KyIie Kelce is relieved that she has "no skin" in the Super Bowl this year 21:51

    Entertainment:
    Olivia Colman feels as though she is non-binary 21:21

    Politics:
    Area school teachers are heading back into pay talks - due to a disagreement between unions 21:17

    Law and Order:
    How the search for Nancy Guthrie played out as police detain a person for questioning 21:07

    Entertainment:
    Lindsey Vonn is in a "stable condition" after her frightening crash at the Winter Olympics 20:51

    Entertainment:
    Chase Infiniti is still coming to terms with fame 20:21

    Entertainment:
    ‘New Zealanders are inventive by necessity’: how the master clown Philippe Gaulier shaped NZ theatre 20:07

    Entertainment:
    Blac Chyna is taking a break from dating 19:51

    Entertainment:
    Melissa Joan Hart appreciates how being a child star set her up for life at a young age 19:21


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd