Friends keeps its narrative focused on relatable personal stories rather than shoehorning in identity politics or social justice themes. Character development comes through personality quirks, humor, and friendship drama, not token representation. Casting choices reflect the New York of its sitcom era, for better or worse, with no sign of forced diversity overtaking storylines.

While the show occasionally jokes at the expense of traditional gender roles, it doesn’t undermine masculinity, faith, or family values at its core. Storylines about relationships, marriage, and even religion (in small doses) are treated in a pretty conventional, even wholesome, fashion by today’s standards.

Friends doesn’t actively villainize traditional viewpoints, though some humor about gender and sexuality has aged awkwardly. In our view, all main characters largely share conventional, non-woke moral assumptions with little attention to hot-button social debates of today.