# The One After the Superbowl
**The One After the Superbowl** is a double-length episode of the American television sitcom *Friends*, comprising the twelfth and thirteenth episodes of its second season, which aired on NBC on January 28, 1996, immediately after the network's telecast of [Super Bowl XXX](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xxx).[1](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1) With 52.9 million viewers, it is the most-watched episode in the show's history.[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Air date | January 28, 1996, immediately after NBC's telecast of Super Bowl XXX[1](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1) |
| Episodes | Season 2, episodes 12 and 13; the uncut double episode runs 43 minutes[1](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1) |
| Writers | Mike Sikowitz and Jeffrey Astrof (part 1); Michael Borkow (part 2)[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) |
| Director | Michael Lembeck, who directed both parts[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) |
| Viewership | 52.9 million viewers, the most-watched episode in the history of *Friends*[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) |
| Guest stars | Brooke Shields, Chris Isaak, Julia Roberts, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Fred Willard, and Dan Castellaneta[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) |
| Emmy | Lembeck won the 1996 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Comedy Series for this episode, the only Emmy *Friends* won that year[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) |
## Scheduling and production
NBC chose to air the episode directly after the [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) in hopes of making it the "highest-grossing ad-revenue day in television history," and the guest stars were cast to draw more viewers and further increase advertising revenue.[1](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1) Rather than debut a new series in the slot, the network went with an established favorite. Curt King, a senior press manager for the show, told *The Boston Globe* at the time: "What we decided to do this year was not to unveil a new show but give people an extra-special version of a show they already like a lot."[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
Part 1 was written by Mike Sikowitz and Jeffrey Astrof and part 2 by Michael Borkow; both parts were directed by [Michael Lembeck](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-lembeck).[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) In the uncut format the double episode runs 43 minutes.[1](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1)
## Plot
The episode follows several storylines across its two parts.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
**Ross and Marcel.** Ross ([David Schwimmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-schwimmer)) travels to the [San Diego Zoo](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-diego-zoo) to see his former pet monkey Marcel, is told the animal has died, and then learns from a zookeeper that Marcel was actually stolen from the zoo, forced into show business, and is currently filming a movie in New York.[4](https://www.friends-tv.org/transcripts/212extended.htm) It takes the entire first part to reach the reveal that Marcel is now a movie star, in New York to film *Outbreak 2*.[5](https://processedmedia.net/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-review/)
**Joey and Erika.** Joey ([Matt LeBlanc](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-leblanc)) receives fan mail addressed to his soap-opera character Dr. Drake Ramoray from Erika Ford ([Brooke Shields](https://www.edgepedia.org/brooke-shields)), who believes *Days of Our Lives* is real and that Joey really is his character; he dates her.[1](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
**Phoebe at the library.** Phoebe ([Lisa Kudrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-kudrow)) is booked by Rob Donan ([Chris Isaak](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-isaak)), who schedules performers for the city's children's libraries, and scandalizes him with her inappropriate children's songs, including a verse about a grandmother who has died.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/) • [4](https://www.friends-tv.org/transcripts/212extended.htm)
**Chandler and Susie.** In part 2, Chandler ([Matthew Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-perry)) bumps into Susie Moss ([Julia Roberts](https://www.edgepedia.org/julia-roberts)), an elementary-school classmate he tormented, who gets her revenge on him.[6](https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/40682/friends-2x13-the-one-after-the-superbowl-part-2) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
**Monica, Rachel, and Van Damme.** Monica ([Courteney Cox](https://www.edgepedia.org/courteney-cox)) and Rachel ([Jennifer Aniston](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-aniston)) vie for the affection of [Jean-Claude Van Damme](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-claude-van-damme), who appears as himself.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
## Guest casting
The guest lineup was unusually heavy for a single episode: Brooke Shields, Chris Isaak, Julia Roberts, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Fred Willard, and [Dan Castellaneta](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-castellaneta).[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) Shields played the stalker Erika Ford, Isaak played Rob Donan, Roberts played Susie Moss, and Van Damme played himself.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/) • [6](https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/40682/friends-2x13-the-one-after-the-superbowl-part-2) Fred Willard played Dean Lipson, the zoo administrator who tells Ross that Marcel has died.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583439/fullcredits/)
Two anecdotes from the production have been widely reported. Executive producer Kevin Bright told *The Hollywood Reporter* that Matthew Perry reached out to Julia Roberts to ask her to appear, and she challenged him: "Write me a paper on quantum physics, and I'll do it." Perry wrote the paper and faxed it to her the next day, and the two later dated for two months.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/) Warren Littlefield, then president of NBC Entertainment, was so taken with Brooke Shields's performance that he developed a sitcom for her, which became *Suddenly Susan* (1996–2000).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
## Reception
The episode drew 52.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in the show's history, and it still holds the distinction of being the most-watched Super Bowl lead-out program on record.[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/) Since airing, it has received mixed reviews from television critics.[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that the episode "feels like nothing more than a big stunt to follow the big game."[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1) The *Entertainment Weekly* staff called it "fragmented, poorly paced, and only sporadically funny," and Tim Goodman of Knight-Ridder Newspapers cited the episode's "pathetic infusion of 'star appeal'" as a sign that *Friends* was "headed down the road to ruin."[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/) Co-creator David Crane later said, "The episode isn't in my top five... But given the marching orders, I think we did pretty well."[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
The episode's one major award went to its director: Michael Lembeck won the 1996 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Comedy Series for this episode, the only Emmy won by *Friends* that year.[2](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1)
## Title
Unlike nearly all other *Friends* episode titles, which reference a plot point, the title refers only to the broadcast context: the episode aired immediately after the Super Bowl.[1](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1)
## References
1. [The One After The Superbowl, Part 1, Friends Central (Fandom)](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl%2C_Part_1)
2. [The One After The Superbowl - Part 1, Central Perk - The Friends Wiki (Fandom)](https://centralperkfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_After_The_Superbowl_-_Part_1)
3. ['The One After the Superbowl': Revisiting 'Friends' Most-Watched Episode Ever, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1240334/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-trivia/)
4. [The One After the Superbowl, Parts 1 and 2 (Extended Version transcript), friends-tv.org](https://www.friends-tv.org/transcripts/212extended.htm)
5. [Second Look: Friends Season 2, Episodes 12 & 13, Processed Media](https://processedmedia.net/friends-the-one-after-the-superbowl-review/)
6. [The One After the Superbowl, Part 2, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/40682/friends-2x13-the-one-after-the-superbowl-part-2)
7. ["Friends" The One After the Superbowl: Part 1 (TV Episode 1996) - Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583439/fullcredits/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › Comedy-series episode lists and notable episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license