E4 reveals Friends replacement plans

{jcomments on}E4 has revealed what it plans to replace American comedy Friends with when the series leaves the broadcaster later this year.

Friends has been a fixture of E4 since the digital channel launched in 2001 and indeed despite the fact the comedy ended in 2004 the series is still repeated daily on E4. However, in February of 2010 it was revealed that from the Autumn of 2011 Friends would be leaving E4 as the broadcaster had opted not to renew its deal to air episodes of the comedy.

So just what will E4 fill the void left by Friends with – and will its viewers be able to cope without their daily dose of repeated Friends? Well E4 has revealed it intends to replace Friends with a mixture of programming with The Big Bang Theory, The Inbetweeners and Made in Chelsea expected to fill some of the void. E4 will also air some movies in the old slot of 8pm – allowing them to run through to 10pm unhindered. E4 will also have more money to spend, freed up by not renewing the deal, and has also picked up new shows such as Apartment 23.

For those fans of Friends who feel they just won’t be able to cope without catching the endless repeats of the comedy fear not – it may be leaving E4 but it isn’t disappearing from cable all together. Comedy Central will take over airing episodes of the series this autumn.