ho else loves Friends? I was a big fan of the show during its almost decade-long run, so it was an exciting trip down memory lane to publish an excerpt from Directed by James Burrows, the new memoir by the director of the hit TV shows Taxi, Cheers, Will & Grace and, of course, Friends. It was really fun to read the origin story of how Burrows put the Friends cast together and how he was so conscious that the group of actors needed to click in order for the show to thrive. In our excerpt, Burrows remembers flying the young cast to Las Vegas before the show aired. “I asked for the center table in the restaurant, where everyone could see us. I knew the show had a chance to really take off and told the kids, ‘This is your last shot at anonymity. Once the show airs, you guys will never be able to go anywhere without being hounded.’ None of them believed me,” he writes. Read the rest of the excerpt from Directed by James Burrows below.

Elsewhere in the newsletter, learn about the lymphatic massage treatment so popular with Hollywood celebrities that it now has a 2,300-person waitlist; check out our latest My Monday Morning column with Thomas Keller (which includes the chef’s tip for how to order In-N-Out fries); read about the pandemic rise of Pleats Please, a packable and washable clothing line from Issey Miyake; and don’t miss our story about the Queen’s Jubilee’s official commemorative dessert—and why it became something of a royal fiasco.

Wishing you all a safe and restorative weekend.