Jennifer Aniston Was Stuck Between Two Different TV Shows In 1994, Jennifer Aniston found herself in a predicament between two television shows. She had already acted in several different pilots but had not found a show that would last. However, she finally found her place in NBC's Friends as Rachel Green. But before that, she had shot six episodes of a completely different series called Muddling Through. This presented a problem, as Aniston was torn between the two shows.

Muddling Through, a sitcom on CBS, promised Aniston six episodes with the potential for a full season if the ratings were good.

However, if the show succeeded, Aniston would be unable to continue with Friends after the first half of the season. This meant that Rachel Green would either have to be written out or replaced with a different actress, both of which were undesirable options. Aniston was the top choice for the role of Rachel Green, so her involvement in Muddling Through put the Friends showrunners in a tough spot. Muddling Through faced challenges from the start. It was given a disadvantageous time slot and premiered in the summer on a Saturday night when few people would be tuning in. It was clear that CBS was attempting to sabotage the success of Friends by taking away one of its lead actors.

The uncertainty of the situation forced Aniston to sit out some of Friends' early photoshoots. It was a worrisome time, as Friends had to prepare for the possibility of continuing without Rachel Green if Muddling Through became more popular. Muddling Through, created by producer Barton Dean, followed the story of an ex-convict named Connie Drego who is trying to rebuild her life. Aniston played the role of Connie's daughter, Madeline, who is now married to the cop who arrested her mother. The show had potential but lacked the episodic storytelling that Friends had, making it an unfortunate rival.

To ensure that Muddling Through did not succeed, the Friends showrunners came up with a strategy. They aired a series of Danielle Steel adaptations during the same time slot as Muddling Through. This created tough competition for the new sitcom, as Steel already had a large following and a substantial female viewer base.

With viewers flocking to NBC for the familiar and established stories of Steel's adaptations, Muddling Through had little chance of gaining traction. It only lasted three months, while Friends went on for ten seasons and became an iconic sitcom. Thanks to this strategic move, Friends was able to keep Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green throughout the entire series. She became a household name and her role in Friends is often cited as her breakout role. It was a close call, but Friends ended up launching Aniston's career and captivating millions of viewers with the lives of six friends in New York.