The top 3 famous TV sofas

In any household the epicentre of activity is invariably the sofa. It’s a place to relax, to socialise and to fall asleep on a Sunday afternoon. In the world of television, the sofa is often used as a ‘base’ - a constant throughout a series, where characters can converge and interact. In this list we will be looking at 3 sofas that represent some of the most famous pieces of furniture in the history of television.

1. Friends

Situated in what is probably the most well-known Coffee House in television history, Central Perk, this sofa was the setting for some of Friend’s most famous scenes. In a programme that ran for 236 episodes, the sofa most likely appeared in at least 200 of these – in which time it was fallen over, fought over and wept over. The sofa also plays a part in an emotional scene from the last ever episode of the show, when the characters meet for their last cup of coffee before Monica and Chandler move away.

2. The Simpsons

If you think that Central Perk’s famous sofa has had a lot of air time, have a think about the sofa which features in the opening credits to the most popular cartoon ever made, The Simpsons. Although almost always visible at some point in each episode, the sofa appears most famously in the opening title sequence of the show, as the ending point to a sequence which sees the Simpsons returning home from school, work and the grocery store. The only thing that differentiates one opening sequence from another is the manner in which the Simpsons mount the sofa – which can be as bizarre as the whole family breaking through the floor as zombies, only to sit down on the sofa and groan.

3. The Royle Family

When it comes to sofa’s in a television show, no one does it better than the Royle Family, the British sitcom written by and starring Caroline Aherne. In a show that is almost exclusively shot in the living room of the Royles, a family who very rarely venture outside, instead preferring to watch television, smoke cigarettes and idly gossiping, the sofa certainly sees a lot of action.  The title of the 2008 Royle Family Christmas special was ‘the new sofa’ which again shows how vital the sofa is to the Royles – but then which family doesn’t love their sofa?