Friends with Benefits (stylized as friends ♥♥ith benefits) was a Syndication network comedy series created by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber that aired from August 5 to September 9, 2011, lasting for one season & 13 episodes.
Plot[]
The series centered on a group of friends living in Chicago, Illinois and involves a very close friendship between two of the friends, who are each looking for the perfect mate & the others who question their relationship, but at the same time, they have their own romantic problems to deal with.
Cast[]
- Ryan Hansen as Ben Lewis
- Danneel Harris as Sara Maxwell
- Jessica Lucas as Riley Elliot
- Zach Cregger as Aaron Greenway
- Andre Holland as Julian "Fitz" Fitzgerald
Production[]
Development[]
"Friends with Benefits" was originally developed for ABC with a script order given by the network in September of 2009; however, the network did not green-light a pilot for the potential series, allowing Syndication to pick up the project.
For the pilot episode, Fran Kranz was originally cast as Aaron and Ian Reed Kesler portrayed Hoon (who was another version of Fitz).
The series was officially picked up on May 16, 2010. It was originally set to air on as a mid-season replacement during the 2010–11 television season, but was ultimately delayed until summer.
Cancellation[]
"Friends with Benefits" ended after twelve episodes aired with the thirteenth episode being only available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and Netflix.
Ratings[]
The show's first episode had a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 2.34 million total viewers. As the series progressed, it declined to a rating of 0.5 with 1.54 million viewers.