If you’ve ever watched Friends, there’s no forgetting Chandler Bing’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, Janice Hosenstein, played by Maggie Wheeler. Even among the sea of stellar guest appearances, Wheeler quickly became a recognizable face in the world, which wound up landing her as a recurring character. As she appeared more frequently, the Friends crew ended up having to hide her until Janice appeared in the scene, which is not the standard practice. The 63-year-old shared why the process became second nature for the set.
Wheeler visited with the Still Here Hollywood Podcast with Steve Kmetko to reminisce about her time as the unforgettable Janice and her time on Friends. During the episode, posted to YouTube, the duo cover Perry's tragic passing (she still misses her friend deeply) as well as her time with the late actor on the hit show (available to watch with a Max subscription). Kmetko jumped into how much Miss Hosenstein was loved, as audiences got to know her more and asked if there were any BTS efforts to keep her appearances a surprise.
Maggie Wheeler immediately shared that they did, and her general access was extremely limited until her cue, so as not to spoil the fun. She explained:;
They would keep me hidden. I wasn't allowed to even really wander around craft services, they made me stay in my dressing room…And then I would sort of sneak down, and then they would put up a black scrim to block my entrance, to block the doorway, so the audience wouldn’t see me until the door opened.
It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. The only comparable response by live studio audiences I’ve noted is Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld, and both are some of the most rewatchable shows, in my opinion. But since Janice wasn’t a regular staple, her reactions feel all the more special.
The podcaster then asked the Parent Trap alum how it felt to illicit that reaction regularly. She cooly shared that it felt a bit larger than life, saying:
It's a little bit of a rock star feeling.
I think it is safe to say that Janice and Maggie Wheeler did reach rock star status in those days. It was always a homerun when she was intermingled in the friend group. She then expanded on the feeling, saying it was a wild ride of a feeling, getting a uniformed reaction:
To be able to make an entrance each time and have the audience gasp, and laugh, and howl, you'd get kind of a wave of a response.
I’m sure that feeling never got old. After all, it sounds like Wheeler and Perry never tired of their onscreen dynamic. The Ellen actress opened up about it never being a bad time, partly due to the fact that Perry's professional demeanor never wavered, even in the throes of his addiction issues.
Wheeler revealed that the night Janice spent with Ross hit a new level of excitement for all in the crowd because of how the episode built on the anticipation. In her words:
Even more so when I had spent the night with Ross, because that was a huge buildup. A huge secret, nobody could have imagined what was going on — and the cast kept saying, 'Where were you, where were you, where were you?' And they really just milked it until the bitter end. And then when I walked in, the audience went nuts.
The actress’ legacy is an immaculate one on Friends, and knowing she had to stay out of sight illustrates how great she really was. I’m not outright remembering this particular moment, but it’s a great excuse to get back into the classic NBC show. I have no doubt that Janice showing up at Ross’ does get a big, dramatic response, though.
Even though it’s the show that celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, so much of it remains in the pop culture zeitgeist, including Chandler's unpredictable ex-beau. Today, Wheeler isn’t in the same sort of spotlight she once was, but still seemed to have fun in the 2025 movie schedule kid flick, Dog Man.