Lisa Kudrow played the dippy Phoebe in Friends

The star, who played Phoebe in the hit series, is to co-produce and write The Comeback with Michael Patrick King, executive producer on Sex in the City.

A pilot episode has been given the go-ahead by cable channel HBO and casting is underway.

Courtney Cox is also working on developing a drama for HBO.

Her husband David Arquette is set to work on the production, The Fall and Rise of Taylor Kennedy, written and directed by Nick Cassavetes.

This would be the first major project from Cox and Arquette's own production company Coquette.

The drama would see Cox play an alcoholic actress who is trying to make a career comeback.

Group dynamic

HBO, which has just celebrated a record night at the Emmy Awards, is looking for a comedy to replace Sex in the City, which ended its run this year.

The careers of the six cast members of Friends are being closely watched to see if they remain as powerful as individuals away from the group dynamic.

Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel, enjoyed a successful film career while still in Friends and has many projects in the pipeline, including movies Gambit and Diary.

Matt Le Blanc has stayed with his Friends character to star in his own sitcom Joey, which has begun its run in the US.

Matthew Perry embarked on stage work, performing in a West End production, and starred in the sequel movie The Whole Ten Yards.

And David Schwimmer has made it clear he intends to do more directing, having gone behind the camera for a number of Friends episodes, and will work on Joey.