Friends fans rejoice! If you want to catch up with Monica, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, Chandler and Joey, the gang is reuniting for an upcoming special this spring. Original cast members Mathew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Anniston and David Schwimmer are joining show creator Marta Kauffman and co-creator David Krane for an unscripted reunion headed to HBO Max.
Friends, which is currently streaming all of its 10 seasons on HBO Max, premiered in 1994 and aired 236 episodes until its 2004 finale. The show has become one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, nominated for 62 Emmys (winning 4), 10 Golden Globes (winning 1), 14 Screen Actors Guild Awards (winning 1) and 11 People’s Choice Awards (winning them all.) It also had an insanely catchy theme song, performed by The Rembrandts and, last week, performed by Monica herself, Courtney Cox. Courtney covered “I’ll Be There for You” on the piano in an Instagram video.
The actress captioned the video, “How’d I do? Let me know what I should learn next below.” Some of her celebrity friends complimented her keyboard skills, with Mariska Hargitay commenting “So awesome court!” SNL alum Molly Shannon wrote, “This is just fantastic. you are adorable,” and the official Friends Instagram account even dropped into her comments, leaving four clapping emojis.
Courtney and her castmates were set to reunite on-screen for the first time since 2004, but, like many productions, was put on hold due to the coronavirus. It was initially planned to air as part of HBO Max’s launch but was ultimately delayed indefinitely because of the pandemic. The reunion special is scheduled to film this spring on Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, the same stage where the original series was filmed.
In a statement, HBO Max’s chief content officer Kevin Reilly said of the reunion, “Guess you could call this ‘The One Where They Get Back Together,'” adding, “I became aware of Friends when it was in the very early stages of development and then had the opportunity to work on the series many years later and have delighted in seeing it catch on with viewers generation after generation.”
Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe, recently appeared on the podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe and talked about the reunion. She said that she knows the special is going to happen because she had already shot some material for it. She said, “There’s different facets to it, and we already shot packages of things […] I pre-shot something already so we’re definitely doing it, because I already shot a little something.” She added that the show isn’t a reboot or revival, it’s just the cast gathering to discuss the series and reflect on their experiences filming it. She clarified, “It’s not like a scripted thing, we’re not portraying our characters. It’s us getting together, which just doesn’t happen a lot and has never happened in front of other people since 2004 when we stopped.” Lowe jokingly asked, “Is it you just having nachos over at [Jennifer Aniston]’s house?” to which Kudrow quipped, “Yes, that’s what it is.”
No release date for the reunion special has yet been announced but, you can reunite with the gang on HBO Max, where you can stream the show’s entire run.
