Everything We Know About The Friends Reunion
Maybe no one told the "Friends" cast that it was going to be this way — but their reunion will finally see the light of day after being delayed by COVID-19 for over a year.
HBO Max released a teaser trailer for the special on May 13, which showed the cast walking away from the camera accompanied by a slow melodious version of the show's theme song, "I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts. A caption branded the reunion as "The One Where They Get Back Together," thrilling fans who have been asking for a return to Central Perk for years.
All six members of the main cast — Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry — will be appearing in the one-off special. As HBO tweeted, they will be joined by series guest stars including Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler's love interest Janice, Reese Witherspoon, and Tom Selleck. Other surprising celebrity cameos will include Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, K-pop band BTS, David Beckham, Cara Delavigne, and "Game Of Thrones" star Kit Harington.
"This kind of thing doesn't happen every year, or even every 10, or 15 years," Cox gushed on her Instagram, adding: "I feel so blessed to have had a chance to reunite with my Friends... and it was better than ever." Aniston also took to Instagram to share the trailer: "Could we BE any more excited?!" she asked, jokingly using one of the show's catchphrases.
The 'Friends' reunion will be unscripted
Matthew Perry was the first cast member to reveal that the "Friends" reunion was being filmed, tweeting in November 2020 that it had been "rescheduled for the beginning of March."
Lisa Kudrow also teased the long-awaited special on Rob Lowe's podcast in January, clarifying that it would be an unscripted conversation, rather than a full episode. "It is not a reboot, it is not like a scripted thing, we are not portraying our characters," she explained. "It is us getting together, which just doesn't happen and has never happened in front of other people since 2004 when we stopped."
Kudrow also revealed that some of the show's famous sets would be up during the reunion and that the cast would be "talking in a coffee house room." As the actor later told Entertainment Weekly in May, it was a rare opportunity to relive their sitcom days. "Look, we're all incredibly grateful, and we all knew it then, and know it now, that that was such a unique situation," Kudrow shared. "We all loved — and love — each other. And genuinely had so much fun. And laughed for 10 years every day."
"When we have been able to get together — I think that's maybe twice and not even all of us — some people remember stuff the rest of us don't remember at all. And then it's fantastic," she commented, revealing why all six actors were so excited for the reunion. "It's like you're being introduced to something that everybody else knows that you forgot."