Could we be any more excited? Fifteen years after the end of the series, a Friends reunion special is coming to HBO Max. Or, it will be if everything goes according to plan. Per The Hollywood Reporter, reps for the streaming platform have confirmed that a proper TV reunion is “in the works” with the show’s six original core stars: Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Courteney Cox (Monica), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Matthew Perry (Chandler) and David Schwimmer (Ross).
Before you paint your front door purple in preparation to full re-immerse yourself in the world of Friends, there are a few things you should know. First and foremost, sources caution that the deal is far from done yet — so, the stars literally and figuratively still have to align for this to come to fruition. The second note, and it’s a big one, is that the reunion special won’t be a reunion in a theatrical sense.
According to THR, the special project would be unscripted. This means it will likely be a panel of the cast along with series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman. You’ve seen these before right? They would all be seated on a stage together talking about their experiences on the series, behind-the-scenes moments, their relationships and any major life highlights since the series ended… that sort of thing.
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It’s actually a pretty clever marketing ploy if you think about it. HBO Max shelled out a sizable $425 million for rights to the cultural zeitgeist of a sitcom. So, while fans are already grieving its inevitable departure from Netflix, HBO Max is trying to come up with a dynamic way to make sure those grieving fans know the series will be available for streaming on their platform. The reunion special would, presumably, launch Friends on the service.
TBH, we don’t care if it’s scripted or unscripted. We just want to see the gang together again.
And while this could all still fall apart before it even happens, Jennifer Aniston’s recent hints about something big happening with the Friends cast give us hope. Although she ruled out a reunion show, she did tease, “I would love for there to be something, but we don’t know what that something is. So we’re just trying. We’re working on something.”
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