Everything We Know About FRIENDS Reunion Special Release Date, Trailer & Cast
The dream reunion of the iconic FRIENDS Cast is finally becoming a reality. After years of anticipation and rumours, HBO max was all set to shoot a reunion episode with all the Friends, on the 25th anniversary of the iconic sitcom but this decision met with a number of roadblocks as the entire entertainment industry came to a halt because of the pandemic. However, the reunion is set to happen and it will happen soon. As we wait to see the Friends together, one more time, here’s everything we know about the reunion.
When is a friends reunion coming out?
As far as the main characters are concerned, everyone will reportedly be making an appearance in the reunion― Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Courteney Cox (Monica), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), David Schwimmer (Ross), and Matthew Perry (Chandler). They will reunite at the original Friends soundstage. These six actors will also executive produce. The reunion will be directed by The Late Late Show writer, Ben Winston. He is also set to be an executive producer along with other EPs of Friends―David Crane, Emma Conway, James Longman, Kevin Bright, and Marta Kauffman.
Soon after the reunion news got announced, all the lead actors shared a 1995 picture hot by Mark Seliger for Rolling Stone, with the caption “It’s happening” and tagged each other. These Instagram posts made the Friends fans go crazy with excitement.
The Friends reunion will not be a Friends episode
The Friends reunion will not essentially be a “new” Friends episode. This means the cast will revisit the set of the sitcom, reminisce the memories, give behind-the-scene scoop, etc. However, to some fan’s disappointment, they will NOT be playing their on-screen Friends characters. HBO Max has explained in a statement, “Lastly, in order to avoid any misunderstanding about what this special is, we want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series. The cast will be appearing as themselves, not as their beloved characters.”
The production got delayed because of the Pandemic
Originally the project was set to film on 23rd and 24th March 2020 but this could not happen because of the pandemic and the filming got “delayed until at least May” according to The Hollywood Reporter. There was the option of making the reunion happen virtually but WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer chairman Bob Greenblatt wanted the cast reunite in-person. He said, “We do think there’s a value to having a big, raucous live audience to experience these six great friends coming back together.”
There were new hopes that the filming would begin in Summer this year, but Entertainment Weekly reported that the filming got pushed indefinitely due to the pandemic.
Jennifer Anniston reacted to this postponement and said in a phone interview with Deadline,
“It’s going to be super. You know what? This has also given us more time to make it even more exciting and more fun than it would have been. So I choose to see it as the glass is half-full that it got postponed. Look, we’re not going anywhere. You’re never going to get rid of Friends, sorry. You’re stuck with us for life guys.”Aniston continued, “Unfortunately it’s very sad that we had to move it again, it was, ‘How do we do this with live audiences?’ This is not a safe time. Period. That’s the bottom line. It’s not a safe time to do it.”
Previously, David Schwimmer told Entertainment Weekly, he hopes the reunion takes place in 2020, he said, “We’re hoping it will be able to convene and shoot it in August, but the truth is, we’ll do it when we all determine it’s safe to do so.” He continued, “There’s no question we want to do it and it’s going to happen. It’s just really a question of when will be the safest time to do it.”
You can join in on the filming!
Yes, you read that right. The cast of the famous sitcom is offering six tickets for the taping of the reunion special. This auction is actually a part of the AllinChallenge which is a way through which celebrities are raising funds for a number of organizations. Although we do not know the date of filming this is exciting, to say the least.
2020 Emmys witnessed a mini reunion.
The 2020 Emmys gave a good surprise to the Friends fans, like Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow all appeared together. While Aniston was having a talk with host Jimmy Kimmel, Kudrow and Cox appeared on screen to which Aniston jokingly said, “We’ve been living together since 1994.”
Though this was not a complete reunion as the male cast was missing but it is safe to say that the fans were delighted by this mini surprise.
FRIENDS Reunion Special Release date
Friends’ official Instagram account confirmed that the reunion special has completed filming by posting a picture of the show’s iconic marquee. “Friends: The Reunion is coming to @hbomax.” with the caption, “That’s a wrap!🎬Could we BE anymore excited?” However, the release date of the Friends reunion special is still under wraps.
The cast is set to make millions
The sources told Hollywood Reporter that the cast of Friends will be paid between a whopping $2.5 million and $3 million each for the special. This is much more than the $1 million they used to get for each episode of Friends, while the show was still running.
Where can you watch Friends?
Now that Netflix has scraped off the show from its platform, the fans need a new platform to enjoy the sitcom, the series—all 236 episodes of it—can be viewed at HBO Max.
