It’s been 17 years since Friends finished but the appetite for more is still very much there. It is confirmed Friends: The Reunion is finally happening; however, the joy has now been accompanied by a backlash.
Friends: The Reunion is finally happening with a new trailer showcasing the return of the Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer coming together for the most-awaited reunion. On February 21, 2020, HBO confirmed that the unscripted reunion special, tentatively named “The One Where They Got Back Together”, was set to be released in May the same year making all fans say- “Oh. My. God.” But unfortunately, it was postponed indefinitely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently on May 13, 2021, a teaser was released officially announcing Friends: The Reunion, which is scheduled for release on May 27, 2021, on HBO Max. The excitement went into overdrive last week when the first promo for the reunion “The One Where They Got Back Together” was released, showing Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, and Matthew Perry walking arm in arm. Later the official trailer showed the cast getting back together on the original Friends studio, testing their trivia knowledge of the show, revisiting key sets, re-reading their lines, and joining James Corden for a joint sit-down interview in front of a live audience.
The reunion is going to be an unscripted event featuring the Friends characters after 17 years. The cast members will supposedly appear as themselves in some fashion. Apace with-it HBO Max also revealed a line-up of 18 guests that will be joining the key cast members. These guests included some musical and celebrity mega fans like David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Cordon, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Mindy Kaling, Malala Yousafzai, and many more.
Despite the excitement, the New York-based show has been heavily criticized for many things. There are many answers viewers are expecting from the producers of Friends: The Reunion. It has heavily disappointed fans throughout the world.
Friends reunion Not as fans expected
Since the official announcement of the reunion, fans enthusiasm for a possible reunion was in imagining how the characters might have turned out after 17 years expecting it to be a full-length series or a movie based on the later lives of the characters. Eventually, it turned out to be an unscripted hour-long event where the main cast will reunite, revisit the set, and share behind-the-scenes footage.
HBO Max also 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.”
This somehow disappointed the fans. What further disappoints the fans is the list of other celebrities that are being invited to the show. This was supposed to be a reunion of the six cast members from FRIENDS, but a bunch of other figures is being invited who have nothing to do with the web series. Well, it is not a reboot, Just a special. Fans are still going to enjoy and love their favorite cast coming together.
Once again, the producers failed to represent the diversity
With the release of the guest list, everybody has noticed that not a single Black man or woman is on the guest list. Fans are disappointed as the producers yet again failed to embrace the diversity. When programme aired, in the 90s and early 00s, Friends failed to present New York’s true diversity. It was often remarked that the core cast very rarely interacted with Black characters, and since the show came off our screens its lack of diversity has come up again and again as a huge problem. Since Friends is set in the heart of New York City; a city that New Yorkers will never miss an opportunity to tell you how it is the most diverse place on the planet, and so the lack of diversity in the show is quite glaring in an age in which we notice such things. But this time, Friends had an opportunity to address this issue simply by inviting a Black former cast member or fan to come to celebrate the show with other celebrities. This seems to signify that the makers of Friends have not done their due diligence. They did have options among the black cast members to invite along to the reunion like Aisha Taylor, Phill Lewis, Ron Glass, Monique Edwards, Gabrielle Union, Sherri Shepherd still none of them has made to the list as others.
Aisha Taylor played the only recurring black character on Friends. She dated Ross across nine episodes in seasons 9 and 10. The star was one of the few black actors to appear in the sitcom during its ten-year run – and the only one with a character arc throughout a few episodes. Aisha Taylor is the only Black cast member with extended episode appearances on the show’s 10-year history. Phill Lewis played Chandler’s boss at the advertising agency in three episodes in season 10. Aside from Aisha Tyler who played Charlie, Phill was the most frequently returning Black character throughout the show’s eleven-year history. Ron Glass starred in one episode of Friends, as Ross’s divorce lawyer in The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel in season six. His role was minor, and he wasn’t a returning character. Monique Edwards played Claudia in the season 9 episode The One with Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner. She played a colleague of Chandler’s in Tulsa after he relocates for work. Gabrielle Union played Kristen Leigh, a new girl moving into Joey and Chandler’s apartment block who both men end up dating in season 7 episode, One with The Cheap Wedding Dress. Sherri Shepherd played a tour guide called Rhonda in season 4 episode, The One with Phoebe’s Uterus. Rhonda worked at the museum where Ross works, and when Joey takes on a new job at the cafeteria, she bluntly schools him on workplace etiquette.
It is still hard to believe that not a single Black person was invited or interested to take part in a program that will be watched by millions. They did involve people who are not white- Mindy Kaling, BTS, Malala Yousafzai but this does not mean they participated with full diversity. The idea that Friends has not invited a single Black person has failed its efforts. The joy has now been accompanied by a backlash as fans are now questioning and tweeting about it.
Regarding whether the Friends: Reunion will fail or not, it might not fail but it has already disappointed people. But being a die-hard fan, no matter how trashy the show will be, people will still be watching it. Because magic happens when the six get together!
